SolidWorks Toolbox in a Multi-User Environment
Installation Guide for Shared Parts
and Databases

This document describes how to install the parts and databases for SolidWorks® Toolbox in a shared folder. This ensures that your colleagues use the same parts and databases.

New installations

These instructions describe how to establish a shared environment or add a new user to the shared environment.

  1. Start the SolidWorks installation on your individual machine.
  2. In the SolidWorks Option dialog box:
    • If you purchased only the SolidWorks software and the SolidWorks Toolbox add-in:
      1. Select SolidWorks.
      2. Click Customize.
      3. In the Custom Setup dialog box, under SolidWorks Add-Ins, set SolidWorks Toolbox to This feature will be installed on local hard drive .
      4. Click Next.
    • If you purchased SolidWorks Office, SolidWorks Office Professional, or SolidWorks Office Premium, select the appropriate product and click Next.

  1. In the Destination Folders dialog box:

    • If you are establishing a new shared environment click Change to browse to the location for the Install SolidWorks 2006 common data to box. Select a folder location that will be accessible to all SolidWorks Toolbox users.

The shared folder should reside on a Windows®-based computer. Set the folder permissions so your colleagues have write-access to it and its contents.

It is recommended that the shared location is on a computer that does not run the SolidWorks software. The location is typically a server. This ensures that SolidWorks Toolbox document references are consistent among users.

    • If you are adding a new user to the shared environment, click Change to browse to the location of the shared folder for the Install SolidWorks 2006 common data to box. The shared folder contains the Browser and lang folders.

  1. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

The parts and databases are installed in the shared folder. Your colleagues can install the SolidWorks and SolidWorks Toolbox program files and must select the same shared folder.

  1. Repeat steps 1 through 4 for each user that will share the SolidWorks Toolbox parts.

Upgrading installations

These instructions describe how to upgrade your SolidWorks Toolbox installation to major releases or to the latest service packs.

  1. Start the SolidWorks installation on your individual machine.

  2. In the SolidWorks 2006 Install Choice dialog box, click Select an existing installation to upgrade.

  3. Select the version to upgrade in the list, then click Next.

  4. In the SolidWorks Option dialog box:

    • If you purchased only the SolidWorks software and the SolidWorks Toolbox add-in:

      1. Select SolidWorks.

      2. Click Customize.

      1. In the Custom Setup dialog box, under SolidWorks Add-Ins, set SolidWorks Toolbox to This feature will be installed on local hard drive .

      2. Click Next.

    • If you purchased SolidWorks Office, SolidWorks Office Professional, or SolidWorks Office Premium, select the appropriate product and click Next.

  5. In the Destination Folders dialog box, make sure the Install SolidWorks 2006 common data to box contains the correct shared folder that you used in the previous version of the SolidWorks software.

The Destination Folders dialog box attempts to find the shared folder used in the previous version of SolidWorks Toolbox, and lists it in Install SolidWorks 2006 common data to. Make sure this folder is the correct shared folder. If it is not the correct folder, click Change to browse to the correct folder.

  1. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the installation.

Configuring SolidWorks and SolidWorks Toolbox before using the applications

It is important that you configure the shared folder, the SolidWorks software, and SolidWorks Toolbox before you use the applications so that users:

  • do not overwrite SolidWorks Toolbox parts
  • can concurrently share SolidWorks Toolbox parts

To configure the shared folder:

  1. In Windows Explorer, go to the shared folder location and locate the Browser folder.
  2. Right-click the folder and select Properties.
  3. On the General tab, select Read-only, then click Apply.
  4. In the Confirm Attribute Changes dialog box, select Apply changes to this folder, subfolders and files.
  1. Click OK twice.

In the Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 operating systems, sometimes the read-only status does not propagate to the subfolders and files. Expand all subfolders until you reach individual part files to ensure that the read-only status is set.

To configure the SolidWorks software and SolidWorks Toolbox:

  1. On each user's computer, start the SolidWorks software.
  2. Click File, New, Assembly, then click OK.
  3. Click Cancel to close the Insert Component PropertyManager.
  4. Click Tools, Add-Ins, and select SolidWorks Toolbox and SolidWorks Toolbox Browser.
  5. Click OK.

  6. Click Toolbox, Browser configuration.

  7. In the dialog box, on the Browser tab, click Document Properties.
    1. Under Copy Part File, select No copy (always use master part file). When selected, the software does not create a copy of the original part.
    2. Under Writing to read-only documents, select Always change read-only status of document before writing. When selected, if SolidWorks Toolbox tries to write to a read-only document (for example, to add a new configuration to a SolidWorks Toolbox part), and the document is set to read-only by the SolidWorks software, then the changes are written and the document is returned to read-only status.
  1. Click OK.

Adding an existing seat of SolidWorks Toolbox that does not currently access the shared environment

These instructions apply if your company has an existing shared environment, but wants to add an existing SolidWorks Toolbox user (that currently works independently) to the shared environment.

