This page contains general tips for usage of all CUSTOMTOOLS products and terminology used in the products and their user interfaces and helps.
Here from the helps you may find the common glossary and tips in relation to all CUSTOMTOOLS products. Select the desired product from the following Select Product box and then click the associated Open button to see the glossary and tips for the specific product.
| 3D Model | Means a SOLIDWORKS document which type can be a part or an assembly. |
| Model | Same as the 3D Model. |
| x86 | 32-bit system platform. |
| x64 | 64-bit system platform. |
| sa user | System administrator account in the Microsoft SQL Server. |
| Sequence | The user defined serie of numbers used to generate e.g. the document codes. |
| Esc | Press the Esc key to cancel the operation of CUSTOMTOOLS command. |
| Enter | Press the Enter key to execute the CUSTOMTOOLS command or accept the changes. |
| Tab | Press Tab to jump into the next available control in the dialog box or in the side pane. |
| Shift + Tab | Press Shift + Tab to return to the previous control in the dialog box or in the side pane. |
| Alt |
Press the Alt key to see the shortcut keys to the CUSTOMTOOLS commands. The letter underlined in the command name means the shortcut key.
In the SOLIDWORKS Add-In, press Alt + <shortcut key> to perform the command. |
To customize the list columns, right-click the list header row and select the desired columns to be shown.
When you have an assembly open you can use CUSTOMTOOLS commands for the desired part, sub-assembly or a drawing by right-clicking the desired document in the FeatureManager design tree or in the drawing area, and then selecting the desired CUSTOMTOOLS command.
Using CUSTOMTOOLS commands affects always to the selected entity. When nothing specific is selected the CUSTOMTOOLS commands affects to the active document.
The CUSTOMTOOLS Login dialog box stores the most recently used User name. That means the user does not have to type the user name again each time when logging into the CUSTOMTOOLS database.
| NOTE: Using the Logout command clears the stored login information and ends the currently existing database session, so the Login dialog box appear again when you start CUSTOMTOOLS next time. |
The CUSTOMTOOLS usage needs to have an active database and also an active database profile. In environment where is only one database and/or, the database have only one profile, the only database and its only profile is set as active automatically for the new user when the new user first time starts SOLIDWORKS with the CUSTOMTOOLS add-in.
If the environment have more than one CUSTOMTOOLS database located in the same SQL Server and/or the database(s) have more than one database profile, the Data Vault dialog box appear normally on the CUSTOMTOOLS startup to let the user to choose the active database and the active profile.
Tabs in CUSTOMTOOLS Options are shown based on the user rights. So if you do not see some specific options tab please contact your CUSTOMTOOLS administrator to get further information about your CUSTOMTOOLS environment related user right policies.
You can resize list view columns in several dialog boxes and options pages in the CUSTOMTOOLS Options dialog box. The changed width is stored by CUSTOMTOOLS so the changes you made to the column widths are still present on the next times you open the CUSTOMTOOLS Options.
The Browse for Folder dialog boxes are used to select the desired folder to determine where to get files from or to determine where to save the output files to. You can find the following controls from the Browse for Folder dialogs:
| Select Folder | A tree view that represents the file system of your workstation. |
| Include Subfolders | Select this option to search documents also from the subfolders located under the folder selected in the Select Folder tree view. |
| Folder | Use the Folder box to type manually the path of the desired folder. |
| Make New Folder | Creates a new folder under the folder currently selected from the Select Folder tree view. |
You can re-arrange the columns shown in the lists like existing Properties, File Conversion rules and so on, by draggin and dropping the desired columns from their current location to another. Click header of the column you want to move to another place in the list, hold down the mouse button, drag the column into a new place and drop it there. CUSTOMTOOLS stores the column locations as well so you do not have to re-arrange the columns again once you have done that once.
You can resize the projects tree view in the CUSTOMTOOLS Projects related Profile Options. Resizing the projects tree works by the same principle as the drag-and-drop feature does. Grab the right side border of the projects tree view panel (mouse cursor turns to vertical arrow with arrow head at the both ends) with the primary button of your mouse and hold down the mouse button while dragging to make the projects tree view wider or narrower.
The following customizing instructions apply to the CUSTOMTOOLS SOLIDWORKS Add-in. While you have any document open in SOLIDWORKS, right-click the CommandManager and select Customize or, click Tools, Customize to open the SOLIDWORKS Customize dialog box used for the SOLIDWORKS user interface customization.
| Toolbars |
In the Toolbars tab, you can determine the toolbars shown in the SOLIDWORKS.
To show the CUSTOMTOOLS toolbar, select the CUSTOMTOOLS option in the Toolbars list. If you do not want to show the CUSTOMTOOLS toolbar in SOLIDWORKS, clear selection of the CUSTOMTOOLS option in the Toolbars list. |
| Commands |
In the Commands tab, you can add or remove commands shown in the desired toolbar, or in the desired tab of the CommandManager.
Select CUSTOMTOOLS from the Categories box. From the CUSTOMTOOLS category, you can find the CUSTOMTOOLS commands available. To add commands to the toolbars or CommandManager, drag and drop the desired commands from the Customize dialog box to their desired places in the target toolbar or in the target tab of the CommandManager. To remove un-necessary commands from the desired toolbar or from the selected tab of the CommandManager, drag and drop the desired command from the toolbar or CommandManager to the Customize dialog box. |
| Menus |
Customize the menus available in the SOLIDWORKS menu bar.
To find the CUSTOMTOOLS commands, select Tools from the Categories box. While you have the Tools category seleced, the CUSTOMTOOLS commands are located under the CUSTOMTOOLS group in the Commands box. |
| Keyboard |
In the Keyboard tab, you can setup the keyboard shortcuts.
To customize the keyboard shortcuts related to the CUSTOMTOOLS commands, select Tools from the Category box. While you have the Tools category selected, you can find the CUSTOMTOOLS commands from under the CUSTOMTOOLS group in the shortcuts list. NOTE: The CUSTOMTOOLS commands related to the Import feature and the CUSTOMTOOLS commands that are located after the Import submenu in the CUSTOMTOOLS menu, are located under the Import group in the shortcuts list. |
| Mouse Gestures |
In the Mouse gestures tab, you can assign mouse gestures.
To assign the mouse gestures to the CUSTOMTOOLS commands, select Tools from the Category box. While you have the Tools category selected, you can find the CUSTOMTOOLS commands from under the CUSTOMTOOLS group in the mouse gestures list. NOTE: The CUSTOMTOOLS commands related to the Import feature and the CUSTOMTOOLS commands that are located after the Import submenu in the CUSTOMTOOLS menu, are located under the Import group in the mouse gestures list. |
CUSTOMTOOLS creates a log file in relation to your batch print process you execute using the Print/Convert feature. The log file is created always when you execute a batch print operation. A log file called CUSTOMTOOLS print log.txt is saved into the following path in your local workstation:
C:\Users\<WindowsUserName>\AppData\Local\ATR Soft Oy\CustomTools
You can open the CUSTOMTOOLS printing log with for example the Notepad program included in the Microsoft Windows operating system.
Please note that only the batch printing operations are logged. CUSTOMTOOLS batch file conversion does not create a log file.