Jumping from 2007 to 2009--what do I need to know? 4

[Theophilus]

I've seen numerous threads on some specific questions, but with my situation, I'm wondering what sorts of things I need to know in making the jump to v2009.

Here's the thing--I really need to keep v2007 on this system at the same time if possible. With that considered, this won't be a cleaned-registry sort of installation, but will be running along-side the clutter I've accumulated through v2007.

Any tips on the installation itself (I plan to install from the DVD after SP1 is released). My VAR's presentation today really impressed me and I've got a page of notes of things I really want to try.

Since I've skipped v2008 entirely, I'm not yet familiar with the new interface. I've never been a fan of the click-a-lot command manager, but instead am quite particular about having a million tool icons available. On the other hand, with all the new stuff happening, I'm certainly willing to learn new tricks. What would you specifically recommend in setting up things for optimal efficiency in v2009? (I'm trying to transition from the developers' perspective to the users' perspective.)

If you know of something already mentioned in other threads, I'd appreciate a link to them.

Thanks!



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.

 

[Eltron]

They sold you at the roll-out, eh? Sucker... Sorry I missed it.

I'd say first and foremost you are going to have to be pretty diligent about keeping your 09 files separated from your 07 files. You'll need a decent directory structure or some other method to keep from getting your chocolate in your peanut butter, but I'm sure you already know this.

During the install I would recommend that you disable the WDS option, since it can be a memory hog and rarely is useful. There are several threads about WDS issues here and other fora.

As far as the UI goes, you'll get a lot of variation here. I prefer dumping all of the toolbars and the command manager in order to push the UI to its limits of speed. I use the "S" shortcut key, context menus, and liberal use of keyboard shortcuts to stretch the capabilities of the system. I would prefer if the context menus were customizable, but that's another story. You can do a quick search for "shortcut" or "s key" and find a bunch of arguments here and in other fora. If you what exact details of my set up, just drop me a line.

Dan

http://www.eltronresearch.com

Dan's Blog

 

[Eltron]

Sorry, I got a little "submit post" happy. I wish you could edit posts, anyway.

I failed to mentioned some of the biggest changes over 07. You've heard about pretty much all of them already, but I think they are at least worth mentioning. The whole PW/RV combination will take a bit of getting used to, but it isn't the worst in the world. Rob and Mike Wilson have some good primers. Also, the Motion Control which has taken over Animator and physical motion is a little different as well. So be prepared for at least some frustrations on both fronts.

Dan

http://www.eltronresearch.com

Dan's Blog

 

[Theophilus]

Thanks, Dan.

Is WDS Windows Desktop Search? If so, no problem--I can't stand search software, plus I have no need of it.

I've run two versions of SW on the same machine with previous releases, but it's been a while. I know what you mean about mixed formats for the files, but I'll not have a problem with it--I'm a stickler for organized directory formats.

Thanks for the "differences" heads-up. As for frustrations with something like Animator, I'm up to the challenge--I doubt I could be any more frustrated with it than I am now, but you never know.

RealView is spiffy and all, but since it's never allowed me to use my priority materials database of custom PhotoWorks stuff, I've found no use for it at all. Why should I set up materials twice--and then have the materials look different from one another? Weird. And now we've got PV360 (Hypershot knock-off) added to the mix. Joel, the SolidWorks Jedi driving the demo today mentioned PV360 might eventually replace PhotoWorks.

When you say the context menus aren't customizable, is that related to the "S" key menu? I'd hate to have to hunt around for a command if I can have it reside in a toolbar.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.

 

[JMirisola]

Seriously, Jeff, with the customizability of the 'S' key, you'll find that you hardly need your toolbars. (It's ok to let go of them, they'll be ok)
The context menus, though not customizable, are pretty good as they are.
You're going to have a bit of "culture" shock, but once you get used to things you'll be flying around I'm sure.

As for you dual install, just be sure you keep your toolbox files, and the like, separated. "Cross-pollinization" would be bad juju.

Jeff Mirisola, CSWP, Certified DriveWorks AE

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/jeffs_blog

 

[Theophilus]

Thanks, Jeff. I guess since I really haven't used the "S" key, I'm a bit leery still--I'll have to try it out to get any feeling for utility there.

No problem on the Custom File installation location. I always tell SolidWorks to dump that stuff under a directory with the specific version name mentioned. (I also usually sever my Toolbox fasteners and stuff from the default directory, so it all rides with the project. No more jumbo fastener errors for me.)



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Another thing to disable ASAP is the Dissection/Clip art function. It takes forever to run, is a resource hog, takes up oodles of storage space, and the more that's dissected the harder it is to find what you want. I found it to be a total waste.

As for the S key shortcut, there's no need for any trepidation there. Just imagine all the tools you need appearing next to the cursor, just when you need them, and at the touch of a single button. I love it! Combining that with an ever growing use of keyboard shortcuts and most of the time my command manager stays hidden.

I think you'll enjoy using it after a short acclimatisation period.

 

[fcsuper]

Never install Window's Search.

Matt Lorono
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
Lorono's SolidWorks Resources
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group
and Mechnical.Engineering Yahoo! Group

 

[handleman]

Of course, you can remap the shortcut bar from the "s" key to some location that's reachable with your left hand if you're in the habit of keeping it somewhere screwy like the right side of the keyboard... ;-)

-handleman, CSWP (The new, easy test)

 

[Eltron]

Don't you people sleep?

