Document Windows
In SOLIDWORKS, each part, assembly, and drawing is referred to as a document, and each document is displayed in a separate window. For drawings, each document can contain multiple drawing sheets.
- The main section of the window, where the model or drawing appears, is the graphics area.
- The left panel displays managers such as the FeatureManager design tree, the PropertyManager, and the ConfigurationManager.
- You can open multiple part, assembly, and drawing document windows. Also, you can have multiple views of the same document visible at the same time by opening a new window or by using viewports.
- You can hover over the title bar of a minimized document to see its name, thumbnail, and path. Click to arrange the minimized documents starting in the lower-left corner of the window.
- Full Screen Mode hides the menus, status bar, Task Pane, and FeatureManager design tree to gain space in the graphics area. You can change the visibility of open toolbars and the FeatureManager design tree separately.
- An asterisk (*) next to the document name in the menu bar indicates that the document has changed since it was last saved.
New Window
Creates a new window, with another view of the original document, for viewing the active part, assembly, or drawing.
You can zoom or rotate the view, change view mode, adjust the FeatureManager design tree, and so on for each window independently. Any changes you make to the model are reflected in all windows.
To open another view of the active document in a new window:
Cascade
Arranges all SOLIDWORKS document windows so they overlap with title bars visible.
To cascade document windows:
Tile Horizontally - Tile Vertically
Arranges the open SOLIDWORKS document windows so they are all visible.
To tile the document windows:
-
Click Tile Horizontally
(Standard toolbar) or to display the windows horizontally.
-
Click Tile Vertically
(Standard toolbar) or to display the windows vertically.