SolidPractices:

SOLIDWORKS® Upgrades

Last Update: 20 March 2019

Revision 1.0

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Table of Contents

1) OVERVIEW ..................................................................................................................................................... 4

2) PRELIMINARY CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................................... 5

A) NAMING CONVENTIONS ................................................................................................................................... 5

B) TEMPLATES AND SETTINGS ................................................................................................................................ 5

C) TOOLBOX AND STANDARD LIBRARIES .................................................................................................................... 6

D) COPY SETTINGS WIZARD .................................................................................................................................. 7

E) FILE UPGRADES .............................................................................................................................................. 8

3) PERMISSIONS CONSIDERATIONS ................................................................................................................. 10

4) LICENSING ................................................................................................................................................... 11

A) SOLIDNETWORK LICENSE SERVER UPGRADE......................................................................................................... 11

5) UPGRADE INSTALLATION FILES .................................................................................................................... 13

6) PREPARING CLIENT MACHINES FOR UPGRADE ............................................................................................ 14

A) INDIVIDUAL BASED INSTALLATION...................................................................................................................... 14

B) ADMINISTRATIVE IMAGE BASED INSTALLATION. .................................................................................................... 14

7) TESTING INSTALLATIONS ............................................................................................................................. 15

A) INSTALLATION MANAGER - INDIVIDUAL DEPLOYMENT ............................................................................................ 15

B) INSTALLATION MANAGER BASED ADMINISTRATIVE IMAGE DEPLOYMENT ..................................................................... 15

C) COMMAND LINE BASED DEPLOYMENT ................................................................................................................ 16

D) ACTIVE DIRECTORY DEPLOYMENT...................................................................................................................... 16

E) INTERPRETING ERRORS................................................................................................................................... 16

8) THE UPGRADE PROCESS .............................................................................................................................. 17

A) INDIVIDUAL BASED INSTALLATION...................................................................................................................... 17

i) Multi-version installation. .................................................................................................................... 17

B) ADMINISTRATIVE IMAGE BASED INSTALLATION. .................................................................................................... 17

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Revision History

Rev # Date Description 1.0 Jan 2019 Revised for use by customers

Reset as document version 1.0

Note

All SolidPractices are written as guidelines. You are recommended to use these documents only

after properly evaluating your requirements. Distribution of this document is limited to Dassault

Systèmes SolidWorks employees, VARs and customers that are on active subscription. This

document may not be posted on blogs or any internal or external forums without prior written

authorization from Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation.

This document was updated using version SOLIDWORKS 2019 SP01. If you have questions or

need assistance in understanding the content, please get in touch with your designated reseller.

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1) Overview

SOLIDWORKS offers engineers and designers the tools necessary to get their job done. For

users, the first task is to install the software and to make sure that it runs optimally.

SOLIDWORKS encompasses products that meet the needs of multiple disciplines such as

Design, Visualization, Simulation, Data Management, and etc. Therefore, there are an array

of software options. Knowing how to install and upgrade these options quickly and

effectively requires an understanding of the software and environment. This is essential to get

the most from your software investment.

This best practice document will help you better understand the installation and upgrade

process, the scalability of the process, and how to effectively make these tools accessible to

engineers and designers. This document describes not only the upgrade and installation

process, but also file versioning, general administration, and information about how to

interpret errors. The focus of this SolidPractice is primarily SOLIDWORKS and

SOLIDWORKS PDM environments. You should consider this document as a companion to

the SOLIDWORKS administration guides, SOLIDWORKS Tech Tips, and SOLIDWORKS

Knowledge Base articles.

Your Feedback Requested We would like to hear your feedback and also suggestions for new topics. After reviewing

this document, please take a few minutes to fill out a brief survey. Your feedback will help us

create the content that directly addresses your challenges.

