Shaded Sketch Contours

After installing or upgrading to Solidworks 2017, you may have noticed that internal regions of closed sketch contours and sub-contours appear as shaded.

This shaded region is not a surface or solid geometry, it is just visual feedback that the contour is closed.  This visual feedback is new to 2017, and can be enabled or disabled by clicking Shaded Sketch Contours in the sketch command manager.

If you cannot find this option in the command manager, searching in the upper right hand corner will allow you to locate and select the option.  Make sure that the search filter is set to commands. 

With Shaded Sketch Contours off, the internal region of the closed contour is no longer shaded.

A few benefits of having Shaded Sketch Contours enabled include the ability to:

• Drag the shaded area.
• Apply relations to entities.
• Make blocks of the shaded sketch selections with the Make Block tool on the shortcut menu. The block will include all entities that make up the closed contour.
• Use the Extruded Boss/Base tool on the context toolbar by right-clicking the shaded sketch.
• Use shaded contours as input for the Mirror Entities and Offset Entities tools.

Contact Us

For further assistance, please contact our HawkSupport team at 877-266-4469(US) or 866-587-6803(Canada) and support@hawkridgesys.com.