SOLIDWORKS Manage 2022 is the latest release of SOLIDWORKS’ advanced data management tools. Like previous releases, SOLIDWORKS Manage 2022 offers functionality, usability and performance enhancements.
In this article, we will review the enhancements outlined out in the official documentation, What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2022 and elaborate with examples and real-world experiences. We will follow the order laid out in What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2022 to facilitate cross-referencing and provide links where applicable. We will also reference other sources to build on the material in What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2022 and outline additional enhancements.
Create Record Process Output:
In Create Record process outputs, it is now possible to attach new records and to specify a subfolder in which the new record is created.
Recent Files:
When adding new file data, this data can be selected from a list of recently accessed files. This saves the user from having to navigate to this data every time.
Object Structure Editor:
The process of editing object structures has been made easier by allowing an administrator to access the object directly from the SOLIDWORKS Manage user interface. Previously, an administrator would need to open the SOLIDWORKS Manage administration interface and navigate to the object in order to edit the object’s structure. Now an administrator can right-click on the object and select Tools > Administration (Structures) to launch the selected objects structure in a separate window.
Editing object structure.
Record Hyperlinks:
Accessing and providing access to records through the Plenary Web Client has been improved. A hyperlink to a SOLIDWORKS Manage record can be copied to an email or another document to provide quick access to the record. This is done by right-clicking on the record and selecting Tools > Copy Hyperlink.
A record can also be opened in the plenary web client directly from the desktop client. This is done by right-clicking on the record in the desktop client and selecting Tools >Open Record in Web Browser.
User Interface:
In SOLIDWORKS Manage 2022, several areas of the user interface have been improved. These improvements increase the user experience and make the interfaces more consistent. The table below lists these improvements as outlined in What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2022.
| Functionality | Improvement |
| Bill of Materials (BOM) layout | The controls in the BOM interface are modernized and consistent. |
| BOM flyout panel | The flyout panel in the BOM tab is reorganized. You can collapse different areas, providing a better view of information. |
| SOLIDWORKS add-in | You can reorder columns in the Open and Structure tabs of the SOLIDWORKS Manage add-in. |
| Where used as field tab | The object grouping displayed in the Where Used As Field tab (usually displayed as the referenced tab) shows the associated icon, module name and the number of results for each module type. |
| Process tab | You can specify the position of the history lines in the Process tab to display at the bottom or on the right side. This improves screen usage depending on the layout of the process diagram. |
| Project properties card | The project properties card displays a yellow information bar for consistency with other record types. You can collapse the system property and thumbnail image area to provide more space. |
Avatar Images and Icons:
For SOLIDWORKS Manage 2020, an avatar can be set for a user. To add an avatar, in SOLIDWORKS Manage administration navigate to the users tab, right-click on the user and select Set User Image.
Set user image.
Plenary Web Client:
Logging in to the SOLIDWORKS Manage plenary web client has been simplified. Previously, a user would need to log in using their SOLIDWORKS Manage password and then log in to their SOLIDWORKS PDM object separately. Now a user can log in with their SOLIDWORKS PDM username and password.
Check Out Rights for Affected Items:
In a process, administrators have additional controls over who can check out affected items. These additional options are:
- User who accepts this stage. This option limits check-out rights to a single user who accepts the stage.
- User(s) from this field. This option allows administrators to specify check-out rights to users for a specified object type field defined for the process.
Process access rights.
Replace User:
New to SOLIDWORKS Manage 2022 is the ability to replace users and specify the Change “Checked Out By” value.
Creating and Deleting Multiple Field Groups:
Multiple field groups can be created at once by entering multiple lines or copying and pasting text from other file types such as .xlsx, .txt or .csv. The use of Ctrl or Shift select can select multiple field groups.
SOLIDWORKS PDM User-Defined References:
Paste as Reference is a tool in SOLIDWORKS PDM used to create a link between two files. For SOLIDWORKS components, this linking happens automatically but not for other document types or unrelated document types (i.e., a PFD and a SOLIDWORKS drawing). These links can be created manually by pasting a reference. In SOLIDWORKS Manage 2022, these references can now be displayed for:
- SOLIDWORKS part files and other part files.
- Non-SOLIDWORKS files (such as PDF’s) and SOLIDWORKS part files.
Paste as reference in SOLIDWORKS Manage.
SOLIDWORKS Manage Performance Improvements:
A vital component of any new software release is performance and SOLIDWORKS Manage 2022 delivers increased performance as follows (the contents of the table below are from What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2022.
| Functionality | Improvement |
| Bill of Materials (BOM) Display | When specifying the Number of BOM levels to display options at 1, large BOMs display up to five times faster. For BOMs with “link to 3rd party” fields configured, the time required to calculate the values has decreased. |
| Projects | For projects with a high number of stages or tasks, the Gantt chart display is faster than in previous releases. |
| Check out/check in of SOLIDWORKS PDM files from SOLIDWORKS Manage | In previous releases, the check-out/check-In operations refreshed the entire grid in the background. Now, only the individual line item that last changed refreshes, making performance faster. |
As mentioned earlier, there are additional enhancements that are not covered in What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2022. Many of these additional enhancements can be viewed in a YouTube video created and released by SOLIDWORKS. The first of these we want to look at are BOM Filters. Filters are useful for finding items in a large BOM. In SOLIDWORKS Manage 2022, filters can be saved and saved filters can be managed independently.
BOM filters.
In order to facilitate sharing through emails or other documents, BOMs also take advantage of hyperlinks. A shared BOM allows others to make changes to the BOM without having access to SOLIDWORKS Manage. Any changes made will be carried through to SOLIDWORKS Manage.
Sharing BOM.
The ability to share BOMs is controlled by editing the Object SOLIDWORKS Manage administration.
Enable BOM Sharing.
The following enhancements in BOMs are covered in detail in SOLIDWORKS Manage 2022 BOM Enhancements:
- Sharing your BOM
- Bill of material filters
- Bill of materials latest version setting
- SOLIDWORKS integration BOM view
- SOLIDWORKS integration drawing BOM table
Inside SOLIDWORKS, there is now a tab where a user can see their assigned tasks. To make viewing Tasks events easier, there is a check box to only display SOLIDWORKS-related tasks.
Assigned tasks in SOLIDWORKS.
In this article, we have attempted to bring several sources that outline What’s New in SOLIDWORKS Manage 2022. The reader is encouraged to follow the included links for additional information on these enhancements.
With the release of SOLIDWORKS Manage 2022, we are starting to see the maturing of this product. Not only are there productivity and performance enhancements but a lot of work has gone into improving the user experience. These user experience improvements are achieved by providing a better user interface and cross-platform enhancements.
To learn more, check out the ebook SOLIDWORKS 2022 Enhancements to Streamline and Accelerate Your Entire Product Development Process.
About the Author
Joe Medeiros is an Elite Applications Consultant at TRIMECH, a premier SOLIDWORKS reseller servicing customers throughout North America offering SOLIDWORKS customers expertise in implementing and using Dassault SOLIDWORKS solutions.
Joe has been involved in many aspects of the Dassault SOLIDWORKS product family since 1996 and as an award-winning blogger, he regularly writes about Dassault SOLIDWORKS solutions.