Problem

The purpose of this article is to discuss how an administrator can use an administrative image (admin image) to adjust a user's settings using a .sldsettings file and answer commonly asked questions.

When creating an admin image, the administrator has the ability to set user system option settings in a desired way. A .sldsettings file can be used to apply settings at startup, or even lock them so they cannot be changed. These can also be changed and adjusted for specific groups by creating new .sldsettings files and redeploying them to the desired group of people.

Solution

Follow the steps below to create a .sldsettings File for an Admin Image:

1. Open the Admin Image folder and access the Admin Image Editor sldAdminOptionEditor.exe
2. Add a group or user to the Administrator Settings
3. Click the "Change" button (pencil icon) to toggle options on

4. Go to the Client Installation Options section, toggle "Use a settings file exported from the SOLIDWORKS Settings Administrator", and select the "Launch Settings Administrator" button

   

5. In the Welcome tab, we are given a few different options to choose how the .sldsetting file will first be set up. Choose one of the following Starting Options in steps 6-9:
6. Default: The settings file will be initially set to SOLIDWORKS default system options
7. Import SOLIDWORKS 20XX: The settings file will be initially set to be the same settings as this version of SOLIDWORKS on the computer that is creating the image.
8. Browse to an existing sldreg file: The settings file will be initially set to a chosen Copy Settings Wizard .sldreg file.
9. Browse to an existing sldsetting file: The settings file will be initially set to a chosen Copy Settings Wizard .sldsetting file.

10. Once a Starting Option has been chosen, click "Next"

    

11. In the Systems Options tab of the SOLIDWORKS Settings Administration window, we can edit different settings to meet desired specifications. This window can look different depending on the Starting Option chosen earlier.

12. Toggling on "Apply/Checkmark" for a setting will cause SOLIDWORKS to make whatever change was made to that setting the default; the user can still adjust the setting during their session. Toggling "Lock" will change the setting to whatever is specified. However, the user cannot adjust that setting during their sessions.

    

13. The next tab that comes up is the Support Information tab. In this tab, we can set what a user sees when they click Help > Get Support in SOLIDWORKS. This will either take them to the SOLIDWORKS Support website, or Support Contact Information can be filled in to let a user know who to contact. Clicking the blue "Preview" button displays a preview of what they will see. Note: This was added in SOLIDWORKS 2020; older versions will just continue to the Finish tab.

    

14. Once the settings have been adjusted, click "Next", bringing up the finish window. We can adjust when the settings are applied and ways to override any locked options. An override password can be set so a user can enter it and remove any locks that are on their system. If "Every time a user starts SOLIDWORKS" is toggled on, they will need to enter the password each time to remove the locks. Additionally, settings that had "Apply/Checkmark" toggled on will revert back to their default.

    

15. Select Save to create the .sldsetting file and place it in a network location that all users can access. If a user cannot access the .sldsetting file then all locked options will be removed and SOLIDWORKS will use revert back to default settings if the systems options are reset. 
16. In the Administrative Image Option Editor, go back to the Client Installation Options section and select the Edit Path button to verify that the .sldsetting file was saved to a shared UNC path.
17. Repeat the steps above to update the .sldsettings file to change settings; then SOLIDWORKS will read the modified .sldsettings file when it is launched

Common Questions

For the settings we don’t lock down, can they be modified with the SOLIDWORKS restore settings wizard (Pre-created .sldreg files)?

Is there a way for the user to remove the locked settings?

• When creating the admin image, we are given the option to create an override password that a user can enter to remove locked settings. The user can then go into the System Options within SOLIDWORKS, and they are given a new section to enter the override password.

Are there any registry keys that reference the .sldsetting file?

• The Settings Administrator is controlled by the presence of the registry key:
  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Solidworks\SOLIDWORKS 20XX\General]\"LockedOptions," where 20XX is the edition (version year) of SOLIDWORKS, such as 2020.
• The value of the setting points to the file where the SOLIDWORKS Settings file is found. When the key is missing, no settings are applied. If the key is present, each time SOLIDWORKS starts, a copy of the specified file is placed in the user's profile as: %appdata%\SOLIDWORKS\SOLIDWORKS 20XX\Administrator.sldsettings
• When the source copy is changed, the next time the user starts, a new copy of the settings file is used if the source file is available.

For additional support, existing customers can submit a ticket or new customers can contact Hawk Ridge Systems.