What’s New in SOLIDWORKS 2022 Desktop Data Management Products

The 2022 SOLIDWORKS desktop data management products (SOLIDWORKS PDM Standard, SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional, and SOLIDWORKS Manage) have significant enhancements that make it even easier to keep your data under control while freeing you to spend more time designing products.

Here are just some of my favorites in the 2022 release.

First, let’s start with SOLIDWORKS PDM and the new features added to its unique Windows Explorer integration. We all know that previewing files via the Preview tab is a great way to quickly identify and understand the contents of vaulted files. The Preview is powered by eDrawings technology and now in 2022, you get the full eDrawings user interface.

This familiar interface allows access to commonly used commands, like the measure tool, with all its options. It also provides full access to the component design tree, enabling you to cross-highlight between model geometry and the component list.

With EXALEAD OnePart, a powerful search integration and discovery application, you can easily gain deep insight into your vaulted data. OnePart not only presents you with the results, but it also highlights parts that share a 3D similarity. With the 2022 release, you can incorporate a licensed EXALEAD OnePart environment into PDM Professional.

If you want to connect your SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional data via a web client, you’ll find useful enhancements to the Web2 client. First, a new “Configure card for web” button in the Card Editor has improved ways to display data card information. In addition, the preview in Web2 now supports more file types, including STEP, IGES, STL, Parasolid®, ACIS®, and JT, providing users even more helpful information.

If you take advantage of the Active Directory integration in SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional, you’ll appreciate a host of great new features. A new tool maps Active Directory user properties to a much-expanded PDM user properties list. Also, user profile pictures can be imported and viewed via the menu bar in Windows Explorer, where you can also let other users know when you’re out of the office.

Now let’s take a look at just a few of the terrific enhancements added to SOLIDWORKS Manage.

A new Share BOM capability that enables collaboration with external users has been added to enhance the powerful Bill of Material (BOM) editing capabilities introduced in the 2021 release. BOMs can be shared via a web link with users who may not have direct access to the system. Such users can share feedback via editable fields.

If you want to work more effectively with Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files, SOLIDWORKS Manage 2022 includes direct integrations for these applications to easily add Connected Fields, Check Out, Check In, Create New Documents, and other common actions.

SOLIDWORKS Manage has a helpful way to assign tasks that make it easy for users to update progress. When tasks are associated with SOLIDWORKS files, the SOLIDWORKS Manage 2022 add-in for SOLIDWORKS makes it easy for you to see files that have associated tasks and to access the tasks directly from the Task Pane add-in. Using Record Comments is an effective way to collaborate and get user feedback on system records. Now you can quickly identify SOLIDWORKS files with comments via icons and add new comments right from the add-in.

SOLIDWORKS Manage now has web links that provide quick access to system information via the web client. You can incorporate these links into email notifications, dashboards, and reports. This example shows a dashboard for projects where the web links are configured into the project numbers.

There are many more impressive features added to SOLIDWORKS desktop data management products. Find more information on other new 2022 features for all SOLIDWORKS products here. You can also visit this YouTube channel, where the SOLIDWORKS team takes you on an undersea journey showcasing this new release. If you have further questions or would like to see a demo, please contact your local reseller.