SOLIDWORKS Frequently Asked Questions

The CSWP/CSWA exams are available in the following languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), Korean, Japanese, Turkish, and Traditional Chinese.

This error is related to the installation of prerequisite VC++ components. To troubleshoot the issue, try reinstallation of VC++ components manually:

1.  Go to Start > User Account > User Account Control Settings. Set it to “Never Notify”. Restart the system
2.  Login as administrator
3.  Uninstall VC++ redistributable components (2008 and 2010 and 2012, 2013, 2015) from Programs and Features
4.  Restart the computer
5.  Login as administrator
6.  Reinstall: VC++ 2008 and 2010 and 2012, 2013, 2015
   1. a. downloaded files\prereqs\VCRedist9\vcredist_x86.exe and vcredist_x64.exe
   2. b. downloaded files\prereqs\VCRedist10\vcredist_x86.exe and vcredist_x64.exe
   3. c. downloaded files\prereqs\VCRedist11\vcredist_x86.exe and vcredist_x64.exe
   4. d. downloaded files\prereqs\VCRedist12\vcredist_x86.exe and vcredist_x64.exe
   5. e. downloaded files\prereqs\VCRedist14\vcredist_x86.exe and vcredist_x64.exe  
7.  Restart your computer
8.  Login as administrator
9.  Install SOLIDWORKS

No, a SolidNetWork License does not require subscription service; however, the benefits of subscription service will not be available.

SOLIDWORKS is not officially supported in the Mac environment.  We are aware of many users who run SOLIDWORKS successfully in a dual-boot Windows environment on Macs.  We are not aware of many users running successfully in an emulated Windows environment on Macs.  If you choose to run SOLIDWORKS on a Mac, your best chance for success will be choosing a dual-boot "Boot Camp" setup (booting in Windows) on your Mac.

SOLIDWORKS eDrawings and the free 2D CAD product DraftSight are supported in native Mac OS.

Please refer to this link providing system requirement information for installing SOLIDWORKS:

www.solidworks.com/SystemRequirements

No, to transfer an SNL license, use the transfer option in the SNL License Manager.

This can happen if you are kicked out of your session. Refresh ( F5) your browser and wait 30-60 seconds for the previous session to close.

The software will successfully reactivate in most cases. If your attempt to reactivate fails, please contact your Reseller Support for help.

Student Edition products allow for 2 activations.  If both activations have already been consumed, then you can contact our support team for further assistance by filling in the Student support form.  If you only installed and activated SOLIDWORKS once, then you can install and activate the license one more time without contacting SOLIDWORKS for assistance.

Generally, in this case, installation logs show an error with the installation of VSTA (vsta_aide.msi).

When trying to manually install the VSTA component by running vsta_aide.msi, installation of VSAT fails with error code 1305 "Error reading from file' during installation."

Generally, this occurs when the installation is running from OneDrive and the Installation Manager is unable to read some files from OneDrive leading to installation failure.

To resolve the issue, copy the all the downloaded files to a folder that’s local to the system, then run the installation from the local folder.

In most of the cases this problem is caused by unsupported graphics cards and drivers. To verify this, try to start SOLIDWORKS with Software OpenGL. Since SOLIDWORKS is not starting at all in this scenario, you can try to start SOLIDWORKS with Software OpenGL through SOLIDWORKS Rx:

1. Launch SOLIDWORKS Rx from Start > All Programs > SOLIDWORKS(version) > SOLIDWORKS Tools
2. On the ‘Home’ tab of Rx under ‘SOLIDWORKS Safe Modes’ click the option “Click here to launch SOLIDWORKS in Software OpenGL mode.”

If SOLIDWORKS does not crash in OpenGL mode, this confirms that the problem is due to the graphics card or its drivers.

To see the list of SOLIDWORKS supported graphics cards and drivers for your system (if your system is not listed please select Any System Vendor) follow the link: https://www.solidworks.com/support/hardware-certification

In most of the cases this problem is caused by unsupported graphics cards and drivers. To verify this, try to start SOLIDWORKS with Software OpenGL (if this option is not disabled due to unsupported graphics card). You can either follow the steps in the above question, or follow the steps below:

1. Launch SOLIDWORKS and without opening any document go to Tools > Options > Performance
2. Enable “Use Software OpenGL”
3. Select OK and now try to open a new part, assembly, or drawing

If SOLIDWORKS does not crash in Software OpenGL mode, this confirms that the problem is due to the graphics card or its drivers. To see the list of SOLIDWORKS supported graphics cards and drivers for your system (if your system is not listed please select Any System Vendor) follow the link: https://www.solidworks.com/support/hardware-certification

Here are some basic tools for using SOLIDWORKS in a browser.

Settings

Accesses more SOLIDWORKS applications, changes the resolution, shows and hides usage statistics, shares and quits the session, and so on.

My Files

Uploads files from your local computer to the Home folder using My Files

Launch Applications

You can launch SOLIDWORKS, SOLIDWORKS Visualize, eDrawings and Treehouse.

• You can access many sample files at Document > SOLIDWORKS Product Trial. Click File > Open to access the sample content.
• The Recent Documents list in the SOLIDWORKS software is pre-populated with files. Press R to access the Recent Documents list.
• Any files you create will be deleted from the evaluation system after you close the evaluation session, unless you save them to the Home Folder.
• To test your own data, you can Upload Files using the My Files tool  . TIP: Drag and drop files from your local Windows Explorer to the Home Folder (or sub folders you create) once in My Files. Files uploaded here are available to open via This PC > Home Folder

You can save files from the browser to your Home Folder and then clicking any file on your Home Folder will download it to your local machine.

To download files:

1. Save the files in Home Folder.
2. In the dialog box, click the file you want to download.

Click Profiles on the upper right of the SOLIDWORKS window and use the End Session option to quit the session. Save any open documents. Your changes will be lost if you don't save them before ending the session.
The SOLIDWORKS in the browser session may also end if it times out. Time outs happen if you:

• Exceed the maximum duration. The maximum duration of a session is shown in a countdown timer at the bottom of the screen while you run SOLIDWORKS in the browser.
• Do not interact with it (by keyboard or mouse) for 10 minutes.