Javelin / TriMech Author
John Lee, CSWE
Combining Different Part Numbers into a Single SOLIDWORKS BOM Column
By John Lee, CSWE on October 24, 2025
With drawing sheet space at a premium, there is arguably a benefit to minimizing the number of columns in the bill of materials (BOM) table. Combining different part number sources within one BOM column can greatly aid in this effort. Why Should You Combine Part…
How to Use CAD Packages to Collaborate with External Contractors on 3DEXPERIENCE CAD Data
By John Lee, CSWE on September 30, 2025
If you’re a 3DEXPERIENCE platform user, you know that the platform is designed to keep your data secure and under control, remaining within the confines of the platform as projects move through the design process. This is highly valuable for keeping proprietary data safe from…
3DEXPERIENCE File Management – Lock, Revise & Protect Data
By John Lee, CSWE on May 14, 2025
3DEXPERIENCE includes cloud-based collaboration among your team. With that power comes ways to ensure that your hard work is not lost with 3DEXPERIENCE file management Tools. Tools to ensure this include: Lock files – Reserve files so you’re the only user with write permission. Save…
Window off screen in SOLIDWORKS? Get it back!
By John Lee, CSWE on March 7, 2025
Ever find yourself asking, “Hey! Where did my window go?” or, “Why is my window off the edge of the screen?” Frustratingly, some SOLIDWORKS window or dialog box has been inconveniently located out of reach. It’s either partly or completely off the screen. Work grinds…
Backing up your data is always good policy. 3DEXPERIENCE includes cloud-based file storage already, but if you want to create an on-site backup then keep reading. For exporting an individual project, we recommend exporting as a package. But what if you want to back up ALL of your data? Read more to learn how.
How do I find my SOLIDWORKS Serial Number, Version, and Service Pack information?
By John Lee, CSWE on November 5, 2024
What is my SOLIDWORKS serial number? Which SOLIDWORKS version and service pack am I currently running? You may have asked yourself these questions, or needed to know the answer in order to receive technical support or run an upgrade. This blog post will show you how to find the SOLIDWORKS system information for your current installation. NOTE:…
Here we discuss an oft-needed technique in DraftSight, Printing Multiple Sheets to PDF
Ideas (formerly known as Enhancement Requests) allow you to tell Dassault Systèmes what you want in your software
By John Lee, CSWE on July 30, 2024
In this article we explain how to submit a SOLIDWORKS Enhancement Idea (Enhancement Request). Every user of Dassault Systèmes products (such as SOLIDWORKS, Composer, Visualize, etc) at one time or another has likely found themselves working with the software and caught themselves thinking, “it would…
How to publish SOLIDWORKS Composer content in a PDF document
By John Lee, CSWE on June 25, 2024
SOLIDWORKS Composer content can be published in a PDF document in three different formats: Universal 3D: This format displays as 3D data. SMG: displays an SMG file in an embedded SOLIDWORKS Composer player. Preview image: displays as a 2D image. In this blog article I…
How to Copy a Property’s Value Across Selected Views in SOLIDWORKS Composer
By John Lee, CSWE on June 14, 2024
In SOLIDWORKS Composer, maintaining consistency of properties across multiple views for entities like actors and cameras can be challenging, prompting the need for a method to achieve uniformity without manual editing.
Is your SOLIDWORKS drawing save time slow? As in, seemingly forever and ever? This article might have both the explanation and the fix. Introduced in SOLIDWORKS 2020 is the ability to open drawings in Detailing Mode (File > Open > select the drawing > Mode…
How to locate hidden or newly-imported annotations in SOLIDWORKS Drawings
By John Lee, CSWE on February 14, 2024
In our earlier article, we demonstrate how to hide and show dimensions: How to Hide SOLIDWORKS Drawing Dimensions and make them reappear (javelin-tech.com) Building upon that functionality, we now introduce a few new skills to help with managing annotation visibility: How to quickly identify where…
SOLIDWORKS Part Feature Tree (and other data) Salvage!
By John Lee, CSWE on December 19, 2023
Discover creative ways to salvage your work by transplanting the SOLIDWORKS Part feature tree, custom properties, and configuration data into a new part file!
How to salvage data from a SOLIDWORKS File Corruption
By John Lee, CSWE on November 13, 2023
This article will help you learn troubleshooting tips to help you salvage your data from SOLIDWORKS file corruption.
When you have a new installation of SOLIDWORKS on your system you may notice that there are very few Profiles available in Weldments when you select a Structural Member. The reason that SOLIDWORKS have not included all the standards and profiles in the standard installation…