Hello to all,

Welcome to the new edition of the SOLIDWORKS® Support Monthly News! This monthly news blog is co-authored by members of the SOLIDWORKS® Technical Support teams worldwide. Here is the list of topics covered in this month’s Blog:

1. Transferring Custom Tab UI Settings with Macros in SOLIDWORKS® Across Different Machines

2. Securing Your Emails: SSL/TLS Support for SMTP in SOLIDWORKS PDM 2025

1. Transferring Custom Tab UI Settings with Macros in SOLIDWORKS Across Different Machines

–  Tanmay KULKARNI

One of the most useful ability of SOLIDWORKS is to customize the user interface to streamline workflows. The Custom Tab UI is a prime example, enabling users to add their own tools and macros for quick access across different environments like Part, Assembly, and Drawing.

However, once you’ve set up your custom tab with macros, you might want to transfer these settings to another machine. You also want to ensure that the custom tab remains intact, visible across all environments (Part, Assembly, Drawing), and correctly shows only relevant macros in each environment. Simply, importing User Defined Macros will not work. So how can you achieve this without disturbing existing settings on the target machine? You can follow the steps to ensure a smooth transfer.

Step 1: Creating a Custom Tab with Macros

1. Open a New Part
2. Customize the Tab: Right-click any of the existing tabs and select Customize. Then, right-click on any tab again and select Add Tab > Empty Tab. Name this new tab, for example, “Macros”. This will be the space where you’ll store your macros.
3. Add Macro Buttons: Once your tab is created, go to Customize > Shortcut Bars, then drag and drop your macro buttons onto the new “Macros” tab.
4. Configure Macro Path: In the macro button properties, fill in the details for the macro file you want to use. This will point to the location of your shared macros, which is essential for the macro to function properly.
5. Repeat for Assembly and Drawing Environments: Repeat the process for both the Assembly and Drawing environments with macros respective to those environments, ensuring that the custom “Macros” tab is created in each of these environments.

Step 2: Exporting the Custom Tab Settings

Now that your custom tab with macros is set up, you need to transfer these settings to another machine. SOLIDWORKS stores user interface customizations, including the custom tabs, in the Windows registry. Follow these steps to export the necessary settings:

1. Export Macros Registry Key: The first registry setting to export is related to the User Defined Macros. This setting ensures that any macros you created are properly referenced across machines. You will find this registry entry at:HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SolidWorks\SOLIDWORKS [Version]\User Defined MacrosRight-click on this folder and select Export to save the registry key.
2. Export Custom Tab UI Settings: SOLIDWORKS also stores custom tab settings for different environments (Part, Assembly, Drawing) in the registry. To transfer these settings, you need to search for the customized tab name and export the relevant keys. Use Ctrl + F to search for the name of the custom tab you created (e.g., “Macros”).The relevant registry paths will look like this:
   1. • For the Part Context:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SolidWorks\SOLIDWORKS[Version]\User Interface\CommandManager\PartContext\Tab[TabNumber]

   1. • For the Assembly Context:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SolidWorks\SOLIDWORKS[Version]\User Interface\CommandManager\AssyContext\Tab[TabNumber]

   1. • For the Drawing Context:

   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\SolidWorks\SOLIDWORKS[Version]\User Interface\CommandManager\DrwContext\Tab[TabNumber]

   Once you find the appropriate folder (e.g., Tab17, Tab10, Tab23), right-click and Export each one.

Step 3: Importing the Custom Tab Settings to Another Machine

Now that you’ve exported the necessary registry settings, you can move and import them to the target machine where you want to transfer the custom tab setup.

Important Notes:

• Backup Before Editing the Registry: Incorrectly editing or deleting registry keys can severely damage your operating system. Always make a backup of the registry before proceeding with any edits.
• Ensure File Paths Are Accessible: The target machine must have access to the same macro files as the source machine. Ensure that file paths for macros are the same or accessible across both machines.

2. Securing Your Emails: SSL/TLS Support for SMTP in SOLIDWORKS PDM 2025

– Danish Ahmed SHAIKH

One of the most highly anticipated features of SOLIDWORKS PDM 2025 is the introduction of SSL/TLS authentication support, enabling secure authentication to external SMTP servers.

In terms of hosting, there are generally two types of SMTP Server:

1. Internally Hosted SMTP Server (On-Premises)An internally hosted SMTP server is an email server that is hosted and maintained within an organization’s own infrastructure. It is physically located in the organization’s data center or on its premises. The organization is responsible for managing the server, ensuring its availability, maintaining its security, and handling any required updates or configurations.
2. Externally Hosted SMTP Server (Cloud-based)An externally hosted SMTP server is a service provided by a third-party email hosting provider (such as Gmail, Microsoft 365, Outlook etc.) rather than being managed internally. The email service provider hosts the SMTP server, handles maintenance, security, and scalability, and offers access to email-sending services over the internet

Before SOLIDWORKS PDM 2025, connecting to internal SMTP servers was simple by specifying the SMTP server name/IP address and port number in the SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration > Message System > SMTP Settings. However, for external servers like Gmail or Office365, direct configuration through the Administration tool was not possible. Users had to rely on third-party applications to establish the connection and configure the systems.

Starting with SOLIDWORKS PDM 2025, there is no longer a need for third-party applications to connect to external SMTP servers. You can now directly enable SSL (Secure Socket Layer) or TLS (Transport Layer Security) authentication for email notifications in SOLIDWORKS PDM.

In the SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration Tool, you can select EnableSSL under Message System > SMPT > SMTP Settings to enable SSL or TLS authentication in the SMTP email notifications. It is a two-way authentication along with the login credentials.

The following SMTP server are supported,

Gmail/Office365/Outlook/Yahoo Criteria for SOLIDWORKS PDM Notifications:

To configure SMTP notifications for an externally hosted SMTP server, you first need to enable Two-step verification and generate an App Password in your hosted user account settings.

Let’s walk through an example of how to configure SMTP notifications using a Gmail account. In this case, we’ll enable Two-step Verification and generate an App Password, which will be used in the SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration tool.

1. Sign in to your Google account. In the top right corner, Click on Google profile, and select Manage your Google Account
2. The Google Account page will be opened. Click on Security Tab, and enable/enroll for Two Factor authentication.
3. Once you enable Two-Step Verification, you should be able to see a new option App Password. If you are not able to see it, you can also search for App Password in the Search bar at top.
4. Generate the App Password and copy it to your clipboard.
5. Open SOLIDWORKS PDM Administration Tool > Message System > SMTP Settings. Enter the details as seen in the image below.
6. Click on Test Settings and enter the receiver email address to test SMTP notifications successfully.