User’s manual

Index
System Requirements........................................................................................................................................ 2
Installation ......................................................................................................................................................... 2
License registration ........................................................................................................................................... 2
User interface .................................................................................................................................................... 3
1. Settings .................................................................................................................................................. 4
2. Help........................................................................................................................................................ 4
3. Standard search bar............................................................................................................................... 4
4. Advance search tab ............................................................................................................................... 4
5. File explorer ........................................................................................................................................... 4
6. Standard models tab ............................................................................................................................. 5
7. Information tab ..................................................................................................................................... 6
8. Configurations tab (Solidworks) ............................................................................................................ 6
9. Parameters tab ...................................................................................................................................... 6
10. PDM buttons...................................................................................................................................... 6
11. Export button .................................................................................................................................... 6
Settings .............................................................................................................................................................. 7
General .......................................................................................................................................................... 7
1. Export ................................................................................................................................................ 7
2. Import ................................................................................................................................................ 7
3. Files location ...................................................................................................................................... 7
4. PDM Main folder ............................................................................................................................... 7
5. Automatic saving and exporting ........................................................................................................ 8
5.1 Automatic saving of parts, assemblies and drawings. .................................................................. 8
5.2. Automatic export of technical documentation ........................................................................... 10
6. Document manager key (Solidworks) ............................................................................................. 12
Search tab .................................................................................................................................................... 13
Information tab ........................................................................................................................................... 14
1. Properties/Variables to display ....................................................................................................... 14
2. Set workflow state color.................................................................................................................. 14
Configurations tab (Solidworks) .................................................................................................................. 15
1. Properties to display ........................................................................................................................ 15
2. Find drawings associated with the configuration............................................................................ 15
Parameters tab ............................................................................................................................................ 16
Standard models tab ................................................................................................................................... 18

1
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

System Requirements
• Windows 10, 8, 7 SP2 x64 bit
• 8GB RAM
• 1.8 GHz processor or higher
• .NET Framework 4.7.2
If .NET Framework 4.7.2 is not installed on your computer, download it from the following link:
https://dotnet.microsoft.com/download/dotnet-framework
• Internet connection

Installation
• Download the installation program from the Toolcad website.
• Extract the files.
• In the download directory, run Setup.exe as administrator.
• Select the products to install.
• Select "Install trial license" if you want to try Toolcad for a month.
• Accept the license terms and conditions and click install.

License registration
To activate all Toolcad functionalities, it is necessary to purchase a license that must be registered in the
license manager by following the steps described below:
• Open the license manager by clicking the "?" in the user interface.
• Click on the Register tab
• Click on the Change button
• Enter the license number received by email in the ID field
• Click on Ok button and wait for the message of successful operation
• Restart the application and check the license status in the Information tab of the license manager

The license is verified every time the application is opened, so it is necessary to have an internet
connection.

2
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

User interface
The following illustrations identify the main elements of the user interface:

10
4

11

1. Settings 7. Information tab

2. Help 8. Configurations tab
3. Standard search bar 9. Parameters tab
4. Advance search tab 10. PDM buttons
5. File Explorer 11. Export button
6. Standard models tab

3
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

1. Settings
It opens the window that allows you to configure the application settings. See Settings for more
information.

2. Help
It opens the menu that allows access to the user manual, the license manager and the application
information.

3. Standard search bar

• It allows you to search for files by file name or by a custom property or PDM variable.
The button allows you to change the selected property or variable.

• It allows you to search folders by name.

Folder searches are performed automatically after entering the text, to search for files you need to
press Enter after entering the text.

4. Advance search tab

It allows you to perform advanced searches of files using custom properties or PDM variables. It is
possible to enter more than one property or variable and use combinations of the "AND" and "OR"
operators.
5. File explorer

It allows you to view files and folders and it displays the search results. It is possible to apply filters
by file type (Part, Assembly, Drawing) and by name.

4
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

Right clicking displays the following menu

6. Standard models tab

It allows you to create models (Parts and Assemblies) automatically from custom templates. To
create a new model, just fill in the parameters form, then press the Create button and wait until the
model is opened in the CAD program.
If you want to modify the model, you can do so by entering the new parameters in the form and
pressing the Enter button.
If the model has been inserted into an assembly, it is also possible to modify it by selecting it and
then carrying out the operations described above.
Drawings can also be automatically created from custom templates. When a model created with

Toolcad is opened, the button appears below the Export button which allows to create the
model’s drawing.

5
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

7. Information tab

It allows you to view information about the document such as the name or the path where it is saved,
the values of the PDM variables, the status and the name of the check-out user. For CAD files, custom
property values are also displayed.

8. Configurations tab (Solidworks)

For Solidworks documents, it allows you to view the name of the configurations and the values of the
custom properties associated with each configuration.
Clicking the button it is possible to find the drawing associated with the selected configuration.

9. Parameters tab

It allows you to view and modify the values of custom properties.

10. PDM buttons

They allow to perform operations in the PDM to the selected file in the File Explorer or on the active
or selected document in the CAD program. The following operations are possible:
• Check-out
• Check-in
• Data card: It opens the file data card.
• Latest version: It gets the latest version of the file.
• Changes state: It allows you to change the state of the file.

