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SolidPractices: Installing and Setting Up SOLIDWORKS Composer and SOLIDWORKS Translator

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Revision History
Rev #DateDescription
1.0July 2019Revised for use by customers and reset as document version 1.0
1.1July 2021Updated for version 2021. Adds more details in the Troubleshooting section.
1.2June 2024Updated for version 2024. Updated all the UI images as per the recent version, changed the command names as per UI and made necessary changes.

Note

All SolidPractices are written as guidelines. It is a strong recommendation to use these documents only after properly evaluating your requirements. Distribution of this document is limited to Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks employees, VARs, and customers that are on active subscription. You may not post this document on blogs or any internal or external forums without prior written authorization from Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation.

This document was updated using version SOLIDWORKS® 2024 SP2. If you have questions or need assistance in understanding the content, please get in touch with your designated reseller.

Preface

The objective of this SolidPractices document is to provide information that helps SOLIDWORKS® resellers and customers install and configure the SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ and SOLIDWORKS® Translator software. The document covers the following subject matter:

  • Installation and licensing of SOLIDWORKS® Composer™
  • Configuration of SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ for use with SOLIDWORKS® files
  • Settings to help users get started with SOLIDWORKS® Composer™

For SOLIDWORKS® Composer™, there are two main types of installations: standalone version and network version. It is possible to install both versions either with or without the SOLIDWORKS® Translator. The SOLIDWORKS® Translator software is useful for users who want to import SOLIDWORKS® files into SOLIDWORKS® Composer™, but do not have access to a commercial license and installation of SOLIDWORKS®.

Effective with the release of SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ 2015 SP2 in February 2015, there were some changes resulting from the rebranding of 3DVIA Composer to CATIA Composer at that time. There were also changes to the process names and registry names for SOLIDWORKS® Composer™. For this reason, this document focuses on SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ 2015 SP2 and later versions.

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  1. Installing SOLIDWORKS Composer
  2. Hardware

When preparing for an installation, the first step is to review the system requirements. The requirements for SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ and SOLIDWORKS® Translator are the same as the requirements for SOLIDWORKS®. The requirements appear on the System Requirements page of the SOLIDWORKS® website, including operating system and recommended RAM. In particular, the recommendations suggest using a graphics adapter with 3D OpenGL hardware acceleration.

Prerequisites

SOLIDWORKS® ComposerTM does not have any specific prerequisites. SOLIDWORKS® Translator has the same prerequisites as SOLIDWORKS®.

Sources

You can download SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ from the SOLIDWORKS® Customer Portal.

Todownloadthe installation files from the SOLIDWORKS® Customer Portal, customers must have an active subscription contract and register the product in the Customer Portal.

After logging in to the Customer Portal, go to Download > Downloads and Updates and then click the SOLIDWORKS tab.

As a side note, there is a separate download under the FREE TOOLS tab called SOLIDWORKS Composer Player/Add-in. These products are not necessary for SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ users because they are included in the SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ installation. SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ Player allows users to view SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ files. The Composer Add-in allows SOLIDWORKS® users to export SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ files in the SMG file format, which can be provided to a SOLIDWORKS Composer user. For detailed information about the SOLIDWORKS®

Import

options, see the SOLIDWORKS® Question and Answer article QA00000122226“SolidPractices: Importing SOLIDWORKS Data and Understanding the SOLIDWORKS Composer Update Functionality”.

SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ and SOLIDWORKS® Translator

For the installation and first use of SOLIDWORKS® Composer™, users must have administrative permissions. To install the software, follow these steps:

  1. Begin the installation by double-clicking the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager SolidWorksSetup.exe file.
  2. Select Install on this computer, and then click Next.

The SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ installation includes the free version of SOLIDWORKS® Composer™Player. You should only enter a serial number for SOLIDWORKS® Composer™Player Pro if you have a separate license for that product.

page, specify the products that you want to install.

In addition, there is no longer a prompt to select the default SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ language during installation. You can now specify the language in the SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ Application Preferences after completing the installation. Effective with the release of SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ 2017 SP4, the following languages are available: English, French, German, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), Japanese, Korean, and Italian.

  1. After selecting the products to install, select the check box to accept the terms of the SOLIDWORKS License Agreement, and then click Install Now.
, where 25734 is the default port number.

It is also possible to install SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ from a command line or from an administrative image.

