SolidWorks 2010 Bible

Part I: SolidWorks Basics

You can customize the Heads-up View toolbar by using the Toolbars dialog box (Tools ➪

Customize ➪ Toolbars).Customization includes turning the Heads-up View toolbar on or off and

adding or removing buttons. This is new in SolidWorks 2010. Previously, you could not turn it

off, and it had a special way of for adding and removing toolbar buttons. If you have multiple doc-

ument windows or multiple view ports showing, the Heads-up View toolbar only shows in the

active window or view port. This toolbar often overlaps with other interface elements when several

windows are tiled or if the active window is not maximized. It can run into the PropertyManager if

it is pulled out of the FeatureManager, as well as the ConfirmationCorner or the Task Pane.

Cross-Reference
Chapter 3 covers the Confirmation Corner in more detail. n

Menu Bar toolbar and menu

The Menu Bar toolbar is found just to the right of the SolidWorks logo on the title bar in the top

left corner of the SolidWorks window. By default, it contains most of the elements of the Standard

toolbar, and it is available even when no documents are open. It uses mostly flyout toolbar icons,

so again it follows the trend of saving space at the expense of an extra click. This toolbar can be

customized in the same way as normal toolbars in the Customize dialog box in the Commands tab.

This toolbar cannot be turned off, but you can remove all the icons from it.

Note
You could run the SolidWorks interface from just the CommandManager without any additional toolbars; you
could do the same with just the Menu Bar toolbar, customizing it with all flyout toolbars. The main advantages
of this toolbar are that it is visible when no documents are open, and that it makes use of otherwise wasted
space in the title bar. You might set up the interface for a 12-inch normal aspect display laptop very differently
from that of a desktop unit with a 24-inch wide screen. n

There is also a Menu Bar Menu, which is hidden by default. The SolidWorks logo in the upper left

of the SolidWorks window or the small triangle next to the logo serve as a flyout to expand the

main SolidWorks menus. You can pin the menus in place using the pushpin shown at the right

end of the menus in Figure 2.9. When the menu is pinned, the toolbar moves to the right to

accommodate it.

FIGURE 2.9

The Menu Bar toolbar and menu