SolidWorks 2010 Bible

Part I: SolidWorks Basics

You can also left-click the special tab on the right and skip the Add Tab menu. To add individ-

ual buttons, first find the button you want to add in the Customize dialog box by choosing

Tools ➪ Customize. Click the Commands tab in the Customize dialog box, and then switch

the CommandManager to the tab you want to add the button to, and drag the button from the

Customize dialog box to the CommandManager. You can remove buttons from the Command-

Manager by dragging them into the blank graphics window area.

Docking the CommandManager

In SolidWorks, you can undock the CommandManager and leave it undocked, pull it to a second

monitor, or dock it vertically to the left or right. To undock it, click and drag on any non-toolbar

button area of the CommandManager, such as around the border. To re-dock an undocked

CommandManager or to change its docking location, drag it onto one of the docking stations

around the screen. Figure 2.4 shows the CommandManager undocked.

FIGURE 2.4

The undocked CommandManager

Using Auto Collapse

The small box with the arrows in it in the upper right-hand corner of the undocked

CommandManager and the undocked PropertyManager is the Auto Collapse option. Early versions

of SolidWorks 2010 seem to have some inconsistencies in the way this option works with

PropertyManagers. You may have to resize detached PropertyManagers manually for various fea-

tures. When the option is active, the PropertyManager expands and collapses automatically, and

should not require scroll arrows unless the PropertyManager is larger than your monitor’s height.

In the condition it is shown in Figure 2.4, the undocked CommandManager will not collapse, but

if you click Auto Collapse, the arrows go away, and the entire CommandManager acts like a big

fly-out toolbar. This can be very handy because it saves a lot of space on the screen, but at the

same time, it requires additional mouse movement to open it up. This is the common trade-off in

this interface —you can trade screen space for additional mouse movement or clicks.

Mixing CommandManager with toolbars

To put a toolbar inline with the CommandManager, drag the toolbar close to the

CommandManager. A space on that row or column will open up. The amount of space that opens

up depends on the tab with the longest set of icons, even if that tab is not showing. To increase the