There’s usually a lot of change in a new software release that doesn’t get reported. There’s also most likely an equally sad employee that doesn’t get to bask in the brilliance of that small “mediocre” addition.
Well, that’s about to change. Whether you’ve been noticed or not, we know you’re in front of your computer screen, fingers blazin’ across the keyboard, adding additional goodies to that new version of SolidWorks.
So, here’s to the people that add that itty-bitty smidgin’ of pixel shading, a touch of resource consumption, a burst of consideration for the environment, and everyone else that scrubbed the corners of the program after everyone else went home.
8 Absolutely Odd Facts About SolidWorks 2008
- SolidWorks 2008 uses 16,204 Kilobytes of Memory when it’s running and nothing is loaded. SolidWorks 2007 uses 13,604 Kilobytes.
- SolidWorks 2008 has 584 toolbar icons. SolidWorks 2007 has 451 toolbar icons.
- SolidWorks 2008 shows a Customize toolbar menu when you right-click on the title bar. SolidWorks 2007 shows window options; double-clicking it still toggles min/max window size in both.
- SolidWorks 2008 has 2820 images in the installation folder; 2007 has 1087. Both have a hi-res image of the top and bottom of a bagel.
- SolidWorks 2008 allows you to use RealView graphics in drawings; 2007 doesn’t.
- SolidWorks 2008 ships in is the same size box as the 2007 box except it’s .75” thinner. No Notepad and 5 fewer discs.
- The 2008 beta program started April 2007 and ended July 30th. Thanks to Kevin, Amit, Charles, Koka, Steve, Jeff, Pabitra, and YueSheng that took care of my submissions.
- The SolidWorks 2008 splash screen slimmed down 70 pixels, and grew 27 pixels taller.
So, notice anything else about 2008 that could be left out but shouldn’t?
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Even though I am not having the problems and performance issues many of you have and I’m not a new user. I still have decided not to use SolidWorks for my CNC work anymore. I will only use it for sheet metal and probably stop the maintenance.
I find Rhino3D is a better program for my purpose and it cost less that 1 year of SW maintenance. I’m lucky that parametrics dont mean very much to me. I can do without them. I just need great surface, 2D curve tools and layers on export!. Then we go to Mastercam to cut.
So good luck with SW all!
Hey Thomas, glad things worked out for you. There’s a disconnect between hardware/software tech. One is always driving the other prematurely. I would have to concur with the upgrade cost. I’ve suggested in the past to wait until your companies next round of hardware upgrades. We are still not using it in production for multiple reason, but I want to make sure the hardware will handle the move to 08/09 and Vista which will coincide with each other.
Hey Pedro. Thanks for the comment. I think the result of using SW08 are going to be somewhat subjective. We’re not using it in production except what I’m testing out daily, but it has usability that will increase our designers efficiency. The Shortcut bar for one allows in fewer operations while staying in the workspace. the dynamic search has saved time as well although it need to be faster in large assemblies. My suggestion to many that are skeptical of the changes is to go with 2009. beta starts in June and thatwill allow you to try it out and see for yourself, but I already know of some performance enhancements that will help.
I work for a very large corporation with facillities all over the world. Yesterday a colleague ask for SW part files we will be making overseas. And, he found he can’t open them because he has SW2007 and I have SW2008. He then asked me to save them in SW2007 and resend them. Ha, ha, like that were possible. His division hasn’t upgraded yet because so many of us are having problems with 2008. And, this situation is not acceptable to us at all. Does anyone know if Solid Edge or Inventor allows saving in older file formats? One other thing, SW2008 is a resource hog that’s driven my Dell Workstation to it’s knees. Have been uninstalling all unessential progs and it hasn’t helped one bit. Remember the days when you could run SolidWorks on a Pentium 1 computer? Those days are gone. It’s ironic as we’ve been moving away from ProE to SolidWorks. And, SolidWorks is now aquiring the same bad traits that compelled us to dump ProE. Hey, I loved earlier versions of SW. But, I passionately hate the 2008 that’s infesting my computer. Somebody shoot me.
