Upgrading versions of SOLIDWORKS is usually a quick and easy process. But once in a while, a thing or two needs tweaking in the upgraded version to get things working as they should be. One of the most common things we run into here at CADimensions is customers mentioning that they upgraded versions and suddenly the hole callouts in their drawings look like the example below, rather than displaying the familiar diameter symbol:
Lucky for us, this is a simple fix! The display of all of the geometric symbols in SOLIDWORKS is controlled by a single file, and all we have to do is point to it in our File Locations, found in the System Options at the top of our screen:
If we take a look at the bottom left of the image above, you’ll notice that I’m working in SOLIDWORKS 2019. That’s going to be important information because we need the version of the Symbol Library File to match. If we open up our System Options and go to File Locations, pull down the box and select the location for the “Symbol Library File”, we see our problem!
My installation of SOLIDWORKS 2019 is still pointing to the 2018 folder for the Symbol Library File and this discrepancy is causing our error. All we need to do is select the old path and hit delete:
Then add the new path! The default location is C:\ProgramData\SOLIDWORKS\SOLIDWORKS 20XX\lang\english. The XX in that file path represents the version you are upgrading to. In my case, I’m looking for the SOLIDWORKS 2019 folder. Add that file path and select OK:
And we’re all set!
Making that one quick change fixed our hole callouts to the way they should be!
ProgramData is a hidden folder so you might need to turn it on here, but after that it’s a simple swap. The big takeaway is that the file location must match whatever version of SOLIDWORKS you are using. And remember, if you ever run into any trouble, you can always call us!