SolidWorks Usability Feedback and Enhancement Suggestions

Dear SolidWorks Team,

I have been using SolidWorks extensively, and while it is a powerful tool, several usability issues make the workflow unnecessarily complex compared to other CAD programs like Inventor or AutoCAD. Below are my main concerns along with suggested solutions:

 

1. Visibility Control

Concern: Toggling visibility in assemblies is confusing due to multiple layers (Hide/Show, Display States, Suppression, Isolate). Inventor’s simple visibility checkbox in the browser is much more user-friendly. Most of the time it looks like in a Abracadabra world 

Suggested Solution: Simplify visibility toggles by introducing a single checkbox in the FeatureManager tree, similar to Inventor.

2. Crop View

Concern: Requiring a sketch just to create a crop view wastes time.

Suggested Solution: Add a direct crop view command without requiring a sketch.

3. Drag-and-Drop Workflow

Concern: SolidWorks does not allow dragging parts from the FeatureManager tree into the assembly like Inventor.

Suggested Solution: Enable drag-and-drop part insertion from the FeatureManager tree into the assembly.

4. File Extensions

Concern: Extensions like .SLDPRT, .SLDASM, .SLDDRW are unnecessarily long and non-standard compared to other CAD programs.

Suggested Solution: Consider adopting shorter, more intuitive file extensions similar to industry standards.

5. Leader Dimensions

Concern: Adding leaders to dimensions is not intuitive and lacks a clear command.

Suggested Solution: Introduce a dedicated 'Add Leader' command for dimensions.

6. Save As Behavior

Concern: When using Save As on a part, it often replaces the original part in the assembly. Users want to duplicate without affecting the existing assembly.

Suggested Solution: Provide an option in Save As to duplicate the part without replacing the original in the assembly.

7. Radius/Diameter Toggle

Concern: No quick toggle between radius and diameter dimensions.

Suggested Solution: Add a simple toggle button in the dimension PropertyManager to switch between radius and diameter.

8. Distance Measurement

Concern: Measuring distances is cumbersome. Selecting edges and faces is required, and center-to-center measurement between cylinders requires creating axes.

Suggested Solution: Allow direct center-to-center measurement without creating axes and improve the Measure tool for intuitive selection. See Inventor Software

9. Overall Efficiency

Concern: Compared to Inventor, SolidWorks requires extra BACKWARD steps for basic tasks, making it less user-friendly.

Suggested Solution: Streamline workflows and reduce unnecessary steps to improve overall usability.

10. Sketch Centering Behavior

Concern: Changing overall dimensions does not keep rectangles or multiple shapes centered unless extra constraints are added.

Suggested Solution: Provide an option to auto-center sketches when using parametric dimensions.

11. Parametric Dimension Linking

Concern: Entering formulas between dimensions does not create dynamic links; changes do not propagate automatically.

Suggested Solution: Make formula-based dimension links dynamic by default, similar to Inventor.

Thank you for considering these enhancements. SolidWorks is a powerful tool, but improving these areas would make it far more user-friendly and competitive.

Best regards,
George