Using toolbars

The point of the CommandManager is to enable you have many toolbars available to you in a single
click, with the main goal being space savings. SolidWorks is a complex program, with a sprawling
interface. The CommandManager does a good job of making most of it available to you quickly
without taking up a lot of space. Unfortunately, when you save one thing, you usually wind up giving
up something else. Interface set up is frequently about compromise or balancing conflicting concerns.
In the case of the CommandManager, the compromise is between mouse travels and clicks.
You may find yourself clicking frequently back and forth between the Sketch and Features tabs. For
this reason, in my interface setup, I put the Sketch toolbar vertically on the right, and remove it
from the CommandManager. This enables me to see the Sketch and Features toolbars at the same
time, and greatly reduces the times I have to click back and forth between the tabs.
You can enable and disable toolbars in several ways. To enable a toolbar, right-click in a toolbar
area and you will be presented with a list of toolbars in SolidWorks. You can enable and disable
this list from here. Another way to do this is to use the Customize dialog box by choosing
Tools ➪ Customize, or the Customize option near the bottom of the RMB toolbar list. Yet another
way is to choose View ➪ Toolbars.

SolidWorks® 2010 Bible
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
10475 Crosspoint Boulevard
Indianapolis, IN 46256
www.wiley.com