Hey everyone! Today we’re going to be talking about the Problem Capture tool inside and outside of SOLIDWORKS. Do you ever find yourself stuck after the program has crashed, or something weird is going on? Well, look no further than your (and your tech-support engineer’s) favorite tool, SOLIDWORKS RX. This has the ability to grab all the necessary file and elements of your specific environment, giving SOLIDWORKS the ability to continuously improve the software we provide!
For today’s blog, we’re going to talk specifically about Problem Capture. This may include elements of creating a Pack and Go, as well as other features within the RX tool. Let’s get started!
Starting the RX.
To create a problem capture, search Windows for “RX.” This will bring up results for SOLIDWORKS RX 20XX. If you have multiple installations of SOLIDWORKS, select the option that applies to the version of SOLIDWORKS you are using. See the image below
Run the program by pressing enter, or clicking on it in the search window. This will bring up the application. Within this program, you will find several very useful tools. Here, we are focusing specifically on Problem Capture. Click either the link or the tab for Problem Capture, shown below.
You will notice that it brings up another loading bar. What this is doing is searching and bringing in all the details about your specific environment (Such as, your registry, OS, computer specs). Allow this to finish before proceeding. Once that task closes on its own, you will begin the process of creating your problem capture.
Problem Capture: Capture Problem
You can adjust some of the settings here. If it is a problem that is outside of SOLIDWORKS, but is related to the product, you can select to just record the screen. Select “Record Extended Logging Data” if you wish to collect performance profiling information. This will make the file larger but will allow us to diagnose problems faster. Press Start Capture whenever you are ready to begin. Don’t worry! It will not start recording immediately; you will have some time to set up everything after you press this. It will automatically launch SOLIDWORKS if you do not have it open.
This is the problem capture recording function. Press record here whenever you are ready to begin. You will notice a red outline around the screen where it is recording. When you are finished, you may press Finish, or Restart if you feel like you missed something. At any time, you can pause the recording to save time. Recorded videos are usually fairly large files, so try to keep it as short as possible, but long enough to get the gist of it.
Great! The first step is typically the hardest. The rest is straightforward. Now with Step 1 completed, we can move on to Step 2. As you may have noticed, once you have completed the step, the red X becomes a green check, indicating that you have completed that step. You do have to perform all the steps!
Packaging Files
This is a very convenient function. This shows all the information that was collected earlier when you first started the RX. You can do two things here, “Add More Files to Zip…” and “Package Files Now…”
We normally recommend that you attach at least the part/assembly/drawing that was giving you an issue. Also, you will want to create a Pack-and-Go if it is a file that has several external references, or if it is an assembly with several parts. Drawings are dependent on their parts/assemblies too! Using Pack-and-Go allows for the file’s references to remain intact, and able to share. This is an easy way to collect all the files needed to access the files without losing context. This also can be used to compress the files and make them smaller.
To access Pack and Go:
- In SOLIDWORKS, click File > Pack and Go.
- Using Windows Explorer or SOLIDWORKS Task Pane File Explorer, right-click a SOLIDWORKS document and select SOLIDWORKS > Pack and Go.
- In SOLIDWORKS Explorer, select a SOLIDWORKS document and choose SOLIDWORKS Pack and Go.
Your screen will look like this. Feel free to change the settings you wish. Saving to a ZIP file will compress the folder down, and make it smaller and easier to email.
If you need additional help setting these up, feel free to give us a call and we can guide you through the process!
Now, back to the RX. Attach your Pack-and-Go by using “Add More Files to Zip…” Select Browse, and find the file you need. This is what it looks like after selecting a file. You may need to change your search settings to find the file if it is packed in a Zip (See the second image).
After you are happy with your selection, choose “Package Files Now.” It will save as a Zip, which is named as your serial number, so please leave it unaltered or changed by adding your name on.
Describe Problem
Here’s where you get to talk about your issue in more depth. If it’s not well described via video, feel free to include any additional details here. You do need to fill out all the fields. Be descriptive! By simply stating “SOLIDWORKS doesn’t work! Help!” does not give a lot of information as to how your part keeps crashing. As a little tidbit to save you time later, I would recommend copying the description you provide here, and paste it on our website when you submit a case. Basically, our website works similarly to this form.
Severity Guidelines
As for severity, we go by a few rules of thumb here. They are;
Question – General questions, creating no business impact.
Low – No loss of functionality, can be something like a documentation error, resulting in no or little business impact
Medium – Software function is inoperable or providing improper results, and business moderately impacted
High – Major feature(s) are inoperable, work can continue, and business is significantly impacted
Critical – Software is inoperable, work is at a complete standstill, and business is severely impacted
Please try to stick to these guidelines for your Problem Captures, and this is also the model we use on our website when submitting a case. Usually, cases default to Medium severity. When selecting a severity, feel free to use these guidelines to justify your reasoning!
Now, what can you do with this problem capture file? Well, you can submit it over on our technical support page! Here’s a link to make it easier: https://cadimensions.wpengine.com/technical-support/. Just hit the browse button down toward the bottom and fill out your information.
Thanks for reading!