SW 2008 is like a cat that won’t take a shit. It’s got all the cute fuzziness, except that when you need it to be a good friend and do its duty – it doesn’t. How about instead of releasing a very pricey piece of cat poop (ie. sp 1, sp 2, sp 2.2, sp 3,….), make sure you are selling a great product! I really don’t need to spend a full day installing updates that remind me of why i hate microsoft, and apparently now itunes as well. So, SW engineers, marketeers, and everyone else who is responsible for this powerful cat poop – get your act together. I know i speak for a lot of industrial designers who use this software to create solutions for problems, but i don’t see how I’m going to solve this problem without shooting the cat that won’t shit.
SW2008 Reminds me of the old Minolta Coroporation that was “Marketing Driven.” They went “marketing crazy” and started adding every conceiveable bell and whistle to all their cameras. What they really needed was a simple auto-focus system that really worked. Canon was the first camera company to do that when they released the “Elan.” It was the first camera in the world that could focus on both vertical and horizontal lines. And, it was lightning fast. And, Canon conquered the marketplace with it, even eclipsing Nikon. Right now they own over 90% of the photo-journalism market. Minolta, on the other hand, was sued for stealing some of those “bells and whistles” and went broke. Sony bought them, and they’re now trying to recover market share. Solidworks seems to have become a “Marketing Driven” comapany ever since they were purchased by Dassault. And, it’s not a good thing. I want a CAD package that’s lightning fast and has lightning fast menus. And, I don’t want them to change everything with each new major release. That drives all of us crazy. How about icons that are easier to see, find and identify, rather than change them to look like the new Vista OS? Have they done studies on that? Have they done regular studies on how to make menus faster and more efficient? If so, they’re keeping it a secret. I want lightning fast software. Instead we’re getting new bells and whistles that most of us don’t want and didn’t ask for. And that, my friends is evidence SolidWorks has become a dysfunctional “Marketing Driven” company. They’re leadership probably never understood why we all moved to SolidWorks in the first place. Dilbert’s boss is alive and well and working at SolidWorks.
Been using Solidworks since it first came out. In the last 5 years have used it with Moldworks and agree with CT. Have been having the crashing issues as well but yes give me fast and functional and incremental change instead of a complete revamp. Ive completely reformated my hard drive and removed everything and it crashes so often I dont have time to do anything else but reboot and reload and am forced to constantly save large assemblies. Have looked at other software and am very tempted but there is the large price tag and of course learning all over again. Have called tech support and they never find anything.
Been using Solidworks since it first came out. In the last 5 years have used it with Moldworks and agree with CT. Have been having the crashing issues as well but yes give me fast and functional and incremental change instead of a complete revamp. Ive completely reformated my hard drive and removed everything and it crashes so often I dont have time to do anything else but reboot and reload and am forced to constantly save large assemblies. Have looked at other software and am very tempted but there is the large price tag and of course learning all over again. Have called tech support and they never find anything.
I’ve been having crashing issues too. When SW begins to act strange, such as suddenly failing to highlight edges, a crash is inevitable. It’s time to save, close and re-start. Sometimes re-booting my Dell Precision workstation is required. And, it sounds like this may be an XP vs. Vista issue. I would convert to 64 bit Vista, but our IT people won’t support it. Perhaps they will be willing to install the 32 bit version? Have passionately loved earlier versions of SW. And, it would be worth the effort of installing a new OS to regain speed and stability.
