Becoming a SOLIDWORKS expert is less of a destination and more of a journey. Every year along this journey, new features and functionality are added to the SOLIDWORKS toolset, and if you don’t keep up then you’ll get left behind. But don’t worry, in case you missed them, here are the 20 most important enhancements recently added to SOLIDWORKS.

First, let’s talk about the three key reasons why this is so important for designers:

• Design faster with increased productivity – A new productivity feature is added that never existed, so you can streamline your workflows to get the job done faster.
• Design better with expanded functionality – A feature’s functionality is expanded to remove prior limitations taking a tool from “don’t use” to “can’t miss.”
• Design more with all new tools – An all-new feature is introduced which expands what designs are possible with SOLIDWORKS.

2020

Drawing Detailing Mode

This is like super mode for your drawings. Drawing Detailing mode is similar to Large Design Review mode in how it significantly increases performance of assemblies.  It allows you to open large drawings almost instantly without loading the full 3D model data. Even though the full 3D data isn’t loaded, you’re not limited to just viewing the drawings – you can still have a long list of capabilities available to you in detailing mode, such as notes, annotations, GD&T and more.

Make Parts Flexible

With this new command, you can bring your designs to life by making any part in your assemblies “dynamic.” This new option enables you to evaluate not just the rigid mechanical motion of subassemblies, but also the way a part’s shape might change. It works by remapping the external references so geometry can adjust without the need for extra configurations or separate/additional files.

Don’t confuse this with making an assembly flexible. That’s been available for a long time, and just evaluates the mates in subassemblies so the components can “move.” This new command takes that a step further and actually updates and modifies the geometry for a part to change shape in an assembly.

Silhouette Entities

This new command traces your existing geometry by projecting an outline of your design (both external and internal contours) onto a parallel plane. Think of it as a way to combine the convert and project entities all into one command. When it was first introduced in 2020, it was only an assembly feature; however, it’s since been expanded to also include parts as well.

Torsion Continuity

G3 splines in SOLIDWORKS – if you know, you know. But in case you don’t, this is a step above G2 (curvature continuity). When working with curves and surfaces, continuity plays a crucial role in ensuring smooth transitions and “good looking” surfaces. To understand the difference between the various curvature continuity levels (G0 – position, G1 – tangency, G2 – curvature, G3 – tangency) you have to understand the math behind it. They’re all related via calculus (derivatives). But essentially G2 curves have curvature at their interface, where G3 curves take it up a notch because they also have the same rate of change of curvature at their interface.

Direct Mesh Editing

Working with mesh and graphics files is now more popular than ever and as a result, there is a growing demand for advanced editing capabilities of these files without converting. SOLIDWOKRS 2020 saw, in our opinion, the biggest jump in terms of functionality, but it’s gotten even better since then, which means you can edit 3D Scan files or  STL files directly in SOLIDWORKS without the need for additional software.

2021

The Best Lightweight Components (Resolve on demand)

With SOLIDWORKS 2021, you can automatically resolve lightweight components on demand just by clicking on them in the Feature Tree (technically, it’s when you “expand them” in the tree). But clicking on the components this way is the first time the geometry might need to be loaded for use, so it effectively streamlines the process so much that you’ll never notice the parts are lightweight.

This enhancement is so useful that it made the industry collectively say, “There’s now no reason to not use lightweight components.” Lightweight components load only the essential data – graphics and metadata – while resolved components load the parametric feature data so you can modify the geometry.

Interference detection reports in Excel

Interference detection is a great way to surface any potential mistakes early in the design process before you make any parts. In 2021, interference detection received the ability to export results to Excel, so you can easily share the results with your team, or a leader who might not use SOLIDWORKS. The new Excel file can also include a thumbnail image of the interference so they can easily visualize the issue and quickly work on a solution.

Search for Commands when Customizing the UI

Taking your design work to the next level is all about time savings. A big way to save time is to customize the UI and commands so you can work effectively. Why not save time when customizing itself? Now, you can search for commands in all the areas of the customization options.

