SOLIDWORKS Launches but is not Visible on Active Monitor

This article applies to the situation where the SOLIDWORKS application successfully launches, but does appear on the active monitors.  This generally occurs when a monitor which SOLIDWORKS was last opened on was disconnected.  This is most common when using a laptop with external monitors or with a a docking station with monitors.

Signs of the issue

SOLIDWORKS will show as an active process in the task manager.

Hovering over SOLIDWORKS in the task bar shows a preview of the SOLIDWORKS window, but clicking on SOLIDWORKS has no visible effect.

Solution

Follow these steps to return the SOLIDWORKS window to an active monitor:

1. Click the running instance of SOLIDWORKS in the task bar(this will ensure the window is selected)
2. Press alt+space+R(This will restore the window if it is maximized.  If the window is maximized step 3 will not work)
3. Hold the Windows key and press the left or right arrow key repeatedly until the window appears on the active monitor.  
4. Alternatively, you can press alt+spacebar+M and then use the arrows keys or mouse drag to move the SOLIDWORKS window to the active monitor.
5. If this does not return SOLIDWORKS to the visible monitor, right click on your desktop and select "display settings".  Check that only the active monitors are shown as identified.  Restart your computer and SOLIDWORKS should display properly on the active monitor.   

If the issue persists after following these instructions, a more invasive registry reset will restore the last known window position for SOLIDWORKS. We recommend consulting with IT prior to performing registry edits.