11. Export button

It allows you to export the technical documentation from the active drawing in the CAD program.

6
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

Settings
General

1 2

Figure 1 Settings

1. Export
It allows to save the current settings to a file.

2. Import
It allows you to import the settings from a file

3. Files location
Select if a PDM is used or if the files are saved in a local folder or a shared folder.

4. PDM Main folder

If the option "PDM" is selected in "Files location", Enter the name of the PDM or the main folder. For
example, Toolcad-Vault or C:\Toolcad-Vault\, both are correct.

If in "Files location" the option "Local/network folder" is selected, enter the project folder where all
the files are saved. It is recommended not to select root folders such as disk C:\ or folders that contain
too many files as they may slow down the searches.
Toolcad will create a local database that will allow to search for the files. After pressing the save
button, the main folder will be scanned to create the database correctly. This operation may take up
to 4 hours depending on the number of files found. It is possible to continue using Toolcad but the
searches will not work correctly until the end of the operation.

7
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

5. Automatic saving and exporting

5.1 Automatic saving of parts, assemblies and drawings.

Toolcad intervenes when the "Save" or "Save As" button is pressed, allowing the saving of documents
based on pre-established rules.
To configure the saving rules for parts and assemblies, check one of the first two boxes in the previous
image, the following window is subsequently displayed:

5.2.1
5.2.2
5.2.3

5.2.4
5.2.5 5.1.6
5.2.7

Figure 2 Rules configuration window

5.1.1. Prefix: It is a fixed value that will always be placed in front of the name.
5.1.2. Suffix: It is a fixed value that will always be placed at the end of the name.
5.1.3. Source: It is a dynamic value that is generated by reading, for example, the custom
properties. Clicking the button the following window appears:

Custom property allows to use the value of a custom property of the document.
PDM serial number allows you to use the PDM serial number generator that must be
previously configured in the PDM Administration console.
Selecting list allows you to enter a series of values that will be proposed as alternatives in the
document saving phase.

8
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

It is possible to combine more than one option. The buttons allow to change the
order of the elements.
The following image shows an example of the completed form. Observe the field "Example
of name" that indicates how the name of the document will be generated.

In Example of name the value PRT-Bar SerialParts-Number.sldprt was obtained

PRT-: It is the value entered in the prefix field.
Bar: It is the first value of the selecting list in the source table. This value depends on the
element selected by the user in the saving phase.
SerialParts: It is the name of the PDM serial generator. This value will be generated only in
the saving phase.
Number: It is the name of the custom property that will be read in the saving phase.

Note that between Bar and SerialParts there is a blank space and between SerialParts and
Number there is a dash (-). These values were entered in the "Separator" field.

5.1.4. Path: It is the folder where the files will be saved.

5.1.5. Create subfolder: It allows you to create a subfolder within the save folder.
5.1.6. Subfolder as custom property: It allows you to create a subfolder within the saving folder,
named as the value of the specified custom property.
5.1.7. Do not allow duplicate file names: Activating this option, the user will be informed if in the
main folder or in a subfolder, there is already a document named as the document being
saved.

The options "Automatic saving part’s drawings" and "Automatic saving of assemblies’ drawings"
allow you to configure the saving rules for drawings.
Checking one between the two boxes in the Figure 1 Settings, it is shown the following window whose
options are as those described in the preceding paragraph. Additionally, it has:

5.1.8. As referenced model: The drawing’s name will be the same to the name of the model it
contains.

9
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

5.1.9. Copy properties from referenced model: Before saving, the selected custom properties will
be copied from the model contained in the drawing that is being saved, so that they can be
used as the source for the document name.
5.1.10. Save in the same location as the model it contains: Save the drawing in the same folder of
the model that it contains.

5.2.8

5.2.9

5.2.10

5.2. Automatic export of technical documentation

The "Automatic export of documentation" field allows you to configure the rules for the automatic
export of technical documentation. By checking the box in the Figure 1 Settings, the following
windows is shown:
5.2.1. Extension: It refers to the file extensions (.pdf, .dwg, .step) of the documents to be exported.
Use the button to add one or more extensions.
5.2.2. Export from: It allows you to select whether the document will be exported from the drawing
or from the model contained in the drawing. For example, for a .step document, select
"contained model".
5.2.3. Part / Assembly: It allows to select, depending on the type of model contained in the
drawing, which documents to export. For example, if the contained model is a part, it is
possible to select whether to export pdf, dwg and step; on the other hand, if the contained
model is an assembly, it is possible to select whether to export only the pdf.
5.2.4. Workflow state: Enter the name of the workflow state after which the technical
documentation will be exported. It works only for state changes made from the cad program.