SOLIDWORKS SolidNetWork License (SNL) Manager

To install the SolidNetWork License (SNL) Manager, follow these steps:

  1. Run the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager.
  2. On the Welcome page, select the Install Server Components option and then select the Install SolidNetWork License Manager option. You should perform this action on the computer that serves as the license server.

 

  1. Accept the SOLIDWORKS License Agreement and then click Install Now.
  • Overview

  • SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ uses activation-based licensing, which is an automatic way of authenticating and managing licensing information. SOLIDWORKS® uses the same licensing method. A benefit of activation-based licensing is that after activating the license on a particular computer, the user can transfer the license for activation on a different computer. The Product Activation wizard is used to accomplish this. Resellers can learn more about how activation works in the document “SolidPractices: SOLIDWORKS Licensing Information and Troubleshooting”, which is available in the MySolidWorks under Support > SolidPractices.

    This section explains how SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ uses activation licensing. Each seat of SOLIDWORKS Composer allows a single activation. This applies to both standalone and network seats.

    Standalone

    You can activate a standalone license the first time you open the SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ application. After completing the SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ installation, double-click the SOLIDWORKS Composer icon on the desktop or run the program from the Windows® Start menu. The SOLIDWORKS License Agreement will appear followed by the SOLIDWORKS Product Activation wizard.

    wizard, select I want to activate my SolidWorks product now, and then click Next.. Select the product and then click Next. (blue question mark) icon, and then click About to confirm the serial number and software version.

    The network version of SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ requires a license server with activated licenses. After installing the SOLIDWORKS Composer SNL Manager on the server, run the SNL Manager from the Windows Start menu > SOLIDWORKS Tools [version] >

    SolidNetWork License Manager Server [version]

    . A message appears that prompts you to activate the network licenses. Click Yes.

    If the server uses a firewall, activate the A firewall is in use on this server option. This limits the port assignment for the license server to 25734 and 25735, unless other port numbers are specified.

    .

     

    tab and use the Product menu to verify how many licenses of each type of license are available. For more information about using the SNL Manager, review the topic “

    Administering Licenses Using a SolidNetWork License Manager

    ” in the SOLIDWORKS Installation and Administration Guide.

    Generally, the recommendation is to install the latest version of SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ available. The latest version has many software enhancements and fixes compared to the previous versions. In particular, versions with the name SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ use the same installation and licensing methods as SOLIDWORKS®. For earlier versions with the name 3DVIA® Composer™, licensing for both standalone and network versions were based on node-locked license files. If a user is upgrading from 3DVIA® Composer™ to SOLIDWORKS® Composer™, it may be a good idea to completely remove the 3DVIA® Composer™ software at this time.

    1. Upgrading from 3DVIA Composer
    2. Uninstalling 3DVIA Composer

    To uninstall the 3DVIA® Composer™ software, go to Control Panel > Programs and Features. After uninstalling 3DVIA® Composer™, remove the following folders and registry entries:

    Installation directory:

    \Program Files\Dassault Systemes\3DVIA Composer

    User data:

    \Users\[username]\Documents\3DVIAComposer

    Registry keys (optional*):

    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Dassault Systemes\3DVIA Composer
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Dassault Systemes\3DVIA Composer
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Dassault Systemes\3DVIAComposer

    *It is not necessary to remove these registry keys, but they can be removed for a clean uninstall.

    To remove the registry keys, open the Windows Registry Editor by typing regedit in the Windows Start Search bar and pressing Enter. Browse in the left-hand panel to the specified registry key, then right-click the registry key for options to delete, rename, or export the key.

    CAUTION:

    Incorrectly editing the registry can severely damage your operating system. The SOLIDWORKS® Technical Support team strongly suggests that you back up the registry data before making any changes to the registry.

    Do not delete the registry backup until confirming that the uninstallation, reinstallation, or other change was successful.


     

    Uninstalling SolidWorks Importer

    To uninstall SolidWorks Importer, run theUninstallSWImporterprogram from the following location:

    \Program Files\Dassault Systemes\3DVIA Composer\[X.X]\[SW20XX]

    Alternatively, you can uninstall SolidWorks Importer by using the SolidWorks.msi file on the original installation media or from the files download. After uninstalling SolidWorks Importer, delete the [SW20XX] folder. For a clean uninstall, also remove the following registry keys:

    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\3DVIASWImporter
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Dassault Systemes\3DVIAComposer
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Dassault Systemes\3DVIAComposer\Preferences\IOSolidWorksOEMVersion
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\3DVIASWImporter
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\3DVIASWImporter

    Removing License Information

    For standalone installations, delete the license (.lic) file from the following folder:

    \ProgramData\Dassault Systemes\3DVIAComposer\License

    The ProgramData folder is hidden by default. Therefore, it may be necessary to type ProgramData in the Windows File Explorer address bar. You can also set File Explorer to show hidden folders by activating the Hidden items option in the Show/hide section of the View menu.

