Saving Modified Documents

When saving or closing an assembly or other document that includes modified documents, or closing the application with one or more modified documents open, you can save modifications to multiple open documents in the Save Modified Documents dialog box.

You can:
  • Save all modified documents
  • Selectively save modified top-level documents
  • Discard changes to all documents
Read-only documents and documents saved by other users during your session are indicated in the dialog box.

Saving All Modified Documents

You can save modifications to multiple open documents in the Save Modified Documents dialog box.

To save all modified documents:

With all documents selected, click Save All in the Save Modified Documents dialog box.
Read-only documents and documents saved by other users during your session are indicated in the dialog box.
Select Do not save read-only documents to avoid overwriting read-only files.

Saving Selected Modified Documents

Save modifications to multiple open documents in the Save Modified Documents dialog box.

To save selected modified documents:

  1. From the Save Modified Documents dialog box, clear the parent document of the documents that you are not saving.
  2. Select the documents to save.
  3. Click Save Selected in the Save Modified Documents dialog box.
    Child documents are saved with selected parent documents.
Read-only documents and documents saved by other users during your session are indicated in the dialog box.
Select Do not save read-only documents to avoid overwriting read-only files.

Save Modified Documents Dialog Box

The Save Modified Documents dialog box appears when you save or close more than one modified document.
Save column Displays modified documents and provides for the selection of documents to save.
File Name column Lists documents to save. Referenced documents are indented underneath the documents to save.
Click to show references Expands a hidden referenced file list.
Click to hide references Hides an expanded reference file list.
Do not save read-only documents When selected, prevents saving changes to read-only documents.
Go to Tools > Options > System Options > External References and select Don't prompt to save read-only referenced documents to avoid listing read-only referenced documents in this dialog box.
Cancel Cancels saving the documents without closing them.
Don't Save Closes all documents without saving them.
Don't ask me again when saving When selected, all modified references are automatically updated and saved when you save an open document.
Click to find For read-only documents, displays the user or network entity with write access to the file.

If you make changes to a subassembly and the top-level assembly is open, when you close the subassembly, the following options appear:

Save All Saves to disk any changes to the parts, the subassembly, and the top-level assembly.
Keep All Does not save changes in the part or subassembly files to disk, but continues to display the changes in the top-level assembly. When you close the top-level assembly, the software prompts you again to save. If you choose not to save, the changes to the part files and subassembly are discarded.
Discard All Discards the changes in the part documents, subassembly, and top-level assembly.
File highlighting:
  • Green indicates that the file is updated to the current version of SOLIDWORKS when you save it.
  • Red indicates that the file has been saved by another user during your session.
You cannot save a file without saving its references.
The Save As dialog box appears when you save read-only documents so that you can change the file name or location.