Part I: SolidWorks Basics
- Press R. The rectangle macro runs and draws a sketch rectangle on the Front plane, cen-
tered on the origin. - Press Ctrl+S to access the Windows standard hotkey for the Save command. Name
the part rectangle.sldprt and save it to a workspace directory. - Press Alt+F and then click Close to exit SolidWorks.
The use of Alt-keys and hotkeys is somewhat exaggerated in this tutorial, but it is intended to get
you used to working with them.Summary
The SolidWorks interface has many elements because SolidWorks has so much functionality. You
can access most elements multiple ways, which can be liberating because it offers options, but it
also can add to the confusion because there is so much to know. You do not need to know every
way to do everything; you only need to know the best way for you. After using this book to find
the various ways of using the interface, you can develop the way that is most comfortable for you
and stick with it.Be aware that every couple of releases, SolidWorks changes the interface, and often, they use the
most radical options available as the new defaults. Keep a copy of your settings file with you, so
you can restore settings or take your settings to another computer quickly if you need to re–set up.