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1. Getting started

Requirements

  • Windows 10/11 x64, SOLIDWORKS 2020 or newer.
  • No admin rights and no Python install needed: SwPy ships its own Python 3.12 runtime.

Install

Download SwPy-x.y.z.zip from the latest release, unzip it to a permanent folder (for example %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\SwPy) and run, in that folder:

powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File tools\install.ps1

This registers the add-in for your Windows user only and creates a SOLIDWORKS + SwPy shortcut on the desktop and in the Start menu. Start SOLIDWORKS with that shortcut: it starts (or attaches to) SOLIDWORKS and loads SwPy.

Why a shortcut? SOLIDWORKS only auto-loads add-ins registered for the whole machine, which needs admin rights. If you have them, install.ps1 -Machine also registers SwPy machine-wide so it loads with every SOLIDWORKS start and appears in Tools > Add-Ins.

Uninstall with tools\install.ps1 -Uninstall.

Open the editor

SwPy adds a SwPy - Python tab to the task pane (the panel on the right side of the SOLIDWORKS window). Click its icon to open it. The pane has:

 ▶ Run | New  Open ▾  Save  Find | Clear  Reset | Theme  ?
 [scratch] [bracket.py ●]                          <- script tabs
 ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
 │ 1  for f in model.features():               │  <- editor
 │ 2      print(f.Name)                        │
 └─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
 # run scratch (2 lines)                         <- output
 Boss-Extrude1
 >>> model.mass["volume"]                        <- REPL line
 Ready                         Ln 2, Col 18   Python: ready

Your first script

Open any part, type this into the editor and press F5 (or Ctrl+Enter, or ▶ Run):

print("SOLIDWORKS", sw.RevisionNumber())
doc.GetTitle() if doc else "no document open"

The first run starts Python (about a second); after that runs take milliseconds. print output appears in the output panel, and the value of the last line is shown too, like in a notebook.

Now something useful - list the features of the active part and its volume:

for f in model.features():
    print(f.GetTypeName2().ljust(16), f.Name)
print("volume:", round(to(model.mass["volume"], mm**3)), "mm^3")

Things to notice:

  • sw, doc and model are always there: the application, the active document and a Pythonic wrapper around it (see Scripting basics).
  • mm is a unit: to(x, mm**3) converts the SI value to cubic millimetres.
  • Type model. and a list of everything you can use pops up. Press F1 on any SOLIDWORKS method to open its official API help page.

Where things are stored

What Where
Untitled scripts (kept automatically) %LOCALAPPDATA%\SwPy\scratch.py, %LOCALAPPDATA%\SwPy\scratch\
Editor settings, open tabs, recent files %LOCALAPPDATA%\SwPy\editor.json
Packages installed with # r: %LOCALAPPDATA%\SwPy\site-packages\py3.12
Log file %LOCALAPPDATA%\SwPy\logs\swpy.log

Next steps