How To: Customising the Command Manager in SOLIDWORKS

Have you ever thought about customising the Command Manager in SOLIDWORKS? It can save you time navigating through menus, looking for commands you are after.

It’s a quick and easy process – just follow this guide below. But if Visiativ customers need any more assistance with this or any other issues you can contact us via the SOLIDWORKS technical support page.

What is the Command Manager?

The Command manager is the toolbar that by default, sits at the top of your graphics area, with several embedded toolbars (tabs) within it. It is context sensitive to the environment you are working in (parts, assemblies, drawings).

Can more Tabs be added to the Command Manager?

Yes, it’s easy to add more tabs to the Command Manager. Simply right click the existing tabs and select from the available tabs. Again, the choice of tabs is context sensitive.

Can I customize the Commands on the Tabs?

There are so many commands in SOLIDWORKS, not every tool is shown on the command manger.  If you want to customize one of the existing tabs to include a tool, its simple.

Go to Tools->Customize->commands tab

You can drag any tool from this menu to any tab on the command manager.

Can I create my own Tab in the Command Manager?

Yes, Go to Tools-Customize and you will notice the Command Manager change to show greyed out tabs. These are the tabs that are not currently visible. Right click on the tabs and select Add Tab->Empty Tab.

Give your new tab a name and start dragging the commands on that you want onto the new tab.

You can separate your commands into groups by right clicking a command and selecting begin a group.

A line will be added as per the line that sits between the drawings and dimension command above.

Can I access this Toolbar in all environments?

You may want this same toolbar to be visible in parts, assembly and drawing environments. To do this simply right click the tab and select either Copy tab to Part, Copy Tab to Assemblies, or Copy Tab to Drawings. You will only see 2 of the above options based on the environment you are currently working in.

I can’t see my Command Manager.

The Command Manager is visible and docked to the top of the screen by default. But it is possible to turn it off and it is possible to move it from the top of the screen and dock it a new location or leave it floating in the graphics area.

To ensure the Command Manager is enabled, go to Tools->Customize->Toolbars tab and select Enable Command Manager.

You will find if you drag the Command Manager, it is possible to place it in a new location. If you don’t want the Command Manager to move, select Lock Command Manager and toolbars from the same menu.

We hope that we’ve helped answer your questions on customising the command manager – but if you had any furtehr questions, Visiativ customers can contact us via the SOLIDWORKS technical support page.