Always show reference planes?

[phudge]

hi i come from 'solid edge' and now moving to 'solidworks' i wanted to know if it was possible to always have the reference planes (Top, Front, Left planes) always showing, without them the area just seems empty and its hard to get any sense of direction.

also one other question, is it possible to have it so when you right click it gives you text (e.g edit Sketch, Edit feature ect ect) instead of just giving you a picture and you having to guess what it means.

thanks!

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Welcome to the Light Side.

Q1) Open the document templates (.prtdot, .asmdot), Ctrl select the planes in the Feature Manager (FM), and then select the Show icon (spectacles). Save the templates.

An alternative to showing the ref planes is to use the Reference Triad in the lower RH corner.
Tools > Options > System Options > Display/Selection and select Display Reference Triad.

Q2) Not directly, but if you hover over the icon, a tooltip or 'hint' should appear.

 

[mjcole]

In answer to your second question it's possible to have it show text as opposed to icon. In the attached image of
Tools > Customize > Toolbars

On the right side of the dialog there are 2 check boxes that control the Context toolbar settings.

I'd recommend unchecking the second option so you can associate the icons to the command name when right clicking and get the smaller icon only menu on selection.

The Context toolbar usually shows edit commands Edit Feature or Edit sketch while the second row shows action commands like Show/Hide, Normal to, Insert Sketch.

Michael

 

[phudge]

Hi Guys thanks for the help much appreciated! the answer to my second question is perfect, its much nicer having text as opposed to just an icon!

with my first question CorBlimeyLimey that is pretty much what i want but there are a few things i miss from solid edge.

the main one being if i draw a sketch on a plane, the plane will then resize it self to fit around the sketch, i would prefer this if it was stuck without changing.

http://www.geocities.com/segurucool/newin1613.gif

here is an example of what solid edge looks like.

Thanks guys!