SW2008 was not ready for release. It shows the arrogance of the company that they think they can release something once a year with that many changes. It is typical of the president and his mega ego. Even companies as large as Microsoft with a thousand times the staff of SW don’t work off fixed release dates. My company crashed hourly with SW 2008 for six months. Some parts crashed the interface as soon as they were booted up. I don’t even want to talk about the fact you can’t save in an earlier version, that just makes me want to personally throttle the the presisdent of SW. More arrogance. “We know what you need” “We know what is best for you” “We will tell you what you can and can’t do” A real control freak to the core. The opposite of open source and everything that makes software a pleasure to work with. Then the support people always start with blaming you for SW problems. Their favorite line is, “Other customers aren’t experiencing these problems.” By starting off blaming the customer, it really comes off as arrogant. It is the thread the runs through why I am so pissed with this application and the people who support it. First deny there are any problems. “Everybody loves “Other users don’t have these issues” What kind of statement is that? That shows almost no knowledge of applications or how software works. It is totally stupid thing to say with no practical value for the customer with the problem and factually means nothing. The only possible result of the statement is to piss off the customer or make them feel like an idiot.
Then the blame goes on. “You must have installed it incorrectly”, or “your virus software (that we don’t run) is to blame” Or “your video card hasn’t been tested”. What has that got to do with anything in practical sense? I could be running the best SW video card ever made and the fact that it hasn’t been tested makes it crash the software? What will the technician do, test it for me on the phone? What is the point of such a statement to finding the cause of the problem? What is he going to do? Give up the troubleshooting process because my card hasn’t been tested?
We recently went through all the hoops they could think of to find out why our software was crashing the instant we clicked on an annotation. Couldn’t even delete the thing because deleting it requires you to CLICK ON THE FRICKING THING!!! In the end they found a bug in the code. The fix was SP4. So here we are in June and finally the software might be ready to released. They kept their revenue streaming going though, that was the real point to begin with right?
We contract with a designer that has every CAD package known to man running on his server. He is an old timer with tremendous knowlege and a real pleasure to work with. He has to be able to handle anything that comes his way, so needs everything. His favorite is CADKEY. He freely admits it won’t do everything, but says it is easier to build your stuff in CADKEY then import it to SW to do annimations, etc. That is a sad commentary on SW, isn’t it?
Has anyone besides me noticed there are no keyboard equivilents next to the commands? Talk about a bunch of lazy developers. A good GUI has multiple ways of doing things and it is easy to see the keyboard equivalent to any commmand next to the menu item. SW didn’t bother. They took away the “EDIT SKETCH” text, I guess that was too helpful and would’ve been a great place to put the keyboard equivalent, and put an icon in another area. It took me five minutes to find out how to edit a sketch. Multilpy that by all my guys, all the commands they changed and it ads up to a lot of wasted time and money. They could care less though. They sold another round of support licenses. It is the attitude that really sticks in my craw.
jam
And only when your backs are against the wall admit SW2008 has bugs. All software has bugs, it is a mathematical impossibility to fully debug an application when the complexity reaches a certain level. There are whole books written on the subject. SW has the artificial deadline every year to come out with wiz bang new package to keep the revenue flowing. Even giants like Microsoft slip their deadlines for practical reasons. Only sheer arrogance ships something when it isn’t ready. 2008 out of the box was not ready for release. 6 months we crashed over here every single time we opened our design. The box says I have 90 day warranty or I get a refund. How about a refund for the 6 months we couldn’t use it?
Good site I “Stumbledupon” it today and gave it a stumble for you.. looking forward to seeing what else you have..later
Are people still going to use this, its virtually obsolete now isnt it ?
I just installed Solid works 2008. I was looking for a Drop test study but don’t know how to load Drop test study. Only Static study is featuring in the Cosmos works. Please Help………..
I used Pro-E and Autocad before there was a Windows operating system. Ran Pro-E on a UNIX operating system and I agree SolidWorks has me looking for another software. They have changed this software from an engineering tool to a marketing toy.
I have started working in CAD programs about 6 years ago. Started in AutoCAD, the moved to Inventor, next came Solidworks, had a little adventure in Kobotek KeyCreator and Pro E and then arrived to CATIA.
I know how to work very well in all the first three and in the last one.
Now I've got the NX 5 and also the new NX 6 but I haven't tried much in it. Though it's easy.
I hate that Dassault Systemes are running the 100 m with the SW 2008 and SW 2009. And I hate that in a company the last guy to be asked what software to use for CAD is the one man that actually uses it.
