Creating View Orientations

When viewing an assembly or part, often times default orientation views are inaccurate. This guide is written to demonstrate the process of creating a new, custom orientation. For example, in the image below the “Right” orientation view was selected however this is clearly not a view normal to the right plane in the rectangular block below.

To remedy this issue, position the part in the graphics area to show the desired view. In some cases creating angular mates to references such as a plane, is a good method to use when positioning the part. Another method that works with planar faces is to right click the face, select “Normal To” as shown in the image below.

After positioning the part to the desired orientation, select the downward arrow next to “View Orientation” in the heads up toolbar. From the drop-down menu that appears, select “New View”. Please refer to the image below for assistance finding the “New View” option.

After selecting “New View” you will be prompted to name the view. After naming the view, the new view can be selected from the “View Orientation” menu shown in the image below.

To assign the current view to an existing standard view such as top, right, etc., select the double arrow shown in the image below.

In the window that appears, select “Update Standard Views”. You will then be prompted to select the view to be replaced from the default SOLIDWORKS views. After selecting the view, SOLIDWORKS will warn you that changing a standard view will change the orientation of any standard orthogonal, named and child views. Select yes, your new view will now replace the previously selected standard view. Please refer to the image below for guidance finding these options.