SolidWorks 2010 Bible

Part V: Creating Drawings

FIGURE 22.13

Accessing symbols and the symbol library

Creating custom symbols

You can create custom symbols in SolidWorks, but creating them may not be as simple as you

expect. In the lang\english subfolder of the SolidWorks installation directory is a file called

Gtol.sym. This file stores the representations of all the SolidWorks symbols. It is also where you

can create symbols of your own. You can edit the file in Notepad.

Be warned, however. Unless you enjoy writing scripts for the command line, or you are a fan of

DOS 5.0, you may not want to create custom symbol projects. The format for creating symbols is

simple enough, but it is what you might call somewhat arcane. It is effective at creating line-art

symbols that can be used with text and can even be used to contain text. If you are a little inventive

with this, you can create interesting shapes that integrate with your notes and dimensions.

Keep in mind that this topic does not appear in the Help files, but all the instructions you need are

inside the file itself. You may have to experiment a little to discover what the rules are in terms of

making shapes outside of the limits of the 1X1 matrix. It is probably easier to create the geometry

using Blocks functionality, but blocks cannot be inserted into text notes as easily as symbols.

Using Center Marks and Centerlines

You can apply center marks either manually or automatically to edges that project as circular in
the drawing view. To find the settings that control automatic insertion, choose Tools ➪ Options ➪
Document Properties ➪ Drafting Standard ➪ Centerlines/Center Marks. The size of the mark at the
center and the use of lines extending to the actual circular edge are also controlled on this tab, in
the Center Marks section. Figure 22.14 shows some of the options available for center marks.

Center marks propagate well to patterns, and you can dimension to them individually. You can

rotate center marks in views where they need to be referenced from an edge that is not horizontal.

You can also place center marks into layers.