For years now SolidWorks releases the new versions with
over 200 great enhancements. Some enhancements are major and can have a
big impact on how we work in SolidWorks day-to-day. Others enhancements
may seem small and almost un-noticed, and they seem to touch a wide range of
functions. With the release of SolidWorks 2013, there have again been
some great enhancements that I know we will adopt into our normal design
activities. But there is a function I have been using since ’97 that has
just gotten a face lift and some added functionality. It may be a
function you use every day, or maybe every single file you work with. It
is the Orientation dialog.
For years this function has allowed us to change to the
standard views (Front, Top, Right, etc.), as well as add named views to be
created. Any orientation can be saved as a named view and available for
working in the model, or for a view on the drawings. The Orientation
dialog has always been there with a tap of the Space bar, and has been like a
trusted friend over the years.
And now, in SolidWorks 2013, it has finally gotten some
attention. The have redesigned it to an icon interface, with previews no
less. If you hover over the from view icon, you will see a preview of the
front view. Also included are the selections to split the design window
into multiple panes. But some of the more dramatic changes include the
ability to not only create saved/named views, but to allow them to be
persistent to other files. Yes, you can save a named view, and with a
click of a check box, allow it to be available in other models as well.
Another big change is
the introduction of the View Cube. This “widget” will allow you to pick a
quadrant for viewing. It is available on the Orientation dialog in the
top right corner.
If it is enabled, pushed in, it will be presented each
time you open the Orientation dialog. Or, if you would just like to work
with the View Cube alone, you can press Ctrl-Space Bar to have it presented.
So while there are always some AWESOME new enhancements
and functions added with each release of SolidWorks. I was inspired when
I saw an old friend get a bit of a makeover.
