Purging SW Files

[SWISGR8]

Anyone know much about purging SW files and/or any good freeware for doing so?

 

[handleman]

What do you mean by "purging"?

 

[SWISGR8]

That's mostly what the first part of my question is about. I dont know much about it, but I heard or read somewhere that SW files sometimes can benefit from being purged of obsolete info in a similar way that ACAD files do.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

"Purging" files is (among others) an ACAD thing. It cleans up dwg files.

The nearest thing for SW would be Unfrag or Eco-Squeeze which remove the Windows "shadow" crap. Neither of those are recommended by SW, but most people have found they work well.

 

[SWISGR8]

That's what I needed to know ... thanks

 

[mncad]

Depending on your version of SW it can leave behind the "~$yourfilename" files in the folder that you were working on if SW crashes with a file open. Also if SW crashes it can leave behind alot of files in your temp folder, I'm in the habit of cleaning that folder every morning before I start any application. Also, depending on your SW version, it will put backup copies of your files into the "TempSWBackupDirectory" folder. That folder can get fairly large and needs cleaned out on a regular basis. I'm not smart enough to know why, but it doesn't appear that SW2007 does that any longer. The only other "purging" you can do that is similar to ACAD is deleting the unused blocks out of your drawing files. I have never found that to make any difference in file size or performance like it would in ACAD (especially if you don't use blocks in SW).

mncad

 

[SWISGR8]

sounds good. I didnt mean to throw everyone with the "purging", I was meaning along the lines of "house keeping". Thanks all for the input, and stop now, the more the better. For the temp stuff, I have the batch that I think it was SBaugh posted of someone elses and use it every night when shutting down. Works very well. thanks again.

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

mncad ... I use CCleaner to keep the temp files, trash, cookies, etc cleaned out. It can be set to run on boot-up and is very quick.

SWISGR8 ... Those utilities only clean the files temporarily. As soon as the files are opened and re-saved, the Windows bloat will return.

 

[SWISGR8]

Ah yes, crapcleaner, havent used that in a while. So does that mean there is no way of "cleaning up" SW files toward a better performance?

 

[CorBlimeyLimey]

There is not a permanent solution that I know of.

 

[rlj4794]

If you take an assembly and do a "save as", you can reduce file size and improve performance sometimes.

 

[SBaugh]

Not that I have seen it happen myself, but SW will tell you if you use Ecosqueeze that if the file corrupts the refuse to help you or support you... because you used a compression tool that they didn't write... so "Use at your Own risk"

Regards,

Scott Baugh, CSWP

http://www.scottjbaugh.com

"If it's not broke, Don't fix it!"
faq731-376

 

[SWISGR8]

I hear that with the "use at own risk", just reaching for anything I can that's free due to the stinginess of my company and not being able to beef up my computer

 

[handleman]

Ecosqueeze won't make your computer run any better. It just reduces the file size on disk. Cleaning up your temp files is certainly a different matter, though.

 

[SWISGR8]

Not looking to make my computer run better, just assuming that any "cleaning" of files would work toward improving the efficiency of the computer in working with file(s).

 

[josephv]

Hello SWISGR8,

If improvement of SWX performance you seek, look at this link you will:

http://www.solidworks.com/swexpress/pages/jan05/TT_AssemblyDrawingPerformance.html

Sorry for the Yoda impersonation, I could resist not.

Good luck,

 

[SWISGR8]

Thanks Yoda, Look to the ideas I will. A lot of that is already incorporated in our setup and the way we do things, but there are some items there I will look at more closely. I really think it's mostly about the RAM though, but I could be wrong. I have 1GB, from what I have read, that is for all intents and puposes a min for what we sometimes get into. I could be wrong though. Just a revisit, Handle, I hope what I wrote in response to your post didnt come across the wrong way, I was just trying to express that in my way of thinking, there is a difference between "making the computer run better" and setting things up to allow a better output from the same level of computer performance, much in the same way that a simple cylinder will process better than a 1000-part assy with 400 top-level-mates. That's all I was getting at. And I'm not implying an understanding of file architecture or SW processing of the files.

Thanks again all.

 

[fcsuper]

Scott, I heard the warning about Unfrag late last year and it was first I heard of it. Do you know how long they've been cautioning against it? I know my VAR still has it on their website.

Matt
CAD Engineer/ECN Analyst
Silicon Valley, CA
sw.fcsuper.com
Co-moderator of Solidworks Yahoo! Group

 

[dogarila]

First time I've heard of this warning was some five-six years ago when I started using Unfrag. Since than I've used Unfrag on thousands and thousands of SW files and never had a single problem. I've never heard of anyone having a corrupt file due to Unfrag.

 

[dogarila]

Unfrag is freeware. Google it to find it.