Hi All,

Have you had a chance to use the new Command Search feature in SolidWorks 2012? If so, we would love to hear your feedback.

Command Search was initially conceived as a tool for locating commands in SolidWorks. For example, if you are using a co-worker’s computer with a different UI customization, you could still find the commands you need without hunting through menus. This feature could also appeal to SolidWorks beginners, who are not as familiar with the application’s 600+ commands.

We also designed this feature to benefit power users. For example, I do a fair amount of surfacing work, but I don’t have a keyboard shortcut set for the show Curvature command. Even though this command is on the Evaluate tab of my CommandManager, I usually find it faster to just type the following:

1. M (switches search mode to Command Search, activates search bar for text entry)
2. CU (gets the Curvature command at the top of the list)
3. ENTER (activates command)

Bam! Curvature is now on, and I didn’t even touch the mouse. To turn Curvature off, type the following:

1. M (activates Command Search again)
2. ENTER (displays results list)
3. ENTER (activates Curvature command again, toggling it off)

Here’s another example. Let’s say you have a prismatic part and would like to apply a 1mm fillet to all edges:

1. M -> F -> ENTER (activates the Fillet feature)
2. CTRL+A (our new Select All tool captures all edges of a part by default)
3. 1 (your fillet radius)
4. ENTER, ENTER (accepts fillet)

Again, this was all done from the keyboard and took about 5 seconds to achieve.

You can read more about Command Search in the 2012 What’s New guide. Our team is eager to hear what you think of this feature, and if you have any ideas for improving it. 

Thanks,

Ben