The following list of questions and answers has been compiled from the most popular requests we receive through our website. If you have additional questions, please be sure to visit our support page.

General Questions

1. What is SolidView Maintenance, Enhancement, and Support?
• Every new license includes 90 days of free SolidView MES support.
• A SolidView MES subscription ensures your business is compatible with the newest CAD systems.
• MES subscribers get unlimited technical support.
• See the MES pricing schedule and upgrade fee comparison
• Download the detailed PDF Description of SolidView MES
2. Which versions of CAD do you support?
Please visit the Cad Interfaces page for the latest updates.
3. How do I check for updates in SolidView?
SolidView has a new feature named autoupdate. This will query SolidView for any suggested updates. Go to HELP | WEB | CHECK FOR UPDATES in the SolidView menu.
4. How do I access context sensitive help?
In any dialog box you can press F1 for context sensitive help.
5. Why does my previous License File not work?*
Each SolidView installation has a unique Program ID and Enter Key. If you require a new Enter Key you can request one at Request a Key Here

Please provide the Serial Number and Program ID. The Serial Number is located on the back of your CD jacket or on your invoice.
*Applies to SolidView 2008.1 and earlier
6. How do I contact SolidView?

SolidView Questions	SolidView Support
Give us a call	661-257-6699
7am-5pm Monday to Friday, USA Pacific Standard Time

7. What type of PC is suitable for SolidView?
Windows XP or higher is compatible with SolidView. The hardware requirements are low because of SolidView's efficient algorithms:


Minimum System Requirements
• Microsoft® Windows® XP Professional or Home edition (SP2 or later)
• Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon® dual-core processor, 1.6 GHz or higher
• 1 GB RAM
• 300 MB free disk space for installation
• 1,024 x 768 VGA display with true color
• OpenGL Graphics Card
Recommended System Requirements
• Microsoft® Windows 7
• Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 2.4 GHz or AMD Athlon X2 Dual Core 4200+
• 2 GB RAM
• 300MB free disk space for installation
• 1280 x 1024 VGA display with true color
• OpenGL Graphics Card
8. Is there a local SolidView office in my area?
SolidView has US and International resellers. You can contact us us to locate a reseller.
9. Is SolidView available in other languages?
SolidView is only available in English.
10. Can I use SolidView images in other Window applications such as Word or PowerPoint?
Yes. SolidView/Pro images can be saved as bitmap images using File | Save Image. SolidView/Pro can save an image in a variety of formats, including: bmp, eps, gif, jpg, pct, pcx, png, ras, tga, tif, and wmf. Choose the desired format from the "Save as Type" dropdown at the bottom of the "Save Image" dialog. You can then import these images into your word processing or presentation documents.
11. How do I register file associations with SolidView?
Go to File | Preferences | General, click the Register File Extensions button and uncheck file extensions you wish to have associated with other applications. You will then need to associate those file extensions with the other applications by double clicking on a file and selecting the appropriate application.
12. Can I align my section plane to make sections at different angles?
You cannot align the section plane however you can align the part or assembly to a x, y or z axis by picking on an element selector and using Modify | Align. *Note* Modifying a 'Select All' assembly with a section may lead to undesired results. It is preferred to Clear Section, Modify ( Align, Move, Rotate) then Define Section.
13. I loaded a model but some surfaces are missing.
First go to Display | BackFaces and make sure it is checked. If the problem is not solved you may need to change some of the import options for the particular file type, such as IGES, Catia or Pro-E. Refer to the Help file for the particular file type you are loading.
14. How do I install a Network copy of SolidView/Pro?
For detailed installation instructions, please see the Network Installation document.

Printing

1. I cannot get the desired section to print.
There are two different ways to display sections in SolidView/Pro. The first way is X-section which was created to cut STL files along the given section. The second section display is the Measure | Define Section which was created for the user to view and print sections. If the sections keep resetting when you try to print then you need to make sure you are in Measure | Define Section and not X-section. This will allow you to print the desired section selection.
2. SolidView does not seem to be printing correctly.
Printing problems are usually due to using incorrect or outdated printer drivers. This can usually be solved by updating your print drivers. Try visiting the web site for your particular printer, or use this link to a large inventory of print drivers: http://www.drivershq.com
3. Does SolidView print out to a plotter?
SolidView will print out to a printer or plotter as long as you have the appropriate Windows driver installed. Go to File | Print and choose the plotter in name field.

