Tag: annotation note

All Uppercase, or how I learned to stop worrying about CAPS LOCK in SOLIDWORKS

SOLIDWORKS 2014 introduced the All Uppercase option for Note Annotations. Forgetting to use CAPS LOCK is no longer something to fear.

There was a dark time when one had to remember to turn on CAPS LOCK keyboard toggle while they created engineering drawing notes. This was problematic because if you forgot, you’d have to retype everything. If you were creating your general notes, that was a lot of retyping. Even if you remembered to use CAPS LOCK, you’d still have to find workarounds for file properties and certain custom properties that displayed the raw system value, where capitalization wasn’t possible. A light shined upon the world in 2013. That year, SOLIDWORKS 2014 introduced the All Uppercase option for Note Annotations.

All Uppercase turned off
All Uppercase turned on

However, unlike word processor applications, SOLIDWORKS is smart about how it capitalizes text.

  • Original text is preserved, so if you turn the setting off, your text returns to its original state.
  • The setting recognizes the value of file and custom properties and capitalizes these as well.
  • Where you would want the “mm” in the word “dimmer” to capitalize as “DIMMER”, you wouldn’t want the “mm” in “10 mm” to capitalize. So, along with the new functionality, SOLIDWORKS is smart enough to know the difference by using its Exclusion list.
Exclusion list

There is the ability to use the capitalization setting as a Document Property, meaning that any note you create will automatically use the All Uppercase setting. You still have local control for each note, of course.

All Uppercase Document Property
All Uppercase in PropertyManager

SOLIDWORKS 2018 introduced this functionality for Tables in SOLIDWORKS. You can change the setting for an entire table, a range of cells or individual cells.

All Uppercase in 2018

Finally, SOLIDWORKS 2020 introduced this functionality for Dimensions (including Hole Callouts).

All Uppercase in 2020

You have the ability to set All Uppercase document defaults differently for Notes, Tables and Dimensions, so if you want to automatically capitalize your notes, but not your dimensions or tables, you have that choice.

One more point; a tip:

  1. Select a note.
  2. Hold down SHIFT and press F3.
  3. While holding SHIFT, each time you press F3, you will toggle All Uppercase on and off for the selected note.
  4. This is the same keystroke as MS Word for switching between casing options.
SHIFT-F3 to toggle

Plug for Enhancement Requests

In past articles, I’ve mentioned some enhancement requests (ER’s) for SolidWorks.  Most (All?) of the enhancement requests I’ve made are now SPR’s, which are slated for some action at some time in the future.  To get the ball rolling on these requests, I’d like to invite others to vote for these changes in the Customer Portal.  I’m not going to provide links to my requests, as they wouldn’t work anyway with the Customer Portal’s java script.   I will mention a brief description of each change, and bold keywords which may be used to easily find the open SPR’s in the Customer Portal.  These are my requests, many of which I’ve talked about prior to submitting them to the ER system.

  • Support new ASME Y14.5-2009 symbols on drawings and models.
  • Option to force captilization (note the misspelling) of annotation notes on drawings (original article).
  • Add CR (Controlled Radius) symbol (original article).
  • Support External Threads as an actual feature similar to Hole Wizard (original article).
  • and a new one (no SPR yet), the ability to auto insert angle dimensions and values in sketch mode, just as we can already do with linear dimensions.  (This was inspired by a recent article by Deelip Menezes, in which he apparently misjudged SolidWorks dimension capabilities in sketch mode, but ended up finding a good candidate for an ER anyway.)

I have other SPR’s, but these are the ones that are actually enhancement related (as opposed to bugs or workflow annoyances).  Please visit the Customer Portal soon.  Choose “Enhancement Requests”.  In the ER search field, enter the bolded keyword(s) for each of the requests above.  Then pick and vote for the associated SPR.

SolidWorks 2010 Usability: Attach Annotations to Dimensions

There are a ton of subtle improvements in SolidWorks 2010 to improve its usability.  Many of these improvements might seem small now, but once one is reliant on the new functionality, it will seem like we’ve always had it this way.  Attaching annotations to dimensions is now easier with expanded capability.  Here’s a couple of examples showing-off these new capabilities.

Drop Annotation Notes into Dimensions

It is now possible to drag an annotation note and drop it onto a dimension, to become apart of that dimension callout.  First, LMB click and hold on the annotation note.

Select annotation text

Then, simply drag that annotation note on top of the dimension.

Selected text becomes apart of dimension

The result is that the text from the annotation note is now included within the text of the dimension.  One limitation is that the dimension field still does not support borders around selected text.

Attach Annotations to Dimensions

Other types of annotation that can be attached to dimensions include GD&T feature control frames, datum feature symbols and surface finish symbols.

Annotations attach in more ways to dimensions

  • Annotations and their leaders may now be attached directly to extension lines.
  • GD&T annotations now may be dropped right into a dimension callout and then detached with the use of the handles in the upper left corner.
  • Annotations may now be moved around extension lines, and more easily moved from one attachment to another.