How to Upgrade SOLIDWORKS Toolbox in PDM – MANUALLY
How to Upgrade SOLIDWORKS Toolbox in PDM - MANUALLY
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 upgraded SOLIDWORKS yet, then follow this guide to update Toolbox automatically while upgrading SOLIDWORKS
If you have already upgraded SOLIDWORKS and PDM, then continue following the guide below to upgrade Toolbox manually.
Step 1: Verify all Toolbox components are checked in to PDM
While logged into the vault as the Admin user, use the Complete Search tool to verify no Toolbox components are checked out. Set the Look in to the top-level Toolbox folder. 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
Create a copy of the entire Toolbox folder and save it outside the PDM vault. In this example, the folder is named SOLIDWORKS Data. 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 <PDM vault>\<toolbox folder name>\lang\<language> and check out swbrowser.sdledb (the database) and swbrowser.sldedbold (the backup file).
In the example used in this document, the path is: C:\PDM\ACME\Library\SOLIDWORKS Data\lang\english
Step 5: Launch the Upgrade Utility
The next step is to update the database you just checked out in PDM. SOLIDWORKS installations include an upgrade utility to perform the upgrade.
- Browse to the default installation location C:\Program Files\SOLIDWORKS Corp\SOLIDWORKS\Toolbox\data utilities
- Right-click UpdateBrowserDatabase.exe
- Select Run as Administrator.
Step 6: Upgrade the Database
In the newly opened dialog, for the Database to Update, click the ellipsis (…) button and browse to swbrowser.sldedb in the PDM Toolbox folder.
<PDM vault>\<toolbox folder name>\lang\<language>\swbrowser.sldedb
Don’t be confused by the database version numbers. In the example image below:
- Database Version: 22 = version 2019 (the current version)
- Update Version: 23 = version 2020 (the new version)
Click the Update button to update the database. This process may take a few seconds or a few minutes depending on the size and version of your Toolbox.
Step 7: Check In the Upgraded Database
The upgraded database must be checked in to PDM.
- Log into the vault as the Admin user.
- Browse to <PDM vault>\<toolbox folder>\lang\<language> and check in swbrowser.sdledb (the database) and swbrowser.sldedbold (the backup file).
Step 8: Update Local Cache (last step)
Now that the Hole Wizard/Toolbox database has been upgraded, the local cache needs to be 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 login’ 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 solidworkssupport@mlc-cad.com.