    For network installations, delete the license file from the server. The location is specified in the lmtools > Config Services tab. In addition, on the license server, delete the folder containing the license server program files. The sample path shown in the 3DVIA Composer License Manager Setup Guide is C:\3DVIA Composer License Manager. Because there is no installation associated with these files, deleting them is sufficient to remove the license server.

    For a clean uninstall, rename the following registry keys, if they exist:

    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\FLEXlm License Manager\SEEMAGE_LICENSE_FILE
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\FLEXlm License Manager\SW_D_LICENSE_FILE
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\FLEXlm License Manager\SW_D_LICENSE_FILE

    The Question and Answer article QA00000116991 provides workflow recommendations for common upgrade scenarios.

    1. Upgrading from SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ 2013 SP2 through 2015 SP1
    2. Uninstalling SOLIDWORKS® Composer™

    To uninstall SOLIDWORKS® Composer™, go toControl Panel>Programs and Features. After uninstalling SOLIDWORKS® Composer™, remove the following folders and registry entries:

    Installation directories:

    \Program Files\SolidWorks Corp\Composer

    \Program Files\SOLIDWORKS Corp\SolidWorks Composer

    User data:

    \Users\[username]\Documents\3DVIAComposer

    Registry keys (optional*):

    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Dassault Systemes\3DVIA Composer
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Dassault Systemes\3DVIA Composer
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Dassault Systemes\3DVIAComposer

    *It is not necessary to remove these registry keys, but they can be removed for a clean uninstall.

    To remove the registry keys, open the Windows Registry Editor by typing regedit in the Windows Start Search bar and pressing Enter. Browse in the left-hand panel to the specified registry key, then right-click the registry key for options to delete, rename, or export the key.

    CAUTION:

    Incorrectly editing the registry can severely damage your operating system. The SOLIDWORKS® Technical Support team strongly suggests that you back up the registry data before making any changes to the registry.

    Do not delete the registry backup until confirming that the uninstallation, reinstallation, or other change was successful.

    Uninstalling SOLIDWORKS® Translator

    You can uninstall SOLIDWORKS® Translator from Control Panel > Programs and Features by using the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager. After uninstalling SOLIDWORKS® Translator, remove the following folders and registry entries for a clean uninstall:

    Installation directories:

    \Program Files\SolidWorks Corp\Composer\[X.X]\[SW20XX]

    \Program Files\SOLIDWORKS Corp\SolidWorks Translator

    Registry keys:

    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\3DVIASWImporter
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Dassault Systemes\3DVIAComposer
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Dassault Systemes\3DVIAComposer\Preferences\IOSolidWorksOEMVersion
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\3DVIASWImporter
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\3DVIASWImporter

    Removing License Information

    For standalone installations, delete the license (.lic) file from the following folder:

    \ProgramData\Dassault Systemes\3DVIAComposer\License

    The ProgramData folder is hidden by default. Therefore, it may be necessary to type ProgramData in the Windows File Explorer address bar. You can also set File Explorer to show hidden folders by activating the Hidden items option in the Show/hide section of the View menu.

    For network installations, rename the following registry keys, if they exist:

    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\FLEXlm License Manager\SW_D_LICENSE_FILE
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Wow6432Node\FLEXlm License Manager\SW_D_LICENSE_FILE

    The Question and Answer article QA00000116991 provides workflow recommendations for common upgrade scenarios.

    1. Recommended Options
    2. SOLIDWORKS® Options

    If SOLIDWORKS® is installed on the same computer as SOLIDWORKS® Composer™, then you should deactivate the following SOLIDWORKS® settings before importing SOLIDWORKS® files into SOLIDWORKS® Composer™. This allows the model to load and translate completely, including custom properties or meta-properties.

    • System Options > Performance > Load component lightweight
    • System Options > Assemblies > Use Lightweight mode
    • System Options > Assemblies > Use Large Design Review mode

     

     

    For SOLIDWORKS® Translator, there is no user interface available to deactivate these options. However, you can accomplish this by applying the registry files attached to the Question and Answer article QA00000111642.

    SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ Options

    After configuring the SOLIDWORKS® (or SOLIDWORKS® Translator) options, the next step is to set the options in SOLIDWORKS® Composer™.

    If SOLIDWORKS® Translator is installed, go to File > Preferences > Input > and set the SOLIDWORKS version to Auto Detect.

    Next, set the Default Document Properties (File > Properties > Default Document Properties). SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ applies these properties to all files that you import later.

    Under Default Document Properties > Input, set the

    Import profile

    to SOLIDWORKS (default). If importing SOLIDWORKS® models that contain surfaces necessary for the SMG file, select the SOLIDWORKS with Surface Parts option instead. “SolidPractices: Importing SOLIDWORKS Data and Understanding the SOLIDWORKS Composer Update Functionality”.

    Whatever options are used to import the files, the same options should be used when updating the files as well.

    1. Troubleshooting
    2. Installation

    If a SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ installation fails, then collect the installation logs that the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager creates. Browse to the following directory and create a compressed file the contents:

    C:\Users\[username]\AppData\Roaming\SolidWorks\Installation Logs\[20xx SPx.x]

    In this directory, browse to the Other Logs subfolder and open the latest sldIMLog file in a text editor such as Notepad. Search for the text return value 3. This often leads to an error code or message, which is useful to find more information in the SOLIDWORKS® QA. If further assistance is necessary, submit the installation logs to SOLIDWORKS® Technical Support.

    Licensing

    Because SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ uses the same activation technology as SOLIDWORKS®, the troubleshooting procedure for licensing issues should be the same as for SOLIDWORKS®. Check the error message that appears, and then search for it in the SOLIDWORKS® QA. If automatic activation results in an error, try email activation. If the problem persists, submit the email activation request file and serial number for further examination to SOLIDWORKS® Technical Support.

    If a licensing problem occurs immediately after upgrading from 3DVIA® Composer™, refer to section 5 of this document, “Upgrading from 3DVIA Composer.” Make sure that all components and licenses for 3DVIA Composer have been removed, and then try installing and activating SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ again.

    Import

    If it is not possible to import a SOLIDWORKS® file into SOLIDWORKS® Composer™, an error similar to Unable to translate file appears. There are several reasons why this can occur. To troubleshoot an import problem, start by verifying which versions of SOLIDWORKS® Composer™,SOLIDWORKS®, and SOLIDWORKS® Translator are installed.

    One way to determine the installed versions is to obtain the System Information file. To access the System Information, type System Information in the Windows Start Search. In the System Information dialog box, go to File > Save, and save the information as a System Information file (*.NFO) file.

    In the System Information file, you can determine the SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ and SOLIDWORKS® versions by expanding Software Environment > Program Groups. To determine which version of SOLIDWORKS® Translator is installed, expand Software Environment > OLE Registration, and confirm the path to the sldworks.exe file. The location of the sldworks.exe file indicates whether SOLIDWORKS® and/or SOLIDWORKS® Translator is installed.

    Location of sldworks.exeApplication Installed
    \Program Files\SOLIDWORKS Corp\SOLIDWORKS TranslatorSOLIDWORKS® Translator (installed with SOLIDWORKS® Composer™)
    \Program Files\SolidWorks Corp\Composer\6.XX\SW20XXSOLIDWORKS® Translator (installed with older version of SOLIDWORKS® Composer™)
    \Program Files\Dassault Systemes\3DVIA Composer\6.XX\SW20XXSOLIDWORKS® Importer (installed with 3DVIA® Composer)
    \Program Files\SOLIDWORKS Corp\SOLIDWORKSSOLIDWORKS®

    Another way to determine the installed versions is to use Windows File Explorer to see whether the folders in the previous table exist and contain files such as sldworks.exe. This is necessary because SOLIDWORKS® Importer does not appear in the Control Panel list of installed programs.

    After gathering this information, look for the following problem scenarios:

    1. The computer has installations of both SOLIDWORKS® and SOLIDWORKS® Translator. Only one of these is necessary, not both. To resolve this issue:
    2. Uninstall SOLIDWORKS® Translator.
    3. Remove the following registry keys:
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\3DVIASWImporter
    • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Dassault Systemes\Composer
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Dassault Systemes\Composer\Preferences\IOSolidWorksOEMVersion
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\3DVIASWImporter
    • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\3DVIASWImporter
    1. Go to Control Panel > Change, and repair the SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ installation.
    2. There is no installation of either SOLIDWORKS® or SOLIDWORKS® Translator on the computer. In this case, you may also see an error such as Asked version of SolidWorks: 2019 OEM not found.