Theo, the context menus are the menus that pop-up whenever you right or left click. These are the ones that you can't change. The "S" key is separate from that. You can even map the "S" key to an extra mouse button if you like. Also, I forgot to mention that you should turn off the Instant 3D nonsense. There are a host of goofy things it causes problems with.

Dan

http://www.eltronresearch.com

Dan's Blog

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Actually I've found the WDS has proven to be useful on a few occasions. After de-selecting the XML filter in the Windows Search Options (aka Index Options) > Advanced >File Types the WDS workings are barely noticeable. (I believe it was pdybeck who alerted me to that trick) And once the main indexing is complete, the incremental indexing is completely invisible.

The caveat to the above is that I've also restricted the folders which are indexed. I only allow the folders I store my SW models in to be indexed; not the whole computer.

 

[sldwkmin]

Excellent post CBL!! I too have also found WDS and Dissection to be very helpful. Key to it all was taking the 5 minutes to understand what was happening and correctly adjusting it for what was needed. In place of the old classic "Doesn't work turn it off" before even knowing what it's doing or its intention.

In regards to upgrading, I'm sure this goes without saying but everyone at least skims the "What's new" document for each release including the ones they're skipping right?? ;-) I've found so many times that useful tools are implemented and no one notices. Taking the time to at least glance over the provided documentation will pay dividends!

Cole M
CSWP, CSWST, CSWI, CPDM
Certified DriveWorks AE
HP XW4300, 3.4g proc, 2.5g RAM, ATI Fire GL 3100
Dell M90, Core 2 Duo, 4g RAM, Nvidia Quadra FX2500M
Equus (custom), P4, 3.4g proc, 3g RAM, Nvidia Quadro FX3400

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

sldwkmin,

Thanks, but I'll have to disagree with the usefulness of the Dissection function. See my first post above. I admit I didn't use it very much though. Maybe I'll try again some day to see if anything has changed.

 

[Theophilus]

Thanks, guys, for the heads-up on some of those items. I have no need for a search function--my directory structure builds in the intelligence to find anything I need, so any amount of resources spent on "search" is a net loss for me--no way I'll install that noise.

What is the purpose of the Dissection function? What are the claimed advantages? It seems the problem is the use of too many resources.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

Some info on Dissection.

http://designsmarter.typepad.com/gabijack/2008/06/solidworks-2008.html

 

[Eltron]

The dissection function is supposed to give you the option of reusing features. This is sort of a "feature paint" option that was introduced in 08. I've never seen the use for it, personally.

Dan

http://www.eltronresearch.com

Dan's Blog

 

[Theophilus]

Perfect--thanks! And thanks for the warning against that--I don't have repetitive forms in my designs (hey, they make thousands [or millions] of copies of my widgets later--no need to over-duplicate things), so something like this wouldn't help in my area.



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.

 

[rfus]

I asked a question about the 09 task scheduler conversion wizard going into the 07 toolbox and updating the files when converting a 07 assembly, but got no response. I'm assuming no one has used it. This is something to be careful of if you use the tool.

I've had issues with some comp curves having errors when I bring 07 files into 09. I found bringing them into 08, then up to 09 rebuilt the comp curves correctly.

materials can go a bit wacky because of the way things changed based on placing material at the part vs. assembly level. I have always done all appearances at the part level, so it is a non issue for me. I saw a presentation from Rob where he did a good job of addressing the new ways that appearances work, and how an assembly can look very different if you placed materials at the assembly level in 07.

One other note, is that I started using 09 here at work on a machine that has 07, 08. When I did a fresh install at home of 09 (due to a hard drive crash) i noticed that I really like the setup of the color scheme. I had created my own on 07, but I liked the scheme in 09, so I restored the defaults on my machine. You may want to do the same, because the 09 install will use your reg from 07. Orange and blues kind of appeal to me.

I still have issues with driving 09. I find myself all the time instinctively going to the GUI like i'm in 07. Old habits are hard to break. But once you start going to RMB and S key for everything, you'll wonder why the didn't do it sooner.

I really have no use for this Fillet Xpert / Dim Xpert stuff, but maybe i just have't used it correctly.

Thats all that i can think of currently.

rfus

 

[Theophilus]

Thanks, rfus. How would you recommend I keep v2009 from using my v2007 registry entries if I plan to keep v2007 on this machine? I REALLY don't want to uninstall v2007 just to install v2009 (seems silly), but I would like to see the new defaults so I can decide whether to keep them (same with templates, etc.).



Jeff Mowry

http://www.industrialdesignhaus.com

A people who value security over freedom will soon find they have neither.

 

[sldwkmin]

I've found dissection useful in situations where you have a particular cut feature or pattern that doesn't necessarily lend itselt to enough use to justify creating a library feature but gets re-used occassionally. You can just browse for that feature and drag it in.

Cole M
CSWP, CSWST, CSWI, CPDM
Certified DriveWorks AE
HP XW4300, 3.4g proc, 2.5g RAM, ATI Fire GL 3100
Dell M90, Core 2 Duo, 4g RAM, Nvidia Quadra FX2500M
Equus (custom), P4, 3.4g proc, 3g RAM, Nvidia Quadro FX3400