Feature Transition: SOLIDWORKS Integration

Executive Summary

The SOLIDWORKS Integration has evolved into the Task Pane for SOLIDWORKS, delivering faster performance, greater stability, and more flexible deployment. The Task Pane for SOLIDWORKS now runs independently of SOLIDWORKS and no longer appears as a native in-window integration.

Adept can now read, process, and manage SOLIDWORKS files (.sldprt, .sldasm, .slddrw) without requiring SOLIDWORKS on servers or Users workstations. The new SOLIDWORKS integration works across Desktop Client, Web Client, and the standalone Task Pane for SOLIDWORKS.

Why the New Integration

Changes in the SOLIDWORKS partner ecosystem removed the foundations the previous integration depended on. Synergis Software responded by rebuilding from the ground up on a modern, independent architecture. Adept’s new Task Pane integration for SOLIDWORKS, which no longer depends on SOLIDWORKS being installed where Adept processes files, positions the integration for long-term compatibility, stability, and faster support of new SOLIDWORKS releases.

Comparison Old vs New

What stays the same for end users

• Check In/Check Out and Workflow in Desktop and Web clients

• Search, Data Card viewing, Document Dashboard relationship views

• Exports (DWF/PDF/OBJ) from Adept

• Assembly and configuration concepts

What changes

• Task Pane for SOLIDWORKS is a standalone application, not an embedded add-in. It coordinates with SOLIDWORKS externally and provides Vault access, context menus, and workflow tools.

• Opening and Viewing SOLIDWORKS documents

• Thumbnails may look slightly different because the new integration renders from geometry rather than the SOLIDWORKS engine.

• Some custom property mappings may need review due to different underlying extraction methods.

New Command: Prepare for Opening

The Adept Task Pane for SOLIDWORKS runs independently from the native SOLIDWORKS application and does not appear as a built-in window. Therefore, documents cannot be viewed or edited using the same steps as in earlier SOLIDWORKS integrations or other Adept CAD integrations, such as Inventor. The Prepare for Opening command manages relationships among SOLIDWORKS parts, assemblies, and related files, ensuring all dependent documents are handled before viewing or editing.

How It Works

1. Retrieve Relationship Tree

The process begins by retrieving the complete relationship tree of the selected document to identify all associated parent and child documents.

2. Analyze Hierarchy

It then analyzes the hierarchy by traversing the relationship structure to determine which related documents also contain their own children.

3. Compile Document List

Next, it compiles a comprehensive list of all related documents and determines how many of them require path updates.

4. Locate Relationships and Virtualize Documents

The process then identifies where relationships are stored within each document and virtualizes child documents when explicitly required to safely manage references.

5. Update Parent References

After that, it iterates through parent document references and updates file paths to their new locations only when all relationships are valid, with SLDDRW files excluded from this update.

6. Update Child References

Finally, it processes child documents that also have their own children and updates their reference paths to ensure consistency across the entire hierarchy.

Important Limitations

• Prepare for Opening cannot repair broken relationships.

• The process depends entirely on existing, valid relationships to:

  • Successfully virtualize child documents

  • Update reference paths in parent files

• If broken relationships exist, they will not be resolved by this process.

Resolving Broken Relationships

To address broken relationships, use one of the following methods:

• Refresh the Work Area

• Clear/Refresh Extraction

These are the only available tools that may potentially restore or correct broken relationships.

Impact on Existing Configurations and Data

Data preservation

• Historical metadata, thumbnails, relationships, and version history are preserved during the Adept upgrade.

Property mappings

• Standard properties (Title, Author, Description, etc.) continue to work as before.

• Custom property mappings generally migrate; verify a sample of configuration- and sheet-specific properties.

• If a mapping no longer resolves (e.g., an uncommon property location), re-map via the plugin admin forms.

Thumbnails

• Legacy thumbnails remain visible; new thumbnails are produced by the new integration when extracted or re-extracted.

• Visuals may differ slightly (lighting, default view). Functionality is unaffected.

Relationships and assemblies

• Assembly hierarchies and dependencies continue to be extracted and displayed.

• Prepare for Opening improve day-to-day assembly management and reduce broken-reference churn.

User Advice

Based on feedback from our testers—many of whom were experienced users of the previous integration—we recommend a few key practices to get the most out of the new SOLIDWORKS integration. First, make Prepare for Opening part of your regular workflow. It captures changes to files that you may not be aware of and ensures you’re working with the most up-to-date data; in fact, you will likely rely on Prepare for Opening more often than you expect, so be sure to run it before opening any document. Second, remember that this is our 1.0 release. While functional, it is still a work in progress, and we recognize there are additional steps compared to the previous experience—we are actively working to streamline and improve this. Finally, your feedback is critical. We have our own perspective on the integration, but we want to hear yours—what’s working well, what isn’t, and where we can improve the most. Please share your thoughts so we can continue to evolve the experience.

Summary

The Task Pane for SOLIDWORKS modernizes the legacy integration by delivering significantly improved performance, stability, and flexibility while removing the dependency on SOLIDWORKS installations for data processing. Built on an independent API, Adept can now manage SOLIDWORKS files across Desktop, Web, and the standalone Task Pane experience. Core user functionality—such as Check In/Out, Search, and assembly management—remains unchanged, while new workflows like the standalone Task Pane and Prepare for Opening improve how document relationships are handled. Existing data, relationships, and most configurations are preserved, though some property mappings and thumbnail visuals may require review. Overall, the update provides a more resilient, scalable, and future-ready integration.