Has anyone had an issue with your part description self deleting from a part? we have descriptions linked to our title block and when the part is opened or saved as a DXF the description on the part properties is gone. we have gone thru a install repair, changed sheet formats and drawing and part templates. i am trying to avoid unistall/reinstall for a third time this year.
is this a common response people get from support - "you need to re-install the software"
I am going to say that what you are experiancing is really, really odd.
We save out DXF's from slddrw and sldprt files multiple times a day and I have never seen what you are describing.
Can you post a part and drawing file for us to look at on our systems? Use the Advanced Editor link to attach the files.
How are you populating the custom properties? Are you using the Property Tab Builder or File > Properties?
Cheers,
Anna
Anna,
it is not a custom property, it is the default description in the properties drop down box. we have had it linked to all of the title blocks we use for 7 years. it doesnt happen to all of the parts that we open, there seems to be no consistent reason why it occurs. we have done the repair on all of our computers that use SW.
Can you post a screen shot of the area you are talking about? I want to make sure we are all on the same page for understanding where the problem is.
Still wouldnd't mind seeing a sldprt and slddrw. Anything that is not critical in terms of IP.
Cheers,
Anna
Anna,
I have added some files to the original post so you can see an example.
thanks
Jim
I've had this happen when "saving as" my part drawing to a different name. I typically go back to the model properties and re-type the description.
If you are the only person experiencing this and others are not, I like to use copy setting wizard to avoid reinstalling my Solidworks software to fix a bug.
Consider trying saving as .dwg rather then .dxf. Does the same problem occur?
You can also save to dxf straight from the model by right clicking on the model itself but this will only give you the model profile or sheet metal flat pattern.
Dmitry,
thanks for the response. The problem is happening on all of our seats, not just one. We only save the DXF flat pattern for conversion to our CAM software, there is no title block, dimensions, descriptions...etc used in them. The description is being removed from the DWG file when the part file looses it.
I have had to re-install SW a dozen times over the last 3 years, its just getting really frustrating to have the software that is the backbone of our engineering data have so many ongoing problems. I added files to the original post if you would like to see an example.
thanks
Jim Michalski
How does your company do their SolidWorks upgrades. A clean install or an upgrade?
Does your IT department have the users set up with Roaming Windows Profiles for logging into the domain. This can cause issues because old problems with registries re-introduced to computers as Windows tries to re-sync user profiles.
Has your IT department wiped one of the CAD workstations totally clean and re-installed everything from scratch. Just re-installing SolidWorks may not fix the issue if it is buried deep within Windows and there is some strange interaction going on with another bit of software that you use. I would be tempted to get a brand new hard drive and re-install on that.
What is happening to your users is really strange and I beleive very unique to your software environment. It will be extremely hard to troubleshoot from afar. I would see if you can get your SolidWorks reseller to get you in contact with someone further up the chain at SolidWorks. Your VAR needs to work harder at finding a solution for you. Talk with someone higher up at your VAR.
I looked at your files and do not see anything odd. They save out dxf's just fine without wiping out custom properties. Both from the slddrw and also the sldprt.
One last thought.... Do you use the Custom Properties Tab over on the right in SolidWorks to fill out the properties in a file?
Wish I could offer a solution.
Anna
Still no solution? We see this problem randomly throughout the company whenever a Save As function is peformed. Couldbe be Save AS PDF, DXF, DWG, etc. The Description custom property value defined at the file level will be deleted. Very frutstrating. Been happening for a couple of releases for us now, although it seems to happen less in 2012. I warn people to Save the drawing file first, then peform a Save As PDF. If the resultant Save As function wipes out the description, they can close the file without saving now.
We are rolling to 2013 in a couple of weeks. Hopefully this is sorted.
Happens to me in 13 also and just like Edmund has described.
Has anyone found a solution to this?
I had this happen to my company using SW2013 SP5, and now it's happening again using SW15. The issue occurs whenever you go to save as, not only for the DXF, but also if you want to change the name.
-Ismael
Similar issue here as well. I remember it happening for a short time on 2013 after an install or upgrade maybe. Then after a while it just quit doing it. I get it after i check in the file to pdm. I believe its still caused by the actual save process during check in.
Fast forward to today. 2 new machines here and 2 new installs doing it again. Sometimes it just looses the link in the custom properties and sometimes it deletes the entire thing. I'll report back if i figure something out.
