SolidWorks 2010 Bible

CHAPTER

Using Annotations

and Symbols

IN THIS CHAPTER

Placing notes

Inserting and creating blocks

Accessing symbols

Appling center marks and

centerlines

Using annotations tutorial

Using balloons support on

assembly drawings tutorial

A

nnotations and symbols are a major component of communicating a

design through a drawing. SolidWorks has several tools available to

help you manage these entities to make engineering drawings look

good and communicate effectively.

Using Notes

Notes are the workhorse of SolidWorks annotations. You can use notes in
many different configurations and mix them with links to custom properties,
hyperlinks, and text wrapping boxes. You can also use them with styles,
leaders, symbols, and balloons; and you can even embed balloons into notes.

Setting up a workflow for placing notes

Sometimes users have difficulty working through some of the interfaces in

SolidWorks. This is not necessarily the fault of the software, but is often

because users may not fully understand how the workflow of a particular

feature is supposed to function. The Model View interface from the last

chapter is one that can be confusing until you have been through it a few

times and gain a more intuitive feel for how it works.

Understanding the workflow is paramount to being able to use the software

efficiently. I sometimes find myself using the annotations clumsily, and

sometimes wind up with blank notes, double notes, or extra lines at the ends

of notes. After using the tool a few times, I get back in the groove.

For these reasons, I have added some step-by-step suggestions here to help

you create an efficient workflow with annotations.