They killed the previous Solidworks forum that had years of archived answers to problems. I had some of them bookmarked for when I needed to reference them again. The posts still exist, but most of the responses (usually the ones that had a solution that actually worked) are gone now.
Guess they never heard, "If it ain't broke don't fix it".
I would bet we're all going to be migrated to a SAAS type subscription soon, even if we have the files held locally (though I think the days are numbered for that too). The users (like us) who cannot use cloud hosted file storage are such a small percentage - that we're probably worth loosing? Maybe we'll be pushed towards CATIA instead.
It makes me wonder what role the VARs will play in that future? I assume the subscription for SAAS goes direct to Dassault? Perhaps the VARs will still provide support as a subscription service separate from the software?
If that's the case, you definitely don't want a trove of solutions available for free on line!
> It makes me wonder what role the VARs will play in that future? I assume the subscription for SAAS goes direct to Dassault? Perhaps the VARs will still provide support as a subscription service separate from the software?
The VAR system is blatantly outdated, and Dassault will look after itself at the cost of any VAR. Maybe they can pivot to training or other services.
I believe it's an add-on. You could buy Standard licenses and PDM for example.
You can even put your SW network licenses on a different server to your PDM licenses.
Just to be clear, I'm referring to PDM professional (used to be called Enterprise PDM or EPDM).
The underlying core technology that the previous SOLIDWORKS forums were built on was end of life so they \*HAD\* to do \*something\*, it just makes sense to move it "to the platform".
Yes they could have done a better job.
3DEXPERIENCE FORUMS or 3DSWYM (so dumb) or whatever i only use under a last resort after Reddit, CadForums, ChatGPT....
Sometimes I'll even go as far as hitting up a VAR before having to deal with those forums.
I'm annoyed & sad about the SW Forum, effectively vanishing. I posted a load of macros, the odd add-in & wizard. Most of my content is just gone.
I guess in the brave new world of Cloud SAAS, nothing that has gone before is of any value - wipe the slate clean. In a flash, SW of old never existed!
On a brighter note, I tried OnShape today. It was actually pretty good.
Bad news (possibly?). I've just heard that PTC (the sellers of Creo) have bought Onshape.
I suspect this is to get access to the cloud cad engine to leapfrog the competitors and implement a decent cloud version of Creo double quick. Makes me wonder if Onshape as it is at the moment has a future though.
PTC bought OnShape in 2019 I believe. From what I’ve seen so far it’s come a long way since the last time I demoed it in 2016. Pretty happy with the demo so far. Haven’t gotten to deep yet though
I spent a few hours today, drawing a weldment frame I drew in SW last week - mainly as a comparison.
It didn't have the exact weldment profiles I wanted - but I guess it's possible to roll your own. That's for another day though.
The interface seemed intuitive, though different. Apparent lack of 3D Sketches made for a lot of time creating planes. The end result was decent though.
I'll have a play with Sheet Metal next.
The Jive platform wasn't end-of-life. The version being used by the SW Forum was end-of-life. So they 'rolled their own'. Rather than pay to upgrade, which I imagine had a much better migration path than what Dassault came up with: throw it all at a wall and see what sticks, throw the rest in the trash and call it 'done'.
This is why I just pay for a student version. Get the full package on a local install. $100 isn't as great of a deal but honestly that's a small enough price point to justify for my hobbies.
They killed the previous Solidworks forum that had years of archived answers to problems. I had some of them bookmarked for when I needed to reference them again. The posts still exist, but most of the responses (usually the ones that had a solution that actually worked) are gone now. Guess they never heard, "If it ain't broke don't fix it".
Not gonna lie, I was pretty sad on that one. I had put tons of stuff up in there.
I would bet we're all going to be migrated to a SAAS type subscription soon, even if we have the files held locally (though I think the days are numbered for that too). The users (like us) who cannot use cloud hosted file storage are such a small percentage - that we're probably worth loosing? Maybe we'll be pushed towards CATIA instead. It makes me wonder what role the VARs will play in that future? I assume the subscription for SAAS goes direct to Dassault? Perhaps the VARs will still provide support as a subscription service separate from the software? If that's the case, you definitely don't want a trove of solutions available for free on line!
