SOLIDWORKS PDM 2020 Add-in Affecting Smart Dimensions and Other Context Menu Pop-Ups

There is a new issue that impacts current versions of the 2020 PDM add-in(sp0-sp3) within SOLIDWORKS. This is being worked on by SOLIDWORKS development under the following bug report:

SPR#1178466 - “SOLIDWORKS PDM Add-In could cause SOLIDWORKS to enter 'regression test mode' where Save prompt, LMB Context Menus, Hole Wizard, Smart Dimension and other dialogs stop appearing until you restart the SW session”

Notes

• The issue does not always present itself immediately.
• The issue does not impact all environments.
• The issue also does not occur if the PDM add-in within SOLIDWORKS is disabled.
• Does not impact versions prior to 2020.

Known Symptoms

The left-click pop-up context toolbar fails to appear when you select items in the graphics area or Feature Manager tree. The right-click context menu will still work.

Hole Wizard and the Smart Dimension feature behaves inconsistent. The dimension is not immediately visible and requires multiple clicks to place.

When you edit a file so that it is modified in memory, but not yet saved, the prompt to save changes might not show when closing the file.

The template dialog fails to show when creating new drawing or assembly from model or when creating a new internal component. A blank template opens instead.

Solutions

This issue is currently OPEN meaning there is no software download fix available yet, but SOLIDWORKS development is currently working towards a permanent software fix.

Restarting the SOLIDWORKS session will bring back normal functionality temporarily.

Modifying the registry per the instructions below(and attached registry fix) will also prevent the issue. Do not make registry changes without involving your IT.

1. Close SolidWorks.
2. Open ¨the Registry Editor (START, type regedit) and browse to this key:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Solidworks\Applications\PDMWorks Enterprise\ConisioCAD\SolidWorks
3. Create a new “DWORD” value named “AsyncTreeLoading”
4. Set value to 0
5. Browse to:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\SolidWorks\Applications\PDMWorks Enterprise\PDMSW\Options
6. Create a new DWORD value named “ToolbarStateCached”
7. Set value to 0