I am using SW2011 with SP3.

I have been using the Replace Components function (which launches the Replace Mate Entities) and the Replace Mate Entities function in assemblies and some of the behaviors have become a real annoyance. I was wondering if others have noticed the same issues.

When you launch the replace mate entities function or it automatically launches in the second phase of the replace components function SolidWorks automatically pops up the Isolate toolbar. The problem is that the toolbar location is keyed to your mouse location. Particularly in the Replace Components mode, your mouse is more often then not right over the green check since you just clicked it to get to the next part of the function. So you end up dragging the toolbar off someplace out of the way in order to get to the green check again. If you use it enough you find you click and dash the mouse so that the mouse pointer is anywhere but over the check mark by the time the software grabs the location.

The second behavior that needs work is of a similar issue. When Replace Components launches the replace mate entities function in addition to the Isolate toolbar, it also pops up an inset preview window showing the surfaces of the newly replaced item and the particular mate entity selected in the feature manager. The preview window is great. Its popup location is not. Again, it pops up half over the feature manager. You can click and drag a border to relocate it, but it is a "skinny" border and right against the quick launch tabs. And the location you drag it to is not retained. So you must repeat the moves each time.

The third annoyance comes when launching the Replacing Mate Entities directly. Besides the Isolate toolbar issue described above, of the two mate entities listed in the feature manager, the top one is always preselected. The feature manager never preselects the problematic entity. If a mate goes bad due to some other changes and I EDIT the mate feature, SW immediately tells me which one of the pair is the problem. So wouldn't it make sense that when launcing the Replace Mate Entities function that the problematic one would be selected since that is what you are going to be working on?

EDIT:

And the fourth annoyance involves the mouse feedback when replacing mate entities. Actually not the feedback; rather the behavior if you follow the feedback. If you launch Replace Mate Entities to repair a broken mate, select the problematic mate in the feature manager list (because the wrong entity is always preselected), click on the new entity in the graphics area, the mate entities in the feature manager get green checks next to them indicating all is well and the graphics area gives you mouse feedback or a green check suggesting that if you Right Mouse Click your new selections will be accepted (just the same as clicking the green check at the top of the feature manager. But if you execute the RMC you are just returned to the mate entities list box in the feature manager. So am I misunderstanding the intent of the mouse feedback?

Curious about your thoughts and if you are NOT seeing such behavior. I have attempted to get some screen captures of this but don't have a utility and the built-in Windows XP functionality is not behaving... I'll add later if I get it to work.

Daen