Problem

This article goes over how to troubleshoot corrupt multi-sheet drawings for SOLIDWORKS 2021 & newer. For SOLIDWORKS 2020 or older, take a look at this article:
Troubleshooting Corrupt Multisheet Drawings (SOLIDWORKS 2020 and Older) – Hawk Ridge Systems

When a file is corrupted, SolidWorks will usually give an error message: 
"SolidWorks encountered an error opening the document".  

If this is happening in a multi-sheet drawing, the source of the corruption can be the drawing itself or one of the sheets within the drawing.

Solution Step 1: Identifying Corrupted Sheets

1. Go to File > Open and select the drawing, but do not open the file yet
2. Use the "Mode" slider to select "Resolved"
3. Press "Select Sheets..." and select the "None" option. All of the sheets listed below should say "Quick View". 
4. Open the drawing

5. If the drawing loads without an error, close the drawing (File > Close), and repeat step 3 & 4. This time, select only one specific sheet to load

   

6. If the sheet successfully loads (no error messages and all data onscreen appears as expected), complete step 5 again for the second sheet. Repeat this until all sheets have been checked. This will help indicate which sheets are corrupted.
7. Once the healthy sheets have been located, continue to the next section

Solution Step 2: Removing Corrupted Drawing Sheets

Once the problematic sheets have been found, the file can be fixed by removing any corrupted sheets.

1. Use the Quick View mode to load a working sheet by clicking on the "Select sheets to open..." or "Select Sheets" button. Then pick the "Selected" radio button and highlight a working sheet

2. Left-click on any corrupted sheets in the FeatureManager to select them and press the "Delete" key on the keyboard

3. Recreate the corrupted sheets.

Solution Step 3: Repairing the Drawing Template

If the corrupt error message is still appearing after removing the problematic sheets, or there doesn't seem to be a particular sheet that is causing this, it is possible that the drawing file itself is corrupted and not just the sheets.  In this case:

1. Copy the working sheets to a new drawing file by following the "For Drawings" section in the article below:

Unable To Save File – Hawk Ridge Systems

2. Recreate the corrupted sheets in the new drawing.

For additional information on working with and creating Drawing Templates, please see our two-part video series: 

Drawing Templates from Scratch in SOLIDWORKS: Part I

Drawing Templates from Scratch in SOLIDWORKS: Part II

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