I am having the same problem when saving my drawing file as a PDF. I select the custom property manager, use the drop down menu to select description, and enter in a description. I then link this to the "Title" in the title block where it shows up as expected. I can save the .slddrw file as expected, but then when I save it as a PDF, the description gets deleted in both the PDF and drawing file.
I hope someone finds and answer (and posts it) soon.
I was having the same problem when saving to a PDF. All the custom "description" properties in the sheet formats would disappear and so would the part/assembly description.
Check to see if your "description" option is gone in the dialog box when you go to save a part/assy.
This solved it:
Description in the 'save' and 'save as' dialog box disappeared.
This fixed it for us as well
We are having the same issue, save-as or export dxf will delete the contents of the Description Property field.
Yes we use the Custom Property Tab in the Task Pane. I was having other preview and explorer problems but fixed that, now just deletes contents of Description property... We need this fixed YESTERDAY!!
As others have expressed, it is frustrating to put all of our engineering effort into SolidWorks, just to continue to struggle with basic issues, over and over, year after year...
ANY HELP?
This was a common problem when I was a consultant in 2013, and it's a new problem that my SW20015 does since my license expired. It is hilarious that the second I perform:
'Save as pdf', solidworks deletes the drawing description in properties and saves the pdf as a drawing with no description(linked notes block) in the title block. Known issue, and common for many years. Totally ridiculous.
I guess Windows7 and SW2015 are fighting for file data control... I can fix the missing description problem (for a while at least), by running this dll in the command manager as administrator:
regsvr32 "filelocation\sldpropertyhandler.dll"
until windows overpowers things(updates...?), then you have to do it again.
Details on this running this fix are in other posts...
Enjoy the day!
It seems the problem is when you do a "Save As" from the part. I have noticed the "Description" field being deleted when sporting to DXF or save as to SAT. Solidworks retains the value in the field but the "Evaluate As" field is empty until you click into the field. Very strange. Is this a known bug?
This is caused when the sldpropertyhandler.dll is not registered. To fix this you have go Cmd>run as admin> type in regsvr32 C:\Program Files\SolidWorks Corp\SolidWorks\sldpropertyhandler.dll and hit enter this will register the .dll and fix the issue.
I'm definitely having the same issue here, but for me its not constrained only to the 'Description' property, its also affecting 'Revision' and 'Sub-Project' in parts and assemblies.
I'm running SolidWorks 2015, SP5.0 and now out of support. I have a massive project on hand with over 1000 components (all are sheet metal panels that are different sizes), and the properties are reverting back to their original template every time. parts are copied (save as) from other parts (to save time) which has pushed the error through the entire project. This is costing my company a lot of time and effort.
I've tried registering the sldpropertyhandler.dll, this doesn't seem to work.
What i'm finding is that it isn't part of the export process, more so when the SolidWorks drawing is actually opened. I have modified all the custom properties using the tab builder, saved all the files, checked their custom properties and closed the files down, happy that everything is ok. but when you open the drawing, the properties just vanish and seem to push back the original properties onto the part/assembly file.
I'm also finding in some cases that the evaluated value of the custom property is not the same as the value/text expression.
I've even gone as far as removing the corrupt properties from the files, re-entering them only to watch the drawing override them again.
Now i can handle the description and sub-project fields disappearing, but when the Revision field disappears, this causes all sorts of grief for document control (no PDM system).
It would be great if SolidWorks technical support could respond to this thread with something that can help.
I was having this exact same issue. The simplest workaround is when you click "Save As.." a pop-up box shows up that gives you (3) options:
1. Save as - open files will reference this
2. Save as copy and continue
3. Save as copy and open
If you click the "Save as copy and continue" button it will not remove your description. Not exactly a fix, but its a safe way of making sure it doesn't happen. My engineering team and I have been doing this for the past year or so.
Best,
James
I also wrote a Macro and added a "save to dxf" button to my toolbar so I don't have to mess with it at all. I can attach that if anyone requests it.
JIm,
Sometimes, when the VAR doesn't have a clue what is happening, they will suggest a repair or re-install. Sometimes that's because it is a well known problem that a re-install will fix and nothing else will; sometimes it is because it is a really strange, obscure problem and all they can think of is a re-install; sometimes it is because they are clueless. Anyway, yes, it is a fairly common response to get from support, especially if the support person isn't at the top of his game.
Jerry S.