One of the new features included with SOLIDWORKS 2024 is the long-requested ability to save your files as versions compatible with previous versions. Starting with 2024 all future versions of SOLIDWORKS will allow you to save files in the versions of the two most recent editions. For example, in SOLIDWORKS 2024 you can save your files as SOLIDWORKS 2023 or 2022 files so that they can be opened and edited inside those versions as if they were native files. While you were able to open future files in the final service pack of a year – i.e. SOLIDWORKS 2023 SP5.0 could open files from SOLIDWORKS 2024 – you could not edit them in any way. It’s a simple task to save as a previous version so let’s take a look at how this is done.
In this image, you can see I have a very simple model. If I simply hit the save button it will save as a 2024 file. If I want to save as a 2023 file I just have to go to Save As and, in the drop-down menu for “Save as Type” I can select “SOLIDWORKS 2023 Part” and then I save as normal.
You will still be able to work with the file in 2024 as normal but now you have a file that 2023 users can work with like it was made in 2023. If another user works on the 2023 version of the file and saves it for you to work on in 2024 you’ll still be able to use backward compatibility in SOLIDWORKS so that all of the work stays in the file.
For more information about SOLIDWORKS, dive into our resource library of Tech Tips here.