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2) Preliminary Considerations

Proper installations and upgrades rely on reproducible workflows. You should document

these workflows to allow future users or administrators to upgrade the software with minimal

changes. Although SOLIDWORKS contains thorough documentation of these

methodologies, other variables may cause your procedures to vary from the norm. This could

from the addition of add-ins, third-party software, regulations, or other organizational

requirements.

To avoid compatibility issues, SOLIDWORKS recommends that you standardize on the same

version (major release and service pack) of the software across the organization. This

recommendation should apply (but not be limited) to SOLIDWORKS, SOLIDWORKS add-

ins, and the SOLIDWORKS PDM software. If possible, you should also try to standardize on

similar hardware and software environment (especially the operating system) to ensure a

similar user experience for all users. For the latest information about supported hardware and

operating systems, visit the SOLIDWORKS Hardware & System Requirements web page.

a) Naming conventions

SOLIDWORKS recommends that users retain a consistent naming convention, especially in

network environments. Users should refrain from using variable file locations such as

mapped drives. For optimal use of the software, consider using the Universal Naming

Conventions (UNC) for file locations and installation deployment as applicable.

An example of a UNC directory is: \\servername\network_share

SOLIDWORKS supports the use of network locations for multiple areas of the software.

Multiuser environments should possess consistent shared files such as templates, toolbox

files, standard libraries, and if necessary settings files. The following sections describe the

process of modifying the shared files within SOLIDWORKS.

b) Templates and settings

Organizations can modify or create document templates for their particular needs. These

templates may include specific organization wide unit conventions, default reference

geometry, materials, specific file properties, or drafting standards (unit of measurements).

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Drafting standards are stored with templates, so when modifying the templates, be sure and

go to Tools > Options > Document Properties > Drafting Standard and set the drafting

standard. At the same time, users should also customize the settings under Tools > Options >

Document Properties > Units.

After saving your customizations, administrators can specify templates in the Tools >

Options > Default Templates menu and in the Tools > Options > File Locations >

Document Templates drop-down list. For multiuser environments, it is best that all users use

the same templates. You can populate these settings with network directories, such as

\\servername\templates_folder. Administrators may also choose to limit user access by

assigning “read-only” permissions for the network share.

Be aware that some settings and defaults may change between versions. Therefore, it is

always a good practice to examine all settings in Tools > Options prior to rolling out a newer

revision of the software.

c) Toolbox and standard libraries

Organizations can create or customize the toolbox and standard libraries to suit their needs. In

a multiuser environment, the proper set up of shared files becomes more important. These

files should be shared across the organization to minimize changes in design intent. The

following procedure describes how to set up a multiuser environment for file sharing.

1. Outside of the production environment, first create a local “test” copy of the toolbox or

library files and then modify them as necessary within this test environment.

2. For multiuser environments, the administrator should then place the files in a shared

network location that users can access. Until finalized, users should be restricted from

using this location to limit contaminating the production environment.

Alternatively, these shared files can be incorporated within a PDM Vault only after ensuring

that all files are suitable for the organization.

3. When the files meet the organization’s needs, administrators can “push” these shared files

to the client machines simply by modifying the following paths on the client machines:

Tools > Options > System Options > Hole Wizard/Toolbox

Tools > Options > System Options > File Locations

These file locations can be pushed to customers by using the information in the Copy Settings

Wizard section of this document.

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d) Copy Settings Wizard

Be aware that the first instance of a SOLIDWORKS release will use the settings from the

previous version as a default. For machines with no previous instance of SOLIDWORKS, the

SOLIDWORKS defaults will be used. To ensure that users do not improperly set up their

templates, the organization’s templates and settings should already exist on the client

machine. Once the administrator specifies the correct file paths, they should consider using

the Copy Settings Wizard to obtain the customizations and to push them to end users.

The Copy Settings Wizard tool is accessible from Start > All Programs > SOLIDWORKS

[version] > SOLIDWORKS Tools > Copy Settings Wizard. The wizard presents a simple

user interface to either save (make a copy) or restore (apply existing settings) a file. Users

should first select the Save Settings option.