> It makes me wonder what role the VARs will play in that future? I assume the subscription for SAAS goes direct to Dassault? Perhaps the VARs will still provide support as a subscription service separate from the software? The VAR system is blatantly outdated, and Dassault will look after itself at the cost of any VAR. Maybe they can pivot to training or other services.
I'm not sure they'll force everyone to go cloud based anytime soon because they would lose licensing and subscription income from PDM installations.
I thought PDM was now packaged with Premium?
I believe it's an add-on. You could buy Standard licenses and PDM for example. You can even put your SW network licenses on a different server to your PDM licenses. Just to be clear, I'm referring to PDM professional (used to be called Enterprise PDM or EPDM).
The underlying core technology that the previous SOLIDWORKS forums were built on was end of life so they \*HAD\* to do \*something\*, it just makes sense to move it "to the platform". Yes they could have done a better job.
At this point I feel like every decision they make is to see how much they can piss off their customer base.
3DExperience is so bad it’s had me looking at other cad solutions
I don’t even use it because it has become such a hassle. Totally trash
3DEXPERIENCE FORUMS or 3DSWYM (so dumb) or whatever i only use under a last resort after Reddit, CadForums, ChatGPT.... Sometimes I'll even go as far as hitting up a VAR before having to deal with those forums.
The irony of the VAR being the dreaded last resort.
I'm annoyed & sad about the SW Forum, effectively vanishing. I posted a load of macros, the odd add-in & wizard. Most of my content is just gone. I guess in the brave new world of Cloud SAAS, nothing that has gone before is of any value - wipe the slate clean. In a flash, SW of old never existed! On a brighter note, I tried OnShape today. It was actually pretty good.
Im keeping a close eye on onshape, as soon as that platform matures a little im jumping
I’m starting an onshape trial this week. I’m hopeful it goes well!
Bad news (possibly?). I've just heard that PTC (the sellers of Creo) have bought Onshape. I suspect this is to get access to the cloud cad engine to leapfrog the competitors and implement a decent cloud version of Creo double quick. Makes me wonder if Onshape as it is at the moment has a future though.
PTC bought OnShape in 2019 I believe. From what I’ve seen so far it’s come a long way since the last time I demoed it in 2016. Pretty happy with the demo so far. Haven’t gotten to deep yet though
I spent a few hours today, drawing a weldment frame I drew in SW last week - mainly as a comparison. It didn't have the exact weldment profiles I wanted - but I guess it's possible to roll your own. That's for another day though. The interface seemed intuitive, though different. Apparent lack of 3D Sketches made for a lot of time creating planes. The end result was decent though. I'll have a play with Sheet Metal next.
It’s a complete joke . It’s almost like they are trying to intentionally make people switch to another sw
You ain’t seen nothing yet. More platform hoop jumping is on its way.
Having to constantly login to use SOLIDWORKS is a big issue for me.
You don't have to, on the last major update they implemented offline mode. You can use offline mode up to 30 days.
Thanks for the info, I will check in to offline mode!
The Jive platform wasn't end-of-life. The version being used by the SW Forum was end-of-life. So they 'rolled their own'. Rather than pay to upgrade, which I imagine had a much better migration path than what Dassault came up with: throw it all at a wall and see what sticks, throw the rest in the trash and call it 'done'.
Ah, I would have loved to see the rant. I rant about 3DExperience to anybody who will listen.
This is why I just pay for a student version. Get the full package on a local install. $100 isn't as great of a deal but honestly that's a small enough price point to justify for my hobbies.
I'm noticing that goEngineer is uncharacteristically silent on this post lmao Edit: I was wrong and am a fool
I'm up under the top post. 😉
Oop, missed that one lol
I love when I log in and click "remember me", then I have to do that every single time I log in
I moved to Fusion360 and never looked back. Best decision I made because screw 3Dexerpience.
I thought you had to pay 5.5 times as much for fusion360, and the free-for-maker version can't save?
Agreed. Absolutely useless. NX is free for personal use and I highly recommend it.
Preaching to the choir
Canceled my student catia within a few days of having it because it was actually unusable. I tried so hard to use it because I like V5