Hi,

I am fairly new to SolidWorks (migrated from Vectorworks on the Mac) and generally am thrilled with SolidWorks (couple it with my UPrintPlus 3D Printer, and there is no end to the fun).

I am now exploring 3D Content Central and like the overall concept, however I am having trouble getting it to work well. I have found little documentation so far, and I have a couple of probably basic questions to ask.

I created an account on-line and can log in using my browser, find parts and download them to a folder and use them. I would have expected though, that I should be able to do some of this from within SolidWorks. If I click on the Design Library Tab, then 3D Content Central, I see the folders "All Categories" and "All Suppliers". When I drill into either of these, I get a button  in the lower pain that says "Click here for all suppliers" (for the All Suppliers folder). It launches a browser and puts me into a general page and logs me as guest. I can log in and find the contect I need and download it. From this point I am a bit lost. I would have expected to be able to add content from within the SolidWorks library window rather than be so discionnected as to force me to download the model somewhere on my hard disk and to have to build up my own folder tree for various content found in 3D Connect Central.

So, question 1: Is there a way to have this better integrated? I suspect the problem is that I have not entered any 3D Connect account info in SolidWorks anywhere. Presumably, if it knew who I was, it would not log me in as guest and maybe be able to display something useful within the Library panes. If this is the case, can someone tell me where I can enter my account info? If so, then do not bother reading any further as the next question is moot...

question 2: Assuming SolidWorks does not store 3D Content Central account information, then is there a typical way to do this with the browser? Is there a best practice on where to create the library tree myself? For example, where is the Design Library folder tree? I would likely want to create a folder within that tree for 3D COnnect Content and then build it up there. It sounds like a pain to do, and if SOlidWorks does not do that for me, I think it is a missed oportunity from them to make this feature really work for them and contect providers. The easier they can make it for me to find a part from a supplier, incorporate it into a design, the more likely it is that I will then buy these parts when I go to manufacture.

Thanks for any advice.

Cheers,

Roch Comeau