10
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual
5.2.1 5.2.2 5.2.3 5.2.5 5.2.4 5.2.6

5.2.7

5.2.8 5.2.9

5.2.10

5.2.11

5.2.5. Add source for the file name to export: By checking this box, the window that allows you to configure the rules for the name of the document to be
exported is shown.
5.2.6. Do not use drawing’s file name: Check this option if you do not want to use the drawing’s name as the name of the document to be exported. This
box is enabled only when the option "Add source for the file name to export" is checked.
5.2.7. Export options for assemblies: it allows you to select, for models that are exported from assemblies (step, iges, etc), whether to export only external
surfaces or only external components.
5.2.8. Saving path: Enter the full folder path where the documents will be saved. If this field is left empty, the documents will be exported in the same
folder where the drawing is saved.
5.2.9. Create subfolder as file extension: Check this option if you want to create a subfolder named as the extension of the document to export.
5.2.10. Saving path based on name: By selecting this option, it is shown the table in the following figure which allows you to configure, depending on the
name of the document being exported (not the drawing’s name), the folder where the files will be saved.

11
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

"File name contains" refers to the name of the document regardless of the extension. For
example, for a document whose name will be “DRW001 REV 01.PDF”, the considered file name
will be “drw001 rev 01” (note that it is not case sensitive). In this way, as seen in the table, all the
documents whose name contains “drw” will be saved in the folder “SERVER/SHARED”

5.2.11. Save copy in the project folder: Check this option if you want to save a copy of the documents
in the folder where the drawing is saved.

6. Document manager key (Solidworks)

The document manager is an application that allows reading and writing Solidworks files even if they are
not open in Solidworks or even if it is not installed on the computer.
The document manager requires a key provided by the solidworks technical support.
To obtain a key, follow the instructions on the following site:
http://help.solidworks.com/2021/english/api/swdocmgrapi/GettingStarted-
swdocmgrapi.html#LicenseKey
Toolcad Standalone will not work if a valid document manager license key is not entered.

12
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

Search tab

It allows you to configure the parameters used for searches. If in Files location the "PDM" option has been
selected, only PDM variables can be used; if the option "Local/Network folder” has been selected, only the
custom properties can be used.
Click the button to display a list of PDM variables or to select a CAD file from which a list of custom properties
will be displayed.

13
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

Information tab

It allows you to configure the information that will be displayed on the Information tab.
1. Properties/Variables to display
It allows you to select the custom properties and PDM variables to be displayed.
Click the button to display a list of PDM variables or to select a CAD file from which a list of custom
properties will be displayed.
It is possible to change the name that will be displayed to the user from the column “Display name”.
2. Set workflow state color
Available only if the "PDM" option has been selected in Files location.
It Allows you to configure the background color of the Information tab depending on the workflow state
of the file.
Clicking the button , the following windows is shown. In the "Workflow State" field, enter the name
of the workflow state as displayed in the PDM administration console. (It is case sensitive.) In the "Color"
field, select the color you want to associate with the workflow state.

14
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

Configurations tab (Solidworks)

It allows you to configure the information that will be displayed on the Configurations tab.

1. Properties to display
Only custom properties can be used. Click the button to select a CAD file from which a list of custom
properties will be displayed.
It is possible to change the name that will be displayed to the user from the column “Display name”.

2. Find drawings associated with the configuration.

It allows you to configure the rules to find the drawings associated with each configuration. By checking
the box, the following window is shown.

15
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

2.1
2.2
2.3

2.4
2.5

2.1. Prefix: It is a fixed value that will always be placed in front of the name.
2.2. Suffix: It is a fixed value that will always be placed at the end of the name.
2.3. Fuente: It is the name of the custom property associated with the name of the drawing to search.
By clicking the button , a row is added to the source table which allow to enter the property
name.
2.4. As model name: It allows you to search the drawings named as the model from which the search is
being carried out.
2.5. As configuration name: It allows to search the drawings named as the configuration from which the
search is being carried out.

Parameters tab
It allows you to configure, for parts and assemblies, the custom properties that are displayed in the
Parameters tab of the user interface.
By clicking the button it is opened a window that allows to enter the parameters to be displayed.
If an item is selected and the button is clicked again, you can add to it subitems that will be displayed
in the Parameters tab as selection elements. The new columns allow you to choose which items will be
displayed depending on the subitem value.
For example, in the image below you can see the following elements:
• Category
• ExtDiameter
• IntDiameter

16
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

• Length
• Width
• Height
And the following subitems that belong to the item Category:
• Tube
• Bar
• Beam
The columns Category Tube, Category Bar and Category Beam allow you to select which elements will
be displayed for each subitem; therefore, when the user selects “Tube” as the value for the variable
“Category”, only the following elements will be displayed:
• Category
• ExtDiameter
• IntDiameter
• Length
• Width
On the other hand, if the user selects “Beam” as the value for the variable “Category”, only the following
elements will be displayed:
• Category
• Length
• Width
• Height

17
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com
 User’s manual

Standard models tab

It allows you to select the templates that will be used to automatically create the models from the
Standard model tab in the user interface.

By clicking the button it is opened a window that allows you to select the models of parts and
assemblies that will be used as templates.
To add a drawing, select an element and click the button .
The features and dimensions of the model will be displayed automatically. Select those that are required
for the creation of the new model.

18
www.mechanicaldesigntools.com