2022

Double Mirror

What’s better than one mirror? Not two mirrors, because that would be two separate features. Instead it’s a double mirror; that is, one mirror feature created using two planes. With SOLIDWORKS 2022, we now have the option to mirror a part or feature about two planes at once. Previously, it took multiple features to achieve this.

Stud Wizard

This is like the hole wizard, but for external threads. With the Stud Wizard you can easily create threads using the same Machinist Handbook type library to easily create threaded features on cylindrical geometry.

The Q Key

This is a new keyboard short cut that was added to SOLIDWORKS 2022 which temporarily shows or hides your reference geometry, such as planes (including standard plans and customs planes). This streamlines your access to key features critical to your design work.

Better Command Search

The Command Search is well known as being a huge time saver to help you quickly access any command by simply typing in a few letters. It’s so much faster than digging through menus trying to find a command you only use once in a while.

With SOLIDWORKS 2023, the Command Search was brought to your mouse when it became integrated into the short cut menu. By pressing the S-key you’ll get access to your customizable shortcuts as well as the powerful command search, giving you instant access to any command. Bonus tip: You can add to the shortcut bar by hitting the plus sign.

Opening Assemblies

Large Design Review is a high-performance mode which allows you to open and use massive assemblies instantly. As of SOLIDWORKS 2022, you can open sub-assemblies in Large Design Review (or resolved) when you are in a parent assembly which itself is opened in Large Design Review. Think of it as a way to stay in Large Design Review mode, which amounts to huge time savings thanks to its performance-oriented functionality.

2023

Auto Repair Mates

It’s common for mates to “blow up” due to missing references. Normally this happens when geometry is modified. Now there is a solution to this problem with the new Auto Repair Mates tool. This tool automatically replaces the missing mate references with something that maintains the geometrical intention of the original mate. It’s like magic, and the magic has been extended to include patterns, as well.

Reset Default Settings

We’ve all been there, with an overly customized UI and you just want a fresh start. That fresh start has a name: “Reset Default Settings.”  This is available for the entire UI from the Copy Settings Wizard, as well all six of the individual UI components such as Shortcut bars, menus or keyboard shortcuts.   

Skip Pattern Instances in Configurations

Skipping instances for patterns was incredibly useful functionality that has been around for nearly a decade. But with SOLIDWORKS 2023, this functionality was extended to support configurations. Now, you can configure instances to skip, which offers more control and a simpler workflow to create variations of your designs.

2024

Symmetric Linear Patterns

This option for linear pattern is exactly what it sounds like. With a simple check box, you can create a linear pattern which is symmetric about a seed feature, making the process faster and more straightforward. Gone are the days of extra clicks and inputs to define a bidirectional pattern.

Reattach Dangling Dimensions

When a dimension loses its reference entity, it becomes “dangling.” This is a common occurrence when geometry or a configuration changes in a drawing. When this happens in SOLIDWORKS 2024, there’s a big red “X” signifying that a reference entity is missing. With just a click, the dangling dimension can be easily fixed by reattaching it to an existing entity.

Sketch Dimensions Preview

Adding dimensions to sketch entities has never been faster with this new workflow. Whenever you click on a sketch entity, you get a preview of the possible dimension. This is a usable dimension which can be converted from a preview into a Smart Dimension with just a click, which will help speed up your sketching.

2025

AI

AI is here to help you work smarter and faster. This enhancement is so important it earned its place as the exclusive enhancement from 2025 included in our list. When SOLIDWORKS 2025 was introduced, the community was shown an exciting demo of the Command Predictor. The Command Predictor uses AI to surface potential commands by predicating your next move. These commands are surfaced on the Command Predictor tab of the Command Manager. It’s practically the only tab you need shown in your UI.

That was the start of the AI in SOLIDWORKS 2025, and after the major release in the fall, new functionality has been added.

In the FD01 software update, auto generated drawing was added. This automatically generates a drawing from a part or assembly file. This takes time savings to the extreme by effectively eliminating the entire step of creating and annotating a drawing.

This has been a huge step in the future of design, but the community already wants more. Luckily, the next release is right around the corner. Stay tuned so you don’t miss the next wave of enhancements that will streamline your workflow, unlock new design possibilities and help you get more done in less time. But just in case, we’ll be here with the next list of top enhancements.