Javelin / TriMech Author
Justin Williams
Setting the SQL Server Agent to start automatically for SOLIDWORKS PDM
By Justin Williams on April 21, 2021
As part of our best practices, it’s imperative to routinely check that good backups are being captured, and database maintenance is being complete. If you find these scheduled actions aren’t completing, the first step of troubleshooting will be to manually complete an action for the…
Adjusting SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional Replication Performance
By Justin Williams on April 12, 2021
By default within a replicated SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional environment, 10 files are replicated per transfer to the target server(s) during scheduled replication. If you’re experiencing bottlenecks or low bandwidth; it’s a good idea to reduce this number, or, if you have available bandwidth; the number…
How to switch SOLIDWORKS PDM to Offline Mode using the Windows Registry
By Justin Williams on March 31, 2021
Working offline within SOLIDWORKS PDM is a great option if you want to bring work home on your laptop, or if there is maintenance being performed on the vault and there’s no access to the server. In a perfect world, you’ve remembered to switch into…
How to Remove a Replicated SOLIDWORKS PDM Archive Server
By Justin Williams on February 11, 2021
When retiring a replicated archive server within SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional it’s important to use the recommended steps to ensure all replication information in the database for the server will be removed, along with any archives. CRITICAL: This operation is destructive. It is imperative that good vault…
SOLIDWORKS Manage 2021 Database Update Prompt
By Justin Williams on December 22, 2020
New in SOLIDWORKS Manage 2021, after updating the client, when logging in; the user is prompted before updating the database to the new version. Previously, on login, the database was updated without warning. But what does this mean? STOP: Upgrading the database will force all…
How to Configure the SOLIDWORKS PDM Local HOSTS file to resolve the Server Name
By Justin Williams on December 8, 2020
By default, the SOLIDWORKS PDM client is set to use server name, which via DNS lookup will resolve the IP number and communicate with the server. In a perfect world, the DNS server configuration will resolve quickly and not cause any issues, but this isn’t…
How to troubleshoot SOLIDWORKS PDM with an Extended Ping Test
By Justin Williams on December 3, 2020
Updated 2025-06-04 When troubleshooting problems within SOLIDWORKS PDM, especially performance issues, it’s important to ensure the client has a strong connection to the server components. Often, tech support will request an extended ping test, to look for issues. How to complete an extended ping test…
SOLIDWORKS Manage 2021 Enhanced Settings for File Promotion from PDM
By Justin Williams on December 2, 2020
New in SOLIDWORKS Manage 2021, we have enhanced controls for referenced files when promoting from SOLIDWORKS PDM to ensure all the required references are captured, and there are no orphaned records causing discrepancies between the vault and Manage BOM. PDM File Promotion Settings Start the…
Export Interference Detection Results in SOLIDWORKS 2021
By Justin Williams on November 30, 2020
In SOLIDWORKS 2021 we now have the ability to export Interference Detection Results as a spreadsheet. This can be useful in scenarios, where you need to compare similar designs, or maybe the analysis further examination outside of SOLIDWORKS. How to Export Interference Detection Results From…
I’m a big fan of Windows Dark Mode or any app that offers it for that matter. The darker my screen is the better. Although SOLIDWORKS does not have an official complete ‘Dark Mode’ option, we can make a few changes to make it more…
SOLIDWORKS 2021 Active Window Highlighting
By Justin Williams on November 25, 2020
If you’re anything like me you can have multiple SOLIDWORKS files open at any one time. If a command is open on one model it prevents selecting a different window until the command was closed or completed. As a user, this used to slow me…
Using the SOLIDWORKS Manage Database Debug Mode can generate a log file that can be analyzed by your support team, to help expedite the troubleshooting process. Database debug mode needs to be activated at the user level and the log will store the last 100…
SOLIDWORKS PDM 2021 New Column Configuration Controls
By Justin Williams on November 11, 2020
Included with SOLIDWORKS PDM 2021, are controls within the columns node, giving more control to customize the view so the content you care about is where it’s needed. Columns Tab Move to Top/Bottom Allows users to quickly sort the variables, moving them to the…
What’s required within SOLIDWORKS PDM after a SOLIDWORKS Manage upgrade?
By Justin Williams on November 9, 2020
After an upgrade to SOLIDWORKS Manage, there are a few steps required to ensure the new version of the add-in is loaded, and the records between Manage and PDM remain up to date. Step 1: Update the Manage add-in within SOLIDWORKS PDM Open the SOLIDWORKS…
New in SOLIDWORKS PDM 2021, the Bill of Materials (BOM) Options set within SOLIDWORKS will be inherited by the Computed BOM in PDM: Learn what each of the three BOM options provide below: BOM Option: Show Will show the subassembly and all the child components…