The user who migrates to the shared environment may have assembly documents that reference local versions of the SolidWorks Toolbox parts. The following issues could arise.

  • A user's local SolidWorks Toolbox parts may contain part configurations that do not exist in the shared SolidWorks Toolbox parts. The user must add the referenced configurations to avoid problems when opening assembly documents.

  • A user may have assigned part numbers and descriptions to local SolidWorks Toolbox parts that are different from the shared SolidWorks Toolbox parts. These differences could cause changes (often in Bills of Materials) when the user opens drawing documents and the SolidWorks Toolbox parts are loaded from the shared environment.

 

  1. Make sure the existing seats in the shared environment have the same SolidWorks and SolidWorks Toolbox version and service pack as the seat that is migrating to the shared environment.

  2. Identify the shared folder that contains SolidWorks Toolbox parts and databases.

  3. Edit the <install_dir>\Toolbox\toolbox.ini file of the existing installation in a text editor such as Notepad.
  4. Update the path of ToolboxPartFolder to the shared folder used in step 2.

For example, update C:\shareddata\ to \\Toolbox_server\shareddata\. This does not change the location of the shared parts and databases, it repoints the path to existing parts and databases.

After a user's computer is migrated to the shared environment, the user may open an assembly document that references Solidworks Toolbox parts that resided on the local machine (not in the shared environment). When the user opens the assembly document, the SolidWorks software looks for the local SolidWorks Toolbox parts. However, the user needs to ensure that the SolidWorks Toolbox parts are loaded from the shared location. There are two methods that a user can follow to load the referenced parts: manually browse for each part, or automatically have the SolidWorks software search for external references.

To manually browse for each part:

  1. Rename the SolidWorks Toolbox parts folder that resides on the user's local computer. This prevents the SolidWorks software from loading the local parts.
  2. Open each assembly document that contains SolidWorks Toolbox parts referenced from the user's local computer.

The SolidWorks software will not find the SolidWorks Toolbox parts because you renamed the folder in step 1.

  1. A dialog box asks if you want to find the parts. Click Yes.

  2. Browse to the shared location and open the required SolidWorks Toolbox parts.
  3. Save the assembly.
  4. Delete the user's local SolidWorks Toolbox parts folder after you are sure that all assembly documents have been updated.

To automatically have the SolidWorks software search for external references:

  1. Rename the SolidWorks Toolbox parts folder that resides on the user's local computer. This prevents the SolidWorks software from loading the local parts.
  2. In the SolidWorks software, click Options (Standard toolbar) or Tools, Options.

  3. On the System Options tab, click External References.

  4. Select Search file locations for external references.

  5. On the System Options tab, click File Locations.

  6. Select Referenced Documents in Show folders for.
  7. Click Add, then browse to the shared location of the SolidWorks Toolbox parts.
  8. Click OK.
  9. Open and save each assembly document that uses referenced parts from the user's local machine.
  10. Clear the Search file locations for external references option and delete the user's local SolidWorks Toolbox parts folder after you are sure that all assembly documents have been updated.

Creating a multi-user environment from one or more existing standalone SolidWorks Toolbox installations

These instructions apply if your company has one or more users who currently use SolidWorks Toolbox independently of each other. That is, none of the users share common SolidWorks Toolbox parts; each user has their own set of parts.

To create a multi-user environment from one or more existing standalone SolidWorks Toolbox installations:

  1. Identify the computer whose user who has used SolidWorks Toolbox most extensively.

  2. Move the entire SolidWorks Toolbox parts directory (for example, C:\Program Files\Common Files\SolidWorks Data) from the user's computer identified in step 1 to a shared location.

It is recommended that the shared location is on a computer that does not run the SolidWorks software. The location is typically a server.

  1. Follow the steps in Adding an existing seat of SolidWorks Toolbox that does not currently access the shared environment.

Additional information

Use the following online help topics to assist you while working in a multi-user environment:

SolidWorks Online Help Topics

Access Control. Shows how to add administrative access to the standards and options of SolidWorks Toolbox. You can restrict access to the following: standards data, SolidWorks Toolbox options, Add My Parts Wizard, and Smart Fastener options.

SolidWorks Toolbox Online Help Topics

  • Add My Parts Wizard Overview. Describes creating a custom folder, creating custom parts, and storing them in a shared folder.
  • Configure Browser. Describes the read-only status of shared parts, and tips for using SolidWorks Toolbox with a folder of shared parts.

PDMWorks Online Help Topics

  • Toolbox. Describes how a vault administrator adds, modifies, or deletes the folders that store SolidWorks Toolbox documents.

  • Toolbox with PDMWorks. Describes how to configure PDMWorks when using it with SolidWorks Toolbox. You may not want to use revision control with SolidWorks Toolbox parts. This topic details how to avoid (or use) the check-in functionality for SolidWorks Toolbox parts.