Drew does not start
If you have installed Drew, a Drew task pane should appear on the right side of SOLIDWORKS. It should always be visible, even if you have no document open.
If you don’t see the Drew task pane in SOLIDWORKS, please check the following:
Enable the Drew add-in
- Open the add-ins menu
- Enable Drew. For some reason, SOLIDWORKS does not always enable newly installed add-ins.
When the add-in does not start (and the checkbox resets)
If you enable Drew, close and open the add-ins window to find the Drew checkbox unchecked, Drew has failed to start. This usually happens because:
- You don’t have .NET Framework 4.8 installed.
- There is a conflict with another add-in.
- You are using a newer version of SOLIDWORKS Connected / 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS than the add-in supports.
Conflict with another add-in
To check if there is a conflict with another add-in:
- Uncheck all add-ins in the Start Up column.
- Close SOLIDWORKS and start it back up.
- Enable Drew in the list of Active Add-ins.
SOLIDWORKS Connected / 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS
SOLIDWORKS has recently added an extra requirement for partner products. They need to implement a partner key for each product and update this key every year.
If you are using a newer version of SOLIDWORKS Desktop, an older version of the add-in works just fine. The only difference is that the add-in does not appear in the list of “Partner Solution Add-ins” but in the list of “Other Add-ins”.
But if you are using SOLIDWORKS Connected / 3DEXPERIENCE SOLIDWORKS, they refuse to load an older version of the add-in and they will not tell you, the user, that this is happening. We are not happy with this new requirement, we think it’s hostile to their users and their partners.
We have come up with a workaround to let you know that our add-in is not loading. Drew 4.2 and newer versions will show this message.