I'm tired of all the crashes, in every software and tired of the constant upgrading I have to make to my PC.
But, you know what, it's not worth fighting for.
Instead, I would like to ask any of you, if you have some modeling to do, I offer my help.
Just send sketches, drawings, scans, you need making.
I am asking no money for it.
Of course, you should send only thing that are not very urgent. Beacuse I'll work on my free time. About 4 hours a day.
Thanks and good luck to you all.
PS: If someone can help. I want to learn FEA. Please send documentation if you have any!
e-mail:hack3ru@gmail.com
What about Solidworks 2008 fail to open file with one double-click, but the second double-click will succeed (it doesn't matter even if you choose different file). A window message will throw
Windows cannot find '\server…filename.SLDRPT'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, …etc
Jamb, hey there, it sounds like a network connection problem. In particular one that is common with opening files over a wireless network. I would try to get on a hardline, or check you router to see if it's loosing connections. It may be a simple as getting a new router. THe only other thing it could be is that your drives are not mapping correctly. I'm not sure if you have a script that you IT department has set up to automate that or if it's one you have to map manually. You may check this with them. Thanks for the comment!
Yeah, I've got a few… Solid works 2008 sucks my ass.. What is this new “Failed to Save” crap where you can't even do a Save As.., you're just up the creek? And how come none of the options check boxes actually do what they say they they do? And why is Solidworks “not designed to run over a network” (direct quote from SW support) And what good is the so-called “Feature Expert”?
And what's this new feature where the parts double in size every time you save them, no matter what… I could go on and on…
Sorry guys, just needed to vent a bit… back to work…
One more thing….
If you try to make a configuration of a part with a folder in it, everything in the folder will go to shit and get all messed up……………………
We have been using SW since 1999 and have always found that with each new version they take 2 steps forward and 10 backward. The crashes have always occurred but are now worse than ever. Each time we upgrade we have found that the new version requires a new computer and a higher level graphics card. We currrently run the top level system recommended by SW and still it crashes.
Also the pricing is nothing but extreme highway robbery. Jesse James, Ronald Biggs and Ned Kelly were all thorough gentlemen compared to SW.
Here in Australia we are forced to py more than double what they pay in the USA.
Many SW users I know have 1 or 2 licences and then purchase additional licences from the internet at significantly lower prices as the local distributor will not give decent pricing until you have at least 50 seats.
I have also seen SW 2008 on sale in Indonesia and other parts of Asia for only a few dollars. I know at least 2 users that purchased the cheap SW2008 and it works as well as the SW supplied versions.
About the best facility they ever offered was the home licence version.This was marketed as a major feature in Australia but they were very reluctant to tell anyone that when you upgrade to SW2009 you will automatically loose the feature. This absouletly SUCKS and is in blatent conflict with Australian fair trading laws but they don't care they just keep taking your money and giving you less.
It all seems like a lot of this could be solved with either product designed to work a on single set of hardware or by having a support system that helps companies set things up. market politics is messy for sure, but definitely doesn't mean there should be such disparate prices in similar markets. I could see lower prices in developing countries, but that's a whole other story. Thanks for the comment Barry.
Nima,
I used to be a Parasolid developer ( now gone on to other things ) I worked on core geometry algorithms – I know things from the inside out.
>>If you open a file in 2008 and save it, you will never be able to open it with 2007. (And you can't save >>as “solidworks 2007 file”) This is shameful, even Microsoft with all its power and customer bullying >>provides compatibility with at least one generation of older software made by them
This is totally naive on your part – you obviously know very little about the sheer complexity involved.
Backwards compatibility (ie port a 2008 part into 2007 software – for example) in three dimensional geometry, maths and derived data is hopeless – the file is not just a snapshot of geometry and topology, it also represents mathematical algorithms that have improved.
