Every license of SOLIDWORKS sold today includes cloud services. This article describes how to use these services to save your SOLIDWORKS files directly to the cloud.
There are different license "bundles" of SOLIDWORKS, such as Standard, Professional, and Premium, which most SOLIDWORKS users may already be familiar with. There's also another variation known as SOLIDWORKS Connected, which installs from the 3DExperience platform.
SOLIDWORKS Connected is not the main topic of this article, but it's worth touching on so we can draw a comparison between it, and SOLIDWORKS with cloud services. Think of SOLIDWORKS Connected as the "pay as you go" version of SOLIDWORKS that can be run from any computer you happen to be sitting in front of (assuming it meets the hardware requirements). The license is linked to a person, rather than a computer.
An example of the 3DExperience platform is shown in the following image. The platform "desktop" is highly customizable. The "compass" (round object in the top left corner) is a key feature and is used to access apps that offer a wide variety of functionality.
SOLIDWORKS Connected is installed from the 3DExperience platform (to your local PC), and is run by clicking an icon located on the platform. Files are saved to the 3DExperience platform where they live on the "cloud", which is really nothing more than a server you have access to via a secure web interface, aka "the platform". In short, a website on a web browser is where everything related to SOLIDWORKS Connected begins and where files are stored and accessed.
In contrast, the desktop version of SOLIDWORKS that most long time users are familiar with first requires downloading files to your PC, installing on the PC, and is run by clicking an icon typically found on your Windows desktop. Files are saved to your local PC or a server.
Cloud Services
In short, cloud services allow for saving files to the cloud, and extend the functionality of SOLIDWORKS. Another way of thinking of cloud services is a "connector" to the 3DExperience platform for desktop SOLIDWORKS.
You may have used a cloud storage program already. Google Drive, OneDrive, and Dropbox are a few common cloud services. The cloud services associated with SOLIDWORKS are similar. The major difference is it's built specifically to handle SOLIDWORKS files, and can be accessed directly from the SOLIDWORKS interface.
To enable cloud services, turn on the 3DExperience add-in within SOLIDWORKS. To access the Add-Ins panel shown below, click the Tools menu > Add-Ins.
Create A 3DExperience ID
Since saving anything to the platform requires a secure environment under your username, creating a 3DExperience ID is mandatory. Fortunately, it's an easy process. To create a 3DExperience ID, navigate to my.solidworks.com and click the Join link near the top right corner of the page. Follow the prompts, and you will have a 3DExperience ID in no time.
3DExperience Files On This PC
The main access point to the cloud from within SOLIDWORKS is through the Task Pane. If you're unfamiliar, the Task Pane is made up of a series of panes accessible by clicking any of the icons residing on the right hand side of the SOLIDWORKS work area. One of these icons is appropriately named "3DExperience Files On This PC", as can be seen in the following image.
The Columns
There is more to the 3DExperience pane than meets the eye. Dragging the pane to make it larger, or using the scroll bar at the bottom of the pane, allows access to quite a bit of information. That is outside the scope of this article, but we can talk about a few key points.
The Status column shows whether a SOLIDWORKS document has been saved to the cloud. If there's a green check, such as for W5-20026 in the image above, it exists on the cloud. If the floppy disk symbol is present, it has not. A distinction which should be made is even though a file may have been saved on the local hard drive, it will still display the floppy disk symbol if it has not yet been saved to the cloud.
The Lock Status column displays whether a file is locked. If there is a green key, the file is locked. In other words, you hold the "key" to editing that file. Files can be locked and unlocked via the platform. This is very convenient when working in a collaborative environment.
If a file is open in the current session of SOLIDWORKS, all text in that documents row will appear blue.
Saving To The Cloud
You've been working on a design and you're ready to save to the 3DExperience platform. Click the File menu to view the choices, shown here.
Clicking "Save to 3DEXPERIENCE" will cause something interesting to happen. A small window will appear and display progress through 7 steps. A few of the steps can take longer than the others. Essentially, the file is being converted to a format that will make it compatible with the 3DExperience platform.
Once all 7 steps are completed, a window appears, an example of which is shown in the next image. Since an assembly is being saved, the Save to 3DExperience window shows the components present in the assembly as well. In this example, notice one of the components has not been locked. Fortunately for us, we can lock the component on the fly, thereby gaining access. The Lock All button can be used for this, and is visible in the image.
Notice there is also the ability to create a new revision, as well as selecting a "bookmark". Bookmarks are very important on the 3DExperience platform. They are used to organize work and makes it easier to find things. In one sense, they are similar to folders in Windows, but are technically more like links than containers.
Where Did My Files Go?
If the files were saved to the 3DExperience platform, that's where they will be. To access them, log onto the platform and access your files from your web browser. They can also be opened from the Recent file list located in the File menu. It's also possible to view content directly from SOLIDWORKS.
Taking another look at the Task Pane, notice the tab with the compass icon. This is the 3DExperience tab, and allows for viewing and accessing all of your content on the platform. There are plenty of search capabilities and filters which allow for viewing just what you need to see.
Now that you know how to save files to the 3DExperience platform, why not give it a try?
Happy modeling!