Chapter 10: Working with Part Configurations ...........................................................................
If you have used the software for a while, you may remember not being able to delete or rename
configurations that are referenced by open documents. This limitation (at least for renaming con-
figurations) was removed by a service pack in SolidWorks 2009. Being able to rename configura-
tions referenced by open documents such as assemblies or drawings is an important change that
new users will probably take for granted, and veteran users need to be aware of.Cross-Reference
Chapter 14 deals with configurations of assemblies in depth. This chapter deals only with configurations of
parts. Configurations of drawings do not exist. n
If you try to delete a part configuration being used by an open assembly, SolidWorks simply issues
the message “None of the selected entities could be deleted” without explanation.If you delete a configuration of a part that is used in an assembly, but the assembly is not currently
open, the next time the assembly is opened, it issues the message “The following component con-
figurations could not be found.... If the configuration was renamed the same configuration will
be used, otherwise the last active configuration will be substituted for each instance.”You can delete groups of configs by window select, Shift+select, or Ctrl+select in the
ConfigurationManager. You can also use the right mouse button (RMB) menu, much like regular
features in the FeatureManager. None of the configurations selected for deletion may be active, or
referenced by other open and resolved documents.Sorting configs ...............................................................................................
In the ConfigurationManager, configs are listed alphabetically, not in the order in which they are
created. This has several advantages, especially when you have a large number of configs. For
example, if configs are named by size in a part that you are working with, then when you select a
configuration, you can type in a number and the selection scrolls to that place in the list of configs.
This makes it easier to select the one you are looking for, much the same as it works in Windows
Explorer.Alphabetization
This alphabetized order is significant because many other sections of the SolidWorks interface are
not alphabetized, which causes problems when you are searching for items in larger lists. Sections
that are not alphabetized include Help/Contents, Files of Type lists in Open and Save dialog boxes,
and the File Locations settings (Tools ➪ Options ➪ File Locations), Entity Color list, and several
others. If you are inclined to submit an Enhancement Request to SolidWorks, alphabetization of
lists is one topic that would benefit everyone and should be easy for SolidWorks to implement.Naming configs
In order for this sorting and alphabetization to work, you must first name the configs properly.
For example, if you have a list of sizes or config names from 1 to 100, then you should use 001,
002...100 as your syntax. This makes the config names easier to browse and type in. Syntax becomes
most important when you place a part with many configs into an assembly, because you must select a
config from the list, and typing in the first few numbers is often faster and easier than scrolling to it.