In short, by means of example – if an interersection curve between two bspline surfaces (would be)miscalculated in 2007 and properly calculated in 2008 version software, the difference may have been minor and you as the user may have accepted or even been aware of the difference. This difference may mean that in 2007 software your 2008 part is not viable. In order to properly understand software as complex as CADCAM you have to think in terms of timelines where bugs, false turns and other such problems mean that simple minded forward or backward winding of the timeline in terms of parts or software is extremely complex – I spent something like thirteen years fixing problems of huge complexity for bugs of this nature – Microsoft OS products are not a good example, there is little mathematical complexity – whatever problems those guys face with forwards or backwards compatiablity I can assure you they will be totally different and the fact that you quote this shows you have little grasp of the issues or technical complexities – as an end user that is fine you arent supposed to understand the problems so I am not berating you but hoping to correct you a little.
Forwards compatibility is a major headache – its difficult enough to get stuff that works in 2007 (for example) into 2008 but the reverse is even more difficult.
By the way – NX is also built on Parasolid so my comments apply there.
Perhaps since I left the industry NX has provided some kind of ability to port parts back to earlier versions but I can assure you that the underlying complexities are there in the maths and the algorithms and whatever the documentation says it will in general be difficult to reliably take anything but the simplest model from a new version back to an older one.
Jon
Another point to Nima
“3. In 2008 it will take at least double if not triple the time to save the exact same model and the file takes up more space. WHY?!!! This could only mean they are putting more information in a saved file. And last time I checked this is the wrong direction in software improvement”
Nima, the performance of modern CADCAM software is truely amazing, I spent thirteen years in the industry and parts that now fly at speed would have taken weeks with the algorithms of yesterday.
Performance and reliability are key issues, filesize is generally considered secondary since memory and disk space capacity and prices are cheap whereas design time is not.
If you want higher performance you generally have to consider storing more derived data, this is extremely troublesome for reasons hinted at in the last reply I made to your post but thats another story. Generally if capacity is cheap then developers will use it in order to please customers on some other aspect such as performance. I cant say why 2008 files are larger than 2007 but please do reconsider making deductivce criticisms like this because they are very unlikely to have any kind of technical validity – you are simply guessing. It remains my opinion that solid modelling is probably one of the most complex areas of software period – the fact that the crowd at SW manage to shield you – the user from all this complexity is testament to their sheer skill and dedication – similar comments apply to other developers working in the field.
Since I am no longer working in the industry I cannot say why your part takes longer to save – true it may be a bug but they may also be doing something smart to improve some aspect that you are not taking into account. If I cant guess with my background then I doubt you can. Why dont you stop guessing on online forums and instead help SW by submitting a bug report – that way someone will be able to do something about it ( if indeed there is a problem at all ) – conjecture is very easy to write but in an area as technical as solidmodelling it is very unlikely to have any value at all.
Disclaimer – I have no remaining connections to the CADCAM industry other than friends I have kept in touch with. I have no reason to defend anyone at Solidworks other than my memories of working in collaboration with an exceedingly clever and dedicated team who worked very hard to make solid modelling easy and intuitive.
Jon
The splash screen was “transparent” for a while in the beta. For some reason I liked that. Whoever did it should be mad that they took away their programming!
The splash screen was “transparent” for a while in the beta. For some reason I liked that. Whoever did it should be mad that they took away their programming!
I think Solidworks is a turd of the smelliest magnitude. I hate it, despise it, loath it, I fart in it's general direction! If I had a say at my company, I'd tell SW to stuff their buggy POS program up their collective ars! I just needed to vent and this website came up when I googled “Solidworks Sucks”. Thanks for listening.
Hello there
I n need of SP files for solidworks 2008 try to up date my version going back to college winter term.
SolidWorks 2008 is well known explain.
In 2008 saw large scale increase in 2820 images in the installation folder; 2007 has 1087. Both have a hi-res image of the top and bottom of a bagel.Cheers
In 2008 saw large scale increase in 2820 images in the installation folder; 2007 has 1087. Both have a hi-res image of the top and bottom of a bagel.Cheers
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