How to Move a Standalone SOLIDWORKS Toolbox to a Network Location

The SOLIDWORKS Toolbox, included with SOLIDWORKS Professional and SOLIDWORKS Premium licenses, is a powerful library of standard components that engineers can rely on daily. Having multiple users working on assemblies and referencing locally installed Toolbox databases can lead to version conflicts, missing sizes, and properties.

Moving your Toolbox to a shared location, either a shared network location or SOLIDWORKS PDM, is a smart way to centralize resources, improve collaboration, and maintain consistency across your team. In this article, we’ll walk through migrating a standalone SOLIDWORKS Toolbox to a network location.

What Is The SOLIDWORKS Toolbox?

SOLIDWORKS Toolbox is a library of standard hardware components, including bolts, nuts, washers, pins, and more, based on international standards like ANSI, ISO, DIN, and JIS. It integrates with the SOLIDWORKS Hole Wizard, allowing users to drag and drop parts directly into assemblies.

Accessing the Toolbox from the SOLIDWORKS Task Pane

By default, Toolbox is installed locally during SOLIDWORKS installation in C:\SOLIDWORKS Data. This setup works fine for individual users, but it becomes problematic in collaborative environments.

Why Move The Toolbox to a Shared Location?

Here are typical reasons to centralize your Toolbox:

• Consistency Across Projects
  • All users access the same database to avoid missing sizes and properties.

• Simplified Maintenance
  • Updates and customizations only need to be made once, not on every machine.

• Improved Collaboration
  • Assemblies with Toolbox components open correctly across different users’ systems.

Pre-Migration Checklist

Before you begin, ensure the following:

1. All users are on the same major version of SOLIDWORKS.
2. You have administrator access to the current Toolbox folder.
3. The network location is accessible to all users with read/write permissions.
4. You’ve backed up the existing Toolbox folder.

Step-by-Step Migration Guide

Step 1: Choose a Network Location

Select a shared folder on a reliable network drive. Ensure:

• High availability and uptime
• Fast access speeds
• Regular backups

Step 2: Copy the Toolbox Folder

On the machine with the current SOLIDWORKS Toolbox installation:

1. Navigate to the Toolbox folder (usually C:\SOLIDWORKS Data)
2. Copy the entire folder, including subfolders and files
3. Paste it into the chosen network location
4. Consider renaming the top-level folder for ease of identification (i.e., from SOLIDWORKS Data to SOLIDWORKS Toolbox)

It is critical not to rename any files or subfolders as SOLIDWORKS relies on a specific structure and naming convention for the toolbox.

Step 3: Update Toolbox Path in SOLIDWORKS

On each user’s machine:

1. Open SOLIDWORKS
2. Go to Tools and then Options
3. Click the Hole Wizard/Toolbox tab
4. Change the Toolbox folder path to the new network location
5. Enable the option “Make this folder the default search location for Toolbox components”
6. Rename or delete the existing standalone toolbox on client machines (i.e., C:\SOLIDWORKS Data_standalone) to prevent incorrect references

Adjusting the SOLIDWORKS Toolbox folder location

Step 4: Configure Toolbox Settings (Optional)

The Toolbox settings are used to standardize part configurations and prevent unauthorized changes.  This ensures consistent part generation across your team.

1. Launch Toolbox Settings via Tools>Options>Hole Wizard/Toolbox>Configure
2. Customize the Standards (ANSI, ISO, etc.), Sizes and Materials, or the Custom Properties for the toolbox components
3. Set permissions to restrict editing

Customizing the SOLIDWORKS Toolbox

Step 5: Test the Setup

Before rolling out to all users:

• Open an assembly that uses Toolbox components
• Confirm that the parts load correctly
• Check for missing configurations or errors
• Validate performance over the network

If references are not updating to the network folder for existing assemblies, the network Toolbox folder path can be added under Tools>Options>System Options>File Locations>Referenced Documents. This forces the search routine to use the network path first.

Adding upper-level folders in Referenced Documents can affect performance when opening assemblies. This should be reserved as a temporary method to correct missing references.

Best Practices for Network Toolboxes

• Restrict Access: Limit write access to a few administrators to prevent accidental changes.
• Use Version Control: Consider hosting your Toolbox in PDM for version history, or use a backup strategy for network folders to track changes.
• Update Toolbox: When upgrading SolidWorks, update the Toolbox centrally and test before deploying to users.  Always create a backup of customized Toolboxes prior to upgrading. Our article on Manually Updating SOLIDWORKS Toolbox provides detailed steps.  For Toolboxes hosted in PDM, review Upgrading SOLIDWORKS Toolbox within SOLIDWORKS PDM.

Migrating your SOLIDWORKS Toolbox to a network location is a strategic move for any engineering team. It enhances collaboration, reduces errors, and simplifies management. With careful planning and execution, your team can enjoy a more streamlined and consistent design environment.

To learn more about using the SOLIDWORKS Toolbox with SOLIDWORKS PDM, watch our video here.