Parsing the Command Line on SolidWorks Startup

on Nov 21, 2019•Last modified by Michael Kozikowski

on Nov 25, 2019

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Here is a VBA macro that uses Windows APIs to gather the command line commands when starting SolidWorks from that command line. The format for starting SolidWorks from a command line and running a macro on startup is like this:

...\sldworks.exe /m ...\macro.swp

where..\ describes the file path of SolidWorks and the macro itself. The macro name needs to be modified also for your specific situation. This would allow a user to use custom command line switches (flags). Note that /m is required to run a macro on command line startup and any custom switches should come after the full command shown above so it is parsed properly..

Just run the attached macro from a command line and it will produce a msgbox with the full command line command.

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CmdLineArgs.swp.zip8.7 KB

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Adrian Velazquez Nov 25, 2019 2:23 PM

Thanks.

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Colt Carson Mar 16, 2020 11:20 AM

Very helpful!

My guess is no, but is it possible to trigger a macro in an existing instance of solidworks from the command line? I have another program that I use for automation and it would be very useful if I could pass arguments into a macro without launching a new instance of solidworks.

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Michael Kozikowski

@ Colt Carson on Mar 19, 2020 9:50 AM

I have done this in the past by writing an application and deriving the class from COLEDispatchDriver. Run this app from the commandline with arguments, while SolidWorks is running, the app you write needs to parse the passed in arguments and have the dispatch driver object make the SolidWorks API calls indicated from the passed in arguments. You'd have to run the app each time you want to do something and let it complete and stop. Use a mutex to orderly schedule the separate app runs/calls. I can't give you any more details than that, it is outside of the scope of the SolidWorks API. There may be better ways to do this.

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Colt Carson @ Michael Kozikowski on Mar 20, 2020 9:44 AM

Thanks for the idea. It seems a little above my skill level. I ended up using the clipboard like Artem suggested. The code from the link was way overkill for me though. I boiled it down to these few lines.

Dim LArray() As String
Dim objData As New MSForms.DataObject

Sub main()
    objData.GetFromClipboard
    strText = objData.GetText()
    LArray = Split(strText, ",")
    MsgBox "Param 1: [" & LArray(0) & "] Param 2: [" & LArray(1) & "]"
End Sub

Code that calls my macro using autohotkey.

backupClipboard := clipboard
swApp := ComObjActive("SldWorks.Application")
clipboard := "arg1,arg2"
swApp.RunMacro("C:\Users\" . A_username . "\Desktop\clipboard.swp", "clipboard1", "Main")
clipboard:=backupClipboard

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5 Comments

Adrian Velazquez Nov 25, 2019 2:23 PM
Thanks.
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Colt Carson Mar 16, 2020 11:20 AM
Very helpful!

My guess is no, but is it possible to trigger a macro in an existing instance of solidworks from the command line? I have another program that I use for automation and it would be very useful if I could pass arguments into a macro without launching a new instance of solidworks.
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- Artem Taturevych @ Colt Carson on Mar 16, 2020 1:59 PM
  Check this: Pass Parameters To SOLIDWORKS VBA Macro
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- Michael Kozikowski @ Colt Carson on Mar 19, 2020 9:50 AM
  I have done this in the past by writing an application and deriving the class from COLEDispatchDriver. Run this app from the commandline with arguments, while SolidWorks is running, the app you write needs to parse the passed in arguments and have the dispatch driver object make the SolidWorks API calls indicated from the passed in arguments. You'd have to run the app each time you want to do something and let it complete and stop. Use a mutex to orderly schedule the separate app runs/calls. I can't give you any more details than that, it is outside of the scope of the SolidWorks API. There may be better ways to do this.
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  - Colt Carson @ Michael Kozikowski on Mar 20, 2020 9:44 AM
    Thanks for the idea. It seems a little above my skill level. I ended up using the clipboard like Artem suggested. The code from the link was way overkill for me though. I boiled it down to these few lines.
    Dim LArray() As String
    Dim objData As New MSForms.DataObject
    
    Sub main()
        objData.GetFromClipboard
        strText = objData.GetText()
        LArray = Split(strText, ",")
        MsgBox "Param 1: [" & LArray(0) & "] Param 2: [" & LArray(1) & "]"
    End Sub
    
    Code that calls my macro using autohotkey.
    backupClipboard := clipboard
    swApp := ComObjActive("SldWorks.Application")
    clipboard := "arg1,arg2"
    swApp.RunMacro("C:\Users\" . A_username . "\Desktop\clipboard.swp", "clipboard1", "Main")
    clipboard:=backupClipboard
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Parsing the Command Line on SolidWorks Startup

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