Measuring

1. I'm getting a negative volume, how can that be?

Extents Volumes are correct. The number is not only negative, the absolute value is incorect too.

In order for the volume calculation to be valid, you must have a complete object without any overlapping surfaces. If you are loading IGES or CAD files, make sure that the Orient Surfaces option is checked in the import dialog. In some cases, you can use the Tools | Surface Analysis feature to delete extra surfaces.

If the objects are single sided surfaces, you will need to use the Material Tab in the Measure | Object dialog to set the thickness of the object. You can enable the display of the "back side" of objects by selecting Display | Backface (or Display | Wrongface). Often this will help in determining if the object is complete.

If you still have problems, please send one of the files to SolidView technical support for analysis.

The Arc Measurement auto pick tool has problems picking an arc.

The Auto pick has a high tolerance in order to stay accurate. Any anomalies in the arc will result in a failed pick or an incomplete measurement. Use the 3-point pick or Measure cylinder to get around these situations.

How can I be certain that I am picking the correct vertex or triangle when I am measuring?

To make sure that you are picking the correct points in a measurement function it is recommended that you zoom in on the geometry and render in Shaded+Tris. Zoom by clicking the "WIN" button or F5 key then change shading by using the Display | Render | Shaded+Tris.

Network*

1. I've installed SolidView on our server but cannot access it from a client computer.
On the server, the Sldview directory must have read access and the sviewnet directory must have full read/write permissions. To ensure the shares are correct, try deleting the Sldview.net file located in the sviewnet directory from the client. If you cannot delete it then contact your system administrator to modify your permissions.
2. Network Error Message says "No license available. 1 of 1 licenses in use."
You can release the license by going to \\%servername%\ sviewnet and deleting the Sldview.net licensing file. This file will be recreated upon relaunching SolidView.
3. I've installed SolidView on our server but I am getting an Error that reads, "Fatal Application Protection Error."
This error is the software telling you that it can't see the license file:"sldview.net". The reason for this is because the file was either moved, renamed, the directory was deleted, or the share at the server is not set to a minimum of read write access. Test the shares by creating and deleting a folder in the "\sviewnet" server directory from the client. If this does not work, contact your system administrator and explain that you need to have full access to the sviewnet folder.
4. SolidEdge files don't load from a client connection.

The SolidEdge .dll's require registration at the local PC.

Open a DOS prompt and navigate to the c:\Program Files\Solid Concepts Inc\SolidView Pro\Plugins directory:

copy "draftdataapi.dll" "c:\" /v
copy "sereader.dll" "c:\" /v
regsvr32 c:\draftdataapi.dll
regsvr32 c:\sereader.dll


You will get a message box indicating registration successful.

5. Loading a Catia Model causes SolidView to exit.
SolidView can not access the plugins directory. In order to remedy the problem, make sure that client machines have read/write access to the Plugins directory on the server.

*Applies to SolidView 2008.1 and earlier

Converting and Viewing Files*

1. How do I view CAD files in SolidView?
SolidView reads and writes industry-standard STL, OBJ CAD, SolidWorks and VRML files. Import options for many 3D CAD formats are available with SolidView/Pro. For example, IGES/VDA, STEP, SolidWorks, Pro/E, Unigraphics, SDRC, Catia, ACIS/SAT, Parasolid and SolidEdge are supported.
2. How do I arrange multiple views for plotting out on a single sheet?
The only way to accomplish this task is to open the same object multiple times, Modify | Move the objects where you want them and then Modify | Rotate the objects to the view desired. If you want to save these views, you can save the objects as an SFX file.
3. Are there any options for 2D import into SolidView?
Yes, the options are contained within "adwmf.df" in the plugins directory within the installation directory of SolidView. You can change the pen color, the background color, the page width and height, etc.
4. What kind of information is retained when I convert from STL files to IGES format? What can I then do with that information?
SolidView outputs planar boundary rep IGES files. This feature was added to support machining from STL data.
5. What type of data is exported when I save a tessellated file as a DXF?
SolidView/Pro can import tessellated models and output DXF files in 3Dface Format.

*Applies to SolidView 2008.1 and earlier

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