Restore File Associations in SOLIDWORKS [VIDEO]

Starting with SOLIDWORKS 2012 SP4 a new method was introduced for launching SOLIDWORKS files from Windows Explorer.  Instead of the files being associated directly to the sldworks.exe program, they are launched through a separate SOLIDWORKS Launcher program (swshellfilelauncher.exe).  This is the program that enables the new functionality that asks which release of SOLIDWORKS you wish to use if you have more than one release installed on your system.

If you are encountering issues with SOLIDWORKS icons being incorrect, SOLIDWORKS files not opening when you double click on them, or opening in a new session instead of the active one, then restoring the file associations may resolve these issues.

Step 1:  First, SOLIDWORKS MUST be  launched using Administrator privileges. To do this, right click on the SOLIDWORKS shortcut icon and go to “More” and “Run as administrator”.

Step 2:  In SOLIDWORKS go to Options and on the the General page of the System Options tab and click the Restore File Associations command.

SOLIDWORKS 2020 and newer

NOTE:  In SOLIDWORKS 2019 and older releases, the Restore File Associations command is located on the File Explorer screen of the System Options.

SOLIDWORKS 2014 – 2019

SOLIDWORKS will then report that file associations have been restored:

Step 3:  Once the default file associations have been restored in SOLIDWORKS, right-click on a SOLIDWORKS file (for instance .sldprt) in Windows Explorer and select Open with.  (If Open with appears as a flyout menu, select the command Choose another app from the flyout list).

IMPORTANT: Use a standard Explorer window for this step.  Do not use the PDM vault view.

Step 4:  Select the SOLIDWORKS Launcher program and ensure that the option “Always use this app to open .SLDPRT files” is checked (if the SOLIDWORKS Launcher app is not displaying, browse to it at: C:\Program Files\Common Files\SOLIDWORKS Shared\swShellFileLauncher.exe).

Step 5:  Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the SOLIDWORKS Assembly (.sldasm) files and the SOLIDWORKS Drawings (.slddrw) files.

Step 6 (OPTIONAL):  If this procedure needs to be repeated on multiple computers, after performing the steps above on one system, export the registry keys at the following locations and import them on the other computers:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.SLDPRT

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.SLDASM

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\FileExts\.SLDDRW

Video demonstration

Watch the video below to see the steps above carried out: