A question that comes up from time to time with SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematic is how to apply changes made to configurations to other projects. For instance, let’s say you’ve changed the columns within your BOM, or perhaps you’ve changed the attributes within your PLC drawing configuration. After following the appropriate steps, we’ll be able to apply this to any current or future project.
Moving Between Application-Level and Project-Level Configurations
First, let’s establish a basic understanding of application-level configurations versus project-level configurations. Within the Electrical Project, under the Configurations drop-down, we can view the configurations for various items, such as reports and connectors. Once we enter a configuration manager, we have two columns.
SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematic Configurations drop-down
The left column with red text shows configurations that are at the application level, meaning that they are available within any project for all users connected to the Electrical server. On the right side, we have project-level configurations, appearing in green text. These are only available in the specific project.
Electrical project configuration management
Saving Configurations in SOLIDWORKS Electrical Schematic
The right-pointing arrow can be used to move an application-level configuration to the project level. This is handy if a project has specific requirements. It can also be used if you want to try out modifying a report, but keep in mind that duplicating the application-level report can also be used for this.
The left-pointing arrow is what we’ll focus on here, as it will solve the problem we’re discussing. Say you’ve modified a report within a project and want to make it available in any project. This can be done by simply using the left-facing arrow within the configuration management. One thing to keep in mind is the name of the configuration.
Updating existing configurations
If the name already exists on the application configurations side, a message will pop up asking if you want to update it. If you wish to keep the original configuration (for instance, if it was default or is being used in other projects), you’ll need to rename the project side configuration and then move it over to the application side.
With that, we now have the modified configuration available to use as needed. Following the steps outlined above will allow you to utilize the configuration in subsequent projects and collaboratively with your team.
Should you run into additional messages when adding configurations, please contact our support team.
