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Is there a read-only viewer for SolidWorks? I am not sure if there is or not, but I am in need of one. So the men in the shop can look at drawings and parts, etc. without worry of their inadvertantly changing something.
Yes, I know about e-drawings, and it is a fine program with lots of functions. The one Idon't likewith is the fact that the men in the shop could mess up a model (whether meaning to or not) and then save it. I don't want the ability to save.
Edrawings have nothing to do with the model once an E file has been created. You can create a seperate directory and have them only pull from that directory which is full of E files. We use Solidworks Explorer in conjunction with Edrawings. I just proteted the files against change from the shop "group".
I'm just learning the system myself but, why not 'save as' .pdf format? Everybody has a .pdf reader. I just tried it with an assembly and a diagram - seems to work fine. No controls like those I remember in AutoCAD but the output looks fine. Nobody thinks of playing around with these files, they're for information only.
I used todo this, back in the day,when I didn't want to give away the diagram but the client wanted documentation. Good format for emailing, of course.
Yes there exists a solution, CustomTools, a SolidWorks gold Partner. In the CustomTools 2009 editions, there is a tool called Custom Viewer, which runs without SolidWorks installation and allows users to view, rotate, zoom and batch print any SolidWorks files (Parts, Assemblies, Drawings).
The good thing with this application is that it does not required SolidWorks to be installed, not like e-drawing. It is impossible for users to mess up with a SolidWorks file.
The application is connected to a database, and also allows users to view properties of the models, and it has a powerful search engine.
I typically use eDrawings for showing initial concepts to customers, works way better for compex things vs. a PDF file IMHO. (I use primarily Pro/E ,but same deal). eDrawing viewer can be used as stand alone (does not reqr SW or MCAD installed) , you can save it as html file and anyone can download a plug in and view models with web browser.
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