CAD Forum

What are some of your favorite Tools>Options settings?

- Tools>Options>External References> Allow Multiple Contexts

I was helping out a customer, and we got this one added sometime before 2000. The original problem had to do with having references from parts in a subassembly and a top level assembly going back to a single subassembly part. If you tell someone about this setting, they will come back in 6 months furious with you for opening that can of worms on them. It's really not my favorite, but my favorite to complain about maybe.

- T>O>Display>Show Open Edges

Because I use a lot of surfacing, one of the first settings I make sure I've got on a new computer is the Show Open Edges In Different Color setting. It is so helpful to know when the edges of a surface are knit to something else or not.

- T>O>Sketch>Scale Sketch on 1st dim

I love the Scale Sketch on 1st dim setting. Especially when you have an assembly where you're making parts that are big and small. You don't get lost after your first big part.

- T>O>Performance> Purge Cached Config Data

Any time you can dump a bunch of unneeded data it's a good day

This one...since it seems I have to restart SW 4-5 times a day.

Performance> Enhanced Graphics The name of this feature has changed a few times over the years, but for me (so far) it has done nothing but cause Graphical Glitches.

Really? What has it been called before? AFAIK it was new with 2019

Keyboard has key to increase/decrease the volume of the speaker. Likewise how to assign a keyboard key to decrease/increase the transparency of the Plane Display.

Here's one of my favorites. With both options checked I can enter a value while sketching if I want, and it's applied, and if I don't then it isn't and I can define the entity later with a dimension or relation.


Then there's this one that I am fond of, maybe because the note merging is the first "Enhancement" I remember that I hated with a passion, and this was later added to allow users to disable it.


Here's one that I can't imagine ever having turned off.

josh wrote: ↑Tue May 18, 2021 4:36 pm Really? What has it been called before? AFAIK it was new with 2019

image.png

You're right. I'm not sure what I was thinking of.

T→O→Display/Selection→Part/Assembly tanngent edge display → As Phantom
Tried it once, and i can never go back...

T→O→Auto recover→ Save auto recover information → Off
SOLIDWORKS 2019 had been giving me issue with the autosave, so i disable it, i dun think auto recover ever work for me anyway...

T→O→Save notification → Show reminder if document have not been saved
Save Save Save... I never realize how important this is until i start using CREO (Do you know CREO wont even prompt you to save if you close a file?)

T→O→Sketch→Scale Sketch on 1st dimension
Same as above, i never realize how important this is until i start using CREO, if you are someone who dimension After you create the sketch, you will need this

T→O→Assembly→Move component by dragging
This has its pros and cons but i realize like it when i can drag a component near to the part that i am mating with (Similar to above, i cant do it in CREO without go into Edit definition )

T→O→Colors→Surface Open Edge colors
I had changed the default open edge color as the light blue is really hard to see sometimes...
i found that color like pink/purple work surprisingly well

Maha Nadarasa wrote: ↑Tue May 18, 2021 7:12 pm Keyboard has key to increase/decrease the volume of the speaker. Likewise how to assign a keyboard key to decrease/increase the transparency of the Plane Display.

I think a macro can do that... sound like a real good idea of making one

josh wrote: ↑Tue May 18, 2021 4:36 pm Really? What has it been called before? AFAIK it was new with 2019

image.png

Wasn't there one called Use Software OpenGL? That might be what you are thinking of.

There is a setting that makes your drawing files MUCH larger starting with 2019 (I think) but I can't remember what it was. If anyone remembers please post it here.

SPerman wrote: ↑Wed May 19, 2021 10:20 am There is a setting that makes your drawing files MUCH larger starting with 2019 (I think) but I can't remember what it was. If anyone remembers please post it here.

Wasn't it this one?

matt wrote: ↑Wed May 19, 2021 9:10 am Wasn't there one called Use Software OpenGL? That might be what you are thinking of.

That one's still there. It's different from the "enhanced graphics performance" thing. Software OpenGL bypasses your graphics card/driver for all the graphics processing. Basically, if you're having pretty much anything bad happening and turning on Software OpenGL fixes it, that means your card/driver is causing the problem.

mike miller wrote: ↑Wed May 19, 2021 10:26 am Wasn't it this one?

2021-05-19 10_25_54.jpg

Yes. Thank you!

josh wrote: ↑Tue May 18, 2021 4:36 pm Really? What has it been called before? AFAIK it was new with 2019

image.png

Maybe this is what I was thinking of. There is an annoying little warning in the status bar. When I hover the mouse over it, this is what it shows.
I thought I saw the "pipeline' terminology used elsewhere in a previous release.