Office Closed Due to Coronavirus? Here's How to Use SOLIDWORKS at Home

We are pleased to announce that Dassault Systèmes is continuing to work with our Value-Added Resellers (VARS) to help our customers during this time of uncertainty that is caused by the COVID-19 virus and resulting need for social distancing.

The 3DEXPERIENCE platform enables great design and collaboration anywhere on any device as we all adjust to a new reality of working from home or away from the office. Learn how to get up and running on the cloud with our latest solutions here.

For current SOLIDWORKS desktop users, SOLIDWORKS offers a host of solutions that can enable you to work from outside your office, and your SOLIDWORKS VAR is there to help you every step of the way.

The first step is to determine which license type you have. The easiest way to do this is to launch SOLIDWORKS, then from the main menu click ‘Help’ > ’About SOLIDWORKS’ > ‘Show Serial Number’ and you will see your serial number.

If your serial number starts with 0000, 0001, 9000 or 9001, it is a commercial standalone serial number:

If your serial number starts with 0010 or 9010, it is a SolidNetwork License (SNL) serial number and the process for using it at home is slightly different.

Standalone Serial Numbers

If your serial number is a standalone license, there are several options. The first is to transfer your license and reactivate on another computer like the one in your home or laptop. To transfer a license, the method is called “Deactivation.” These steps are detailed here.

The other option is to utilize Online Licensing, which associates your license with a user login rather than a machine. To learn how to manage your standalone license with online licensing, visit this link here.

If you do not have access to your computer and cannot transfer (Deactivate), please contact your SOLIDWORKS VAR.

SolidNetwork License (SNL) Serial Numbers

If your serial number is a SolidNetwork License (SNL), there are several options as well. The easiest is to check out a license through a VPN connection. Please work with your IT Department to set up a secure VPN connection. This will enable you to access the license from your home office. Note: launching SOLIDWORKS may be slower while using a VPN connection compared to using your usual office network connection.

If you do not have VPN access and if you are still in your office, the next solution is to borrow a license. This will enable you to take your computer home and work with SOLIDWORKS for the next 30 days (this is the maximum time for borrowing a license). Borrowing should be performed in the office connected to your network and NEVER over a VPN connection. When you borrow a license, the license will remain with your machine regardless of whether SOLIDWORKS is in use on your machine, so the license cannot be shared with other users until you return it.

If you need to keep a license for more than 30 days, SOLIDWORKS also offers term licensing options, which you can learn more about here.

To borrow a license, see this article and the screenshot below:

If the above solutions do not address your situation, then please contact your SOLIDWORKS VAR. Your Reseller is your local partner and resource to help you to stay productive during these challenging times.

Thank you to Lennart Tinndahl from PLMGroup for contributing content to this article.

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Mark Johnson

Expert Technical Support Engineer, Escalation Manager for the Americas at SOLIDWORKS

Mark Johnson is the SOLIDWORKS Escalation Manager for the Americas. He also has resolved the highest number of technical support cases in SOLIDWORKS support history – over 45,000! This experience gives him a unique perspective which he leverages to train our VAR community and take part in the SOLIDWORKS Development process to improve overall customer experience. Mark also hosts and organizes the SOLIDWORKS World AE Workshop for the past 10 years and The VAR Performance Tuning Workshops (VPTW) at company HQ.