Note: To ensure that any Tools > Options customizations are saved, select the System

options choice on the Save Settings to File page of the wizard. This creates a settings

file with the extension *.sldreg. This file is similar to a registry file and will modify the

corresponding areas previously customized by the administrator.

If this is a standalone client installation, users can apply these settings by using the Copy

Settings Wizard > Restore Settings option. If this file will be applied to a large deployment,

the file can be used with an Installation Manager based Administrative Image installation by

using the Administrative Image Option Editor or via a command line script (in this case, the

file extension should be renamed to *.reg and merged directly to the registry). Effective with

the release of SOLIDWORKS 2018, the Settings Administrator Tool in the Admin Image

Option Editor provides CAD Administrators with even more control over the distribution of

settings to client machines. This control includes the option to configure and lock settings,

which prevents users from changing important options.

As an alternative to using the Copy Settings Wizard, administrators can manually extract user

settings and customizations from the following Windows® registry key:

Caution: Changes to the registry can severely damage your system. Before performing these

steps, the SOLIDWORKS Technical Support team strongly recommends that you back up

your data and consult your IT department.

HKEY_Current_User\Software\SolidWorks

After extracting this registry key, users can simply ”merge” the file on another users machine

by double-clicking on the resulting registry (*.reg) file.

Additionally, to ensure all users have the same settings for SOLIDWORKS PDM

environments, the administrator should also apply the following registry keys to the client

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machines:HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SolidWorks\Applications\PDMWorks

Enterprise\ConisioCAD\SolidWorks

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SolidWorks\Applications\PDMWorks

Enterprise\PDMSW\Options

For more information, see the SOLIDWORKS Knowledge base solution S-057238.

Applying settings in this manner will ensure that users need not modify or customize their set

up on start up. To minimize user downtime, it is suggested that user customizations such as

Toolbars and layout not be imposed.

e) File upgrades

For the best compatibility with the latest release of SOLIDWORKS, administrators should

take care to upgrade the files previously in use to the latest version. This can be accomplished

with the Convert Files task found in:

Start > All Programs > SOLIDWORKS [version] > SOLIDWORKS Tools > Task

Scheduler > Convert Files.

Users can upgrade individual files, folders, and SOLIDWORKS PDM vaults.

SOLIDWORKS Technical Support strongly recommends that you create a backup of the

files. You can configure this recommendation by clicking the Option button in the Convert

task dialog box (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: The backup option within the SOLIDWORKS Task Scheduler - Convert task.

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For SOLIDWORKS PDM environments, reseller’s should refer to the File Version Upgrade

Tool best practice guide.

Prior to using the upgraded files in a production environment, you should test the files on a

test client. This will ensure that the files maintain design intent after upgrade. This is

important because the results of these tests can impact the migration to a newer product

version. It is an expectation that organizations will take note of any major issues and await

resolution before upgrading.

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3) Permissions Considerations

To run SOLIDWORKS, users of the Windows® 7, 8, and 10 operating systems require only

standard user accounts and permissions as outlined by Microsoft®. Installations and upgrades

require elevation of permissions. For more information about standard account elevation and

standard account privileges, please consult with the following Microsoft article.

At the time of writing, there are several issues that may require elevation for some aspects of

SOLIDWORKS configuration. Administrators may consider disabling User Account Control

(UAC) as necessary to avoid issues.

For more information, see the SOLIDWORKS Knowledge Base solution S-045759.

With the introduction of Windows 8, the process of completely disabling UAC has changed.

Modifying the UAC setting to Never notify only removes the prompts and does not disable

UAC.

To fully disable UAC settings, go to Administrative Tools > Local Security Policy > Local

Policies > Security Options.

