Creating a Keyboard Shortcut in SolidWorks
SolidWorks is a powerful CAD software that allows designers and engineers to create 3D models and drawings. To enhance productivity and streamline your workflow, it’s essential to take advantage of keyboard shortcuts. In this tutorial, we will guide you through the process of creating a keyboard shortcut in SolidWorks.
Step 1: Accessing the Customize dialog box
To create a custom keyboard shortcut, we need to access the Customize dialog box. You can do this by either clicking on the Tools menu at the top of the SolidWorks window and selecting Customize, or by right-clicking on any toolbar and choosing Customize from the context menu.
Step 2: Navigating to Keyboard tab
In the Customize dialog box, navigate to the Keyboard tab. This tab allows you to assign keyboard shortcuts to various commands in SolidWorks.
Step 3: Selecting a command
On the Keyboard tab, you’ll find a list of all available commands in SolidWorks. You can scroll through this list or use the search bar at the top to find a specific command that you want to assign a shortcut to.
Once you’ve located your desired command, select it by clicking on it. The command will now be highlighted in blue.
Step 4: Creating a new shortcut
With your chosen command selected, click inside the “Press new shortcut key” field. This is where you’ll define your custom keyboard shortcut.
Now, press the key combination that you want to assign as your shortcut. For example, if you want to use “Ctrl + Shift + D,” press those keys one after another while holding down the Ctrl and Shift keys simultaneously.
If your chosen key combination is already assigned to another command, SolidWorks will display an alert message informing you about the conflicting assignment. In such cases, choose another key combination or remove the existing assignment.
Step 5: Assigning the shortcut
After defining your keyboard shortcut, click the Assign button to assign it to the selected command. The command will now appear in the “Current keys” list, showing the assigned shortcut.
Step 6: Saving your customizations
To ensure that your custom keyboard shortcut remains available every time you use SolidWorks, click the Save As button in the Customize dialog box. This will save your customizations as part of a new or existing customization file.
You can also export your customizations to share them with others or import them into another installation of SolidWorks by using the Export and Import buttons in the Customize dialog box.
Now that you have created a custom keyboard shortcut, you can use it to quickly access your frequently used commands and improve your workflow efficiency in SolidWorks.
Summary
In this tutorial, we have learned how to create a keyboard shortcut in SolidWorks. By following these steps, you can assign shortcuts to frequently used commands and streamline your design process. Remember to save your customizations for future use and consider exporting them for sharing or importing into other SolidWorks installations.
- Step 1: Accessing the Customize dialog box
- Step 2: Navigating to Keyboard tab
- Step 3: Selecting a command
- Step 4: Creating a new shortcut
- Step 5: Assigning the shortcut
- Step 6: Saving your customizations
Now go ahead and try creating some keyboard shortcuts in SolidWorks. You’ll be amazed at how much time and effort you can save by utilizing this powerful feature. Happy designing!