SolidWorks 2010 Bible

Chapter 10: Working with Part Configurations

The Modify Configurations interface is still a relatively new part of the software. I still tend to use

either the manual or Excel-based techniques. I have not yet found a use for the middle ground

offered by the Modify Configurations dialog box, but I can see where it might be valuable for peo-

ple who might want to configure a couple of features without getting involved in a big spreadsheet.

In addition, I should mention that much folklore exists surrounding what is perceived as a prob-

lematic relationship between Excel and SolidWorks. Some users claim that Excel often causes

SolidWorks to crash. Beyond that, many workplaces may not have Excel available to them, either

because of the cost or because they use a non-Microsoft solution for spreadsheet applications.

These users still want the functionality of design tables even if Excel is not installed on their

machines.

The icons in the lower left of the Modify Configurations dialog box enable you to use the dialog

box for more than just dimensions and feature suppression. Figure 10.9 shows that you can also

use it to control custom properties. Some of these changes are new in SolidWorks 2010, so even if

you are familiar with this dialog box from a previous release, you might want to have another look

at it to see whether there is some new functionality of which you can take advantage.

FIGURE 10.9

Using Modify Configurations to control dimensions, features, and custom properties

The Modify Configurations dialog box does not give you control over everything. Some things that

you can configure, you cannot drive from this dialog box, such as part color. Design tables are still

the most powerful way to go, but Modify Configurations offers a lot of flexibility and immediacy.

Using Table Views .........................................................................................

The Modify Configurations dialog box adds significantly to your options for creating and editing
configurations. SolidWorks 2010 adds two very nice tools that add to the convenience and power
of SolidWorks configurations. The first of these two is called Table Views.

Table Views enable you to keep a small table of only the parameters that you want to show. The

Parameters drop-down list enables you to select which Table View you want to display, or to create

a new one. Using drop-down lists on the parameter headings, you can suppress the display of any

parameter in a new Table View.