This article goes over the usage of the SOLIDWORKS Task Scheduler's Upgrade Assistant. You can find a full list of tasks performed by the Task Scheduler here:
Automating Tasks After Hours – Hawk Ridge Systems Support
The Upgrade Assistant allows you to test the migration of parts, assemblies, and drawings from an earlier version of SOLIDWORKS installed on your machine to the latest version without modifying the files.
Note: Before testing bulk files with the Upgrade Assistant, it is best to select a small sample file or a small group of files to test with first. Use the duration of that sample batch to estimate how long it will take to test the rest of the files on your hardware.
Creating the Task
Here are the steps listed according to the following graphic:
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Open up the Upgrade Assistant task in the SOLIDWORKS Task Scheduler
- Set a custom Task Title if needed
- Select the Earlier version of SOLIDWORKS from the drop-down list.
- Add the file or folder that contains the documents to test. Only either File or Folder can be selected for the task.
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- If adding individual files from different folders: use the button Add File > browse to the file's location > select the file > click "Open".
- If there are folders that all files within need to be updated: use the button Add Folder > browse to the folder's location > select the folder > click "Select Folder". You can then check on "Include subfolders" to include files in subfolders.
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- Running mode can be set to Once, Daily, Weekly, or Monthly. If the Start time and Start date are set in the past before clicking "Finish", the task will start immediately.
- Click Options to include configurations for a more in-depth report and create a zip archive of the failed files. Additionally, you can send the zip archive to us to share the test results!
- In the Advanced option:
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- Set where the task working folder is. The task working files can include backup files, reports, and so on.
- Set when the task would timeout, ending the task whether or not the task completes.
- Run SOLIDWORKS in the background minimized or not.
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- After everything is set up for the requirements, click Finish to set the task in motion.
Generating the Report
When running, the Upgrade Assistant will open each file using both your specified version of SOLIDWORKS and the installed SOLIDWORKS version that you plan on migrating to. A series of tests are run comparing each file and generating a comparison report that includes performance changes, rebuild errors, drawing pixel changes (color and position), and stability problems.
The following differences are highlighted if detected in the current version:
| Performance changes: | A full rebuild of the model is more than 10% slower. |
| File size: | The file has grown by more than 10%. |
| Drawing pixel changes: | One or more pixels in a snapshot of the drawing have changed color or position. |
| Stability problems: | Opening or rebuilding a model or drawing is causing an application to fail. |
| Volume: | The volume varies by 0.4%. |
| Center of Mass Comparison: | The Upgrade Assistant marks the comparison as failed and reports a difference if the following empirical formula returns a value greater than 0.025: 10,000 * ( (CMx_new - CMx_baseline)^2 + (CMy_new - CMy_baseline)^2 + (CMz_new - CMz_baseline)^2) ) / Area_baseline |
If no critical errors are found, you can be confident that your data will migrate successfully to the target version. If critical errors are found, send a copy of the comparison report to your reseller for further assistance.
For further technical support, please contact Hawk Ridge Systems at 877.266.4469 for the U.S. or 866.587.6803 for Canada and support@hawkridgesys.com.
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