    To resolve this issue, Install SOLIDWORKS® Translator.

    1. The installed version of SOLIDWORKS® or SOLIDWORKS® Translator is older than the version of SOLIDWORKS® files that you want to import. For example, you cannot use SOLIDWORKS® Translator 2018 to import SOLIDWORKS® 2019 files. Instead, you must install either SOLIDWORKS® Translator 2019 or SOLIDWORKS® 2019. To resolve this issue:
    2. Make sure that the SOLIDWORKS version is set appropriately in Application Preferences > Input.
    3. If the Auto Detect option is active and it is not possible to switch to a different version, this means that SOLIDWORKS Translator is installed alongside SOLIDWORKS, and should be uninstalled.
    4. The user settings are corrupted.
    5. To determine if this is the problem, open the Registry Editor and rename the following registry key:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Dassault Systemes\Composer

    1. After renaming the key, run SOLIDWORKS Composer and retry the import.
    2. The user does not have local administrator permissions. If this is the case and SOLIDWORKS Translator is installed, then the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SolidWorks registry key does not exist and cannot be created when attempting an import. A SOLIDWORKS® Translator user must have the same permissions as a SOLIDWORKS® user. To resolve this issue:
    3. Check to see that this registry key exists.
    4. If the key does not exist, create the key in that registry location and make sure that the user has write permissions to it.
    5. The system is out of resources. Either SOLIDWORKS® or SOLIDWORKS® Translator cannot run in the background to perform the import because there is not enough system resources or memory available. To resolve this issue:
    6. Try closing all other applications or restarting the computer.
    7. Compare the system specifications to the SOLIDWORKS System Requirements webpage.
    8. The SOLIDWORKS® Translator installation is corrupted.
    • Try uninstalling and reinstalling SOLIDWORKS® Translator.

    If the problem persists, obtain the ComposerConverterLog_data.xml file from the following location:

    \Users\[username]\Documents\SOLIDWORKSComposer\User\

    Open this file in a text editor such as Notepad. Check for any messages, incorrect file paths, or registry values. If further assistance is necessary, submit the ComposerConverterLog_data.xml file and System Information file to SOLIDWORKS® Technical Support.

    Graphics

    If the user experiences graphics-related problems while working on models in SOLIDWORKS® Composer™, especially if they are using a graphics card that does not support 3D OpenGL hardware acceleration, then try adjusting some of the graphics settings to see if that improves the graphics behavior. In the Application Preferences, try setting the Profile (in the upper right corner of the window) to Standard or Safe. It may be necessary to close and then restart the application for the changes to take effect.

    Enable 3D OpenGL hardware acceleration

    option in Application Preferences >

    Hardware Support

    to determine if the problem is graphics-related. Deactivating this option, as well as the Application Preferences > Advanced Settings >

    HardwareSupport.Advanced

    option can cause other graphics settings to become inactive. To make the inactive settings available again, reactivate the

    Enable 3D OpenGL hardware acceleration

    or

    HardwareSupport.Advanced

    options. Other settings that may help avoid graphics-related issues include, but are not limited to Disable Aux.Buffers,

    HardwareSupport.HighlightEffect

    and

    HardwareSupport.SilhouetteShader

    . For more information about each setting, click Help in the lower-right corner of the Application Preferences dialog box. It is a recommendation to try combinations of these options to determine which options work best for the user.

    Starting from version 2020, the Installation Manager installs SOLIDWORKS Rx with SOLIDWORKS® Composer™.

    You can open SOLIDWORKS Rx from the SOLIDWORKS Composer Help menu or from the Windows Start menu >SOLIDWORKS Tools [version]> SOLIDWORKS Rx [version].

    The Problem Capture tab in SOLIDWORKS Rx collects files, videos, and settings for SOLIDWORKS® Composer™. In the Capture section, choose

    SOLIDWORKS Composer

    to capture the SOLIDWORKS Composer screen. The capture includes the logs and settings.

    For more information about installing, licensing, and setting up SOLIDWORKS® Composer™, there are many resources available including:

    • The SOLIDWORKS® Question and Answer
    • SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ Release Notes
    • SOLIDWORKS® Composer™ Help.

    We hope that you find this document informational and useful and request that you leave a brief feedback about the topics that you want us to cover in the next revision of this document. Click here for a complete list of SolidPractices documents available from DS SOLIDWORKS Corp.

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