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4) Licensing

To minimize downtime during the implementation of an upgrade, licensing should be in

place prior to starting an installation or upgrade for network license based deployments. The

SolidNetWork License (SNL) Manager software is backwards compatible and therefore

supports previous versions of the SOLIDWORKS software that may still be in use. For more

information, see the SolidWorks Knowledge Base solution S-068058.

To minimize downtime, make sure to use the correct serial number. Standalone licensing

users will be presented with the appropriate prompt after the installation process. Refer to the

“Upgrade installation files” section of this document.

a) SolidNetWork License Server upgrade

SolidNetWork (SNL) network- based licensing users should upgrade their license server prior

to rolling out any newer major version of the software (such as upgrading from

SOLIDWORKS 2018 to 2019). To do this properly, follow these steps:

1. On the SolidNetWork License (SNL) server machine, go to the Start > All Programs >

SolidNetWork License Manager > Server Administration > Modify.

2. Within the Modify option, select the Transfer option.

3. Follow the onscreen instructions to transfer the license off the server.

4. Go to Server Administration > License Server and stop the service if it is still running.

5. As necessary, go to Control Panel > Add/Remove Programs (or Programs and

Features) and uninstall the SolidNetWork License Manager software.

6. Using the latest version of the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager (available at the

SOLIDWORKS download page), download and install the latest version of the

SolidNetWork License Manager software from the appropriate “Server” installation

option.

7. After installing the latest SolidNetWork License Manager software, you can run the

program from Start > All Programs > SOLIDWORKS [version]> SOLIDWORKS

Tools > SolidNetWork License Manager [version]. Users are then prompted to activate

the software (to acquire the latest licenses). If this does not happen, go to the Server

Administration > Modify > and select the Activate/Reactivate option.

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8. If the SNL software that you install in step 6 remains on the same server as the original

SolidNetWork License Manager installation, it is not necessary to update the network

clients. If the server moves to a new machine, the users can be updated from Start > All

Programs > SOLIDWORKS [version] > SOLIDWORKS Tools > SolidNetWork

License Manager > Server List. You can also modify this information from the

SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager Administrative Options Editor.

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5) Upgrade Installation Files

Users can obtain all the latest installation files by using the SOLIDWORKS Installation

Manager. The Installation Manager software is available from the SOLIDWORKS download

page by clicking the on the SOLIDWORKS version that you need. You should use the

Installation Manager to manage all download, installation, and upgrade processes and to

ensure successful download and installation of all necessary files. This applies to both

SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager individual installations and administrative image

installations.

For command line or Active Directory® based installations, SOLIDWORKS recommends

that you use the Installation Manager to download and create administrative images. These

images will include any requisite components as well as the SOLIDWORKS installation

files.

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6) Preparing Client Machines for Upgrade

Whenever possible, users should keep the latest version of SOLIDWORKS on the client

machines. If this is not possible, make sure that the client machines apply upgrades to the

version-specific directories. If a current installation is on a machine that will no longer be

used, the following information can help clean up the client prior to a new installation.

a) Individual based installation

To properly uninstall all previous installation files, go to Control Panel > Add or Remove

Programs (or Programs and Features) > select the appropriate version of SOLIDWORKS

> and then select the “uninstall” option. For a more complete uninstall, users may select the

CHANGE option in the Advance Options menu of the Installation Manager. Select all of the

check boxes to perform a more complete uninstallation (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Advanced options for a complete uninstall.

b) Administrative Image based installation

Currently there is no equivalent option to the individual “total uninstall” option. However,

you can automate this process by creating a script (batch file). For Installation Manager based

administrative images, it is possible to implement this uninstall script by using the Run a

program before installation option of a subsequent administrative image. To select this

option, run the file admin_image\sldadminoptioneditor.exe. In the Administrative Image

Option Editor, select the “edit” option > Administrative Options > Run a program before

installation > browse for and select the script (batch) file. For more information about this

type of script, see this Tech Tip. There is an associated and helpful tool for this in the

Knowledge Base solution S-012431).

