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How to use the batch tool

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Drew is becoming a better batch tool. When you have no files open and you click Go to batch tool in the task pane, you see this window:

There are three sources for the batch tool:

  1. Active assembly: the currently opened assembly
  2. Select assembly: browse for an assembly model. We open it, then get all components.
  3. Select folder: browse for a folder. We find all SOLIDWORKS models (plus importable files) in this folder

Batch process an assembly

When you select one of the two assembly options, we show the batch tool. The batch tool consists of six sections:

  1. The selected blueprint from which to get import and export settings from.
  2. A list of tasks to perform on each selected file
  3. A row with filters
    1. Show root assembly
    2. Show sub-components
    3. Show parts
    4. Show assemblies
    5. Show Toolbox components
    6. Show suppressed components
    7. Show virtual components
  4. A search bar.
    1. It accepts both wildcards (question mark ? for one character, star * for multiple characters).
    2. You can also use it as a normal search bar.
    3. See How to use filters in the batch tool for more info
  5. A list of files
    1. Use the filters and the search bar to change the visible files.
    2. Every selected file (blue = selected) is used for the next batch of files.
  6. The batch size
    1. Select one of the defaults (10 or 25 files at a time or All) or make your own selection
    2. Press Start to go through all selected tasks for each selected file.
    3. If we’re done with that batch, we select the next batch of files for you. We do this to prevent SOLIDWORKS from getting overwhelmed, which could cause a crash.

All buttons in the Batch Tool explained

Drew batch create solidworks drawings

Here’s what each section does:

Batch-process a folder

When you select a folder as the source for the batch tool, you see a few extra import tasks:

  1. Import model
    • Any file that SOLIDWORKS can import (STEP, STL, etc), we can also read.
  2. Save imported model
    • Uses the same filename and the same folder as the importable file.

Drew batch import step files

The only other difference is the left-most filter button: Show files in sub-folders. The rest of the interface is identical to when you process an assembly.