This document has detailed instructions on how to download, license, and install SOLIDWORKS Visualize.
Before loading any software, you should always login with full administrative permissions.
This is not a troubleshooting guide. If you have any technical issues with SOLIDWORKS Visualize, please contact a support technician through our website or call us at 1.877.266.4469 (US) or 1.866.587.6803 (Canada).
This document is only to be distributed and used by Hawk Ridge Systems customers. Any other use is prohibited.
Contents
Before Installation
Hawk Ridge Systems highly recommends taking a moment before installing SOLIDWORKS Visualize and checking that you are ready to load your new software by going through the points in this article.
To optimize performance of your Visualize installation, please make sure that you are meeting the system requirements. Benchmark Reference: SOLIDWORKS Hardware Benchmarks | SOLIDWORKS
Note:
- For Non-Certified NVIDIA Based GPUs: Visualize’s minimum requirement is to have a graphics card from at least the Maxwell microarchitecture. That means product lines such as GeForce work with Visualize. However, if you are a user who uses SOLIDWORKS CAD and Visualize on the same computer, SOLIDWORKS certified cards are recommended to fully support both products.
- For Multiple GPUs: It is recommended to have multiple supported graphics cards to improve performance.
- NVIDIA Iray Render Engine: Starting in 2025, the Iray engine is no longer available and is replaced by the 3DS Stellar Physically Correct engine.
Visualize Licensing
SOLIDWORKS Visualize Standard is included with each SOLIDWORKS CAD Professional and Premium licenses on active Subscription. An additional serial number is required to activate the complimentary seat of Visualize Standard. This serial number can be found by contacting our support team at support@hawkridgesys.com or calling 877-266-4469 (US) / 866-587-6803 (Canada).
SOLIDWORKS Visualize is installed via the SOLIDWORKS Installation Manager, which can be obtained through the SOLIDWORKS downloads page. If you are unable to access the downloads, please follow this article to be assigned a role for your company.
Basic Installation
- Download the Installation Manager from the SOLIDWORKS downloads page and launch it from the saved location and extract the files.
- If you see a message about requiring a Windows reboot, you can click “OK” to get past it. The first page of the Installation Manager will welcome you to SOLIDWORKS and ask which type of installation you would like to perform. For a standalone install, pick the option Install on this computer. Press the Next button to continue.
- The next page will ask for your serial numbers. Input your Visualize serial number into the SOLIDWORKS Visualize field, found in the Visualization section. Input any other product serial numbers into their appropriate fields.
- Click the Next button to continue. The Installation Manager will check for updates and older installations. Additionally, it will confirm what products you are entitled to install.
You may be informed that there is a newer available version for download. We recommend you choose to continue installing with your original service pack and upgrade later. If you receive this prompt, choose your desired option, and press the Next button to continue.
- In the Summary section, click on the CHANGE link found to the right of the Products drop down menu.
- Ensure that Visualize is checked for installation. Once you have done this, click Back to Summary to return to the summary section.
- If you wish to edit your Download Options or Install Location, you can press the CHANGE button on any of these items to customize them. Pressing the Greater Than symbol (>) will show what the current settings are.
- You will be shown the estimated installation and download size for your products at the bottom of the Summary section. An estimated download size for additional install files may also be shown.
- Check on “I accept the terms of the SOLIDWORKS License Agreement”.
- Click the Install Now button to continue. If there are any files that need downloading, this button will appear as Download and Install.
- Any required download will start automatically.
- If all the required install files were already present on the system, the Visualize install will start automatically. Any other products that were selected during the previous Summary section will also install automatically.
- Once the installation has been completed, press the Finish button to exit the Installation Manager.
- Now that Visualize is loaded, launch the software, and follow the activation prompts to activate your license. Please see our Product Activation document if you would like instructions on how to do this.
For further assistance, please contact our support team at support@hawkridgesys.com, or 877-266-4469 (US) or 866-587-6803 (Canada).
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