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7) Testing Installations

For a multiuser environment, administrators should consider testing in an environment

similar to the end users. Sandbox testing can be useful, but administrators should try to

emulate the user environment as closely as possible without affecting the production

environment.

Prior to deploying SOLIDWORKS in a multiuser environment, some preliminary testing will

ensure that the installation will succeed.

a) Installation Manager based individual deployment

Single user environments can simply activate the Create Windows Installer Logs option

from the right-click context menu in the Installation Manager (see Figure 3).

Figure 3: Enabling verbose installation logging.

This will create a verbose installation log. By default, the verbose installation log exists in the

following folder:

%appdata%\SOLIDWORKS\Installation Logs\[version]

b) Installation Manager based administrative image deployment

For Installation Manager based administrative images, you can activate this option by

selecting the Administrative Options > Create Diagnostic Logs option from within the

Installation Manager Administrative Image Option Editor

(admin_image\sldadminoptioneditor.exe), in the. The resulting verbose installation logs is

saved in the following directory (in the appropriate folder):

admin_image\64bit\logs

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c) Command prompt based deployments

For command line based administrative images, administrators can create a verbose

installation log by using the following command line syntax:

msiexec /I installation file.MSI /l*v C:\install_log.txt /qb

Use of the /qb parameter helps to increase the visibility of errors. The resulting verbose log

will be saved on the C-drive with the file name install_log.txt. The file name and location are

customizable as necessary.

d) Active Directory deployment

Active Directory® based installations can use similar command line syntax as follows:

msiexec /I path/filename.MSI TRANSFORMS= “path/filename.MST” /l*v C:\install_log.txt

/qb

e) Interpreting errors

SOLIDWORKS and related programs use Windows Installer technology as the basis of the

installation process. If the installation fails due to errors, users can interrogate the resulting

verbose log by using the Windows Installer Log Utility. The error records in this utility are

standard Windows installer error codes that you can review and troubleshoot similar to any

Windows installer error.

IMPORTANT

In addition to installation testing, it is also advisable to perform usability testing to ensure

that there are no issues affecting an organizations standard practices and workflows. Having

users in a non-production environment simulate normal design processes and practices can

help surface possible issues prior to the deployment of a software upgrade. Users are strongly

encouraged to test the software prior to pushing it out to all production users.

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8) The Upgrade Process

a) Individual based installation

After completing the test process, users can install the software on their client machines. In

addition to the previous comments, users should also consider the following.

i) Multi-version installation

When users require installations of multiple software versions on the client machine, the

recommendation is to use an installation directory structure that is similar to the following

example:

For SOLIDWORKS 2018: Install to “C:\Program Files\SOLIDWORKS 2018”

For SOLIDWORKS 2019: Install to “C:\Program Files\SOLIDWORKS 2019”

Note that you can only install one version of a major release. For more information, see the

Knowledge Base solution S-032932.

b) Administrative image based installation

After the Installation Manager creates the administrative image, users should browse to the

administrative image folder and run the Administrative Image Option Editor

(admin_image\sldadminoptioneditor.exe) and ensure that all of the proper settings are set.

When managing several deployments (several installation directories) consider using a folder

structure that is similar to the following example:

\\servername\SOLIDWORKS_2019_SP0

\\servername\SOLIDWORKS_2019_SP1

\\servername\SOLIDWORKS_2019_SP2

Etc.

Before sending the link to the StartSWInstall.hta file, the administrator should right-click

on the installation folder and share the folder with users (Properties > Share). It is a

recommendation to change the name of the default share name to a descriptive name such as

“SOLIDWORKS2019”. In this way, users can instead browse for and install from the

“\\servername\SOLIDWORKS2019” folder as opposed to the version-specific folder. On

subsequent upgrades, the administrator can create a new administrative image and simply

disable the share on the previous folder and apply it to the latest version. If necessary, it is

possible to apply (roll back) a previous version in a similar fashion to the upgrade process.