How to Upgrade SOLIDWORKS Toolbox in PDM - AUTOMATICALLY
If your SOLIDWORKS Toolbox is managed in PDM, then the database which manages Hole Wizard and Toolbox must be upgraded after each SOLIDWORKS major version upgrade. The best practice is to plan the Toolbox upgrade for a time when users are not working on files. This prevents any conflict during the upgrade process as open files referencing the Toolbox will lock the files needed to upgrade.
NOTE: The upgrade process to the Toolbox stored in SOLIDWORKS PDM only needs to be upgraded by one user. All other users then need to update the local cache as detailed at the end of this article.
If you have not already upgraded SOLIDWORKS and PDM, then continue following this guide to upgrade Toolbox automatically while upgrading SOLIDWORKS.
If you have already upgraded SOLIDWORKS and PDM, then follow this guide to upgrade Toolbox manually.
Step 1: Verify all Toolbox components are checked in to PDM
While logged into the vault as the Admin user (check out, check in, add, delete), use the Complete Search tool to verify no Toolbox components are checked out. Set the Look in to the top-level Toolbox folder name. In this example, the Toolbox folder was named as the default SOLIDWORKS Data exactly as it would be for an individual installation.
Tip: If you don’t know where your Toolbox folder resides in your vault, from within the PDM Admin tool, log into the vault and expand SOLIDWORKS, then double-click Toolbox to display the path.
Step 2: Verify Toolbox Components are not used by checked out assemblies
Download, extract and run the PDM report ‘ListAllCheckedOutParentsWithToolboxParts.crp’
1. Log in to PDM as the Admin user.
2. Select Tools > Report Generator.
3. In the Report Generator dialog, select File > Import Query and then locate the downloaded and extracted ‘ListAllCheckedOutParentsWithToolboxParts.crp’ file and select Open.
4. The Query is now populated under Queries with a description ‘Show all checked out parent files that reference toolbox parts’.
5. Checkmark the query and select Edit > Execute Query
6. Review the Results list and check in any assemblies referencing Toolbox components.
Step 3: Backup the Hole Wizard/Toolbox Folder
Right-click the Toolbox folder and select Get Latest Version to copy the Toolbox files and the Toolbox database to the local cache (if your archive server is remote, this may take several minutes to complete).
Create a copy of the entire locally cached Toolbox folder and save it outside the PDM vault. To create a copy, simply right-click the folder within PDM and select Copy, then navigate outside the PDM vault to a folder of your choosing and right-click to select Paste.
Step 4: Check out the Database
The database must be checked out in PDM to upgrade.
- Log into the vault as the Admin user.
- Browse to \Toolbox_folder_name\lang\English
- From SOLIDWORKS 2014 or earlier, check out: SWBrowser.mbd
- From later versions of SOLIDWORKS, check out: swbrowser.sdledb (the database) and swbrowser.sldedbold (the backup file).
Step 5: Upgrade the Toolbox
Run the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager to upgrade the SOLIDWORKS software including SOLIDWORKS Toolbox. This process upgrades the Toolbox database and engineering standards to the latest version. The individual Toolbox files such as bolts, screws, washers, etc., will be upgraded to the latest version the next time they are opened and saved in SOLIDWORKS.
On the Summary screen, ensure that the Toolbox Options installation path is set to the Toolbox folder location in the PDM vault. If not, click Change, select Reference or upgrade and existing Toolbox, and browse to the Toolbox folder location in the PDM vault.
Run the installation.
Note, these tools are available to upgrade the individual files to the latest version in batches or the entire Toolbox directory at once:
SOLIDWORKS Task Scheduler > Convert Files
Step 6: Check In the Upgraded Database
The upgraded database must be checked in to PDM.
- Log into the vault as the Admin user.
- Browse to \Toolbox_folder name and check in the entire folder (swbrowser.sldedb may be the only changed file).
- Check the Toolbox folder and add any new or updated files to the vault. Also verify the following files are present and added to the vault:
- \Toolbox_folder_name\Updates
- \Toolbox_folder_name\ToolboxStandards.xml
- \Toolbox_folder_name\Browser\ToolboxFiles.index
Note: For upgrades from SOLIDWORKS 2014 or earlier, add the Toolbox database file swbrowser.sldedb and any other local file created in this folder to the vault.
Step 7: Update Local Cache (last step)
Now that the Hole Wizard/Toolbox database has been upgraded, the local cache needs updated for each local vault view.
The Toolbox root folder path can be found in the PDM Administration tool by expanding SOLIDWORKS and then opening Toolbox.
To update the local cache automatically when a user logs into PDM, set the User/Group Cache Options to ‘Refresh cache during log in’ for the Toolbox folder.
To update the local cache manually, each user must select the Toolbox folder and then right-click and select ‘Get Latest Version’.
Technical Support
If you have any questions or experience unexpected behavior, feel free to reach out to MLC CAD Systems technical support.
You can also contact us about Training or get help from our team by Calling us at 800-364-1652 x 2 and by Emailing us at solidworkssupport@mlc-cad.com.