Adding SOLIDWORKS Version Column to Windows Explorer

More often than not, it is much more efficient to know what version a file was last saved in without having to open the file. This blog will give you a step-by-step explanation on how to add a SOLIDWORKS version column to your Windows Explorer. 

You can customize the columns shown in Explorer for your quick and easy reference while working. This can be extremely useful if you need to see which files have been converted to the latest version, or if you have multiple SOLIDWORKS versions installed.

This only works if you are using Details as the folder view. 

First, open File Explorer and right-click in the column header area, then select More from the menu.

Then, scroll down through the alphabetically ordered list until you find SW Last saved with and check that box. 

Keep in mind, there is also a SW Open Time option. This does not appear to work in Explorer, but seems to work in Assembly Visualization. 

 You will now have a SW Last Saved with column in the folder view as you can see on the far right below:

This will only affect the current folder.  You can add this column to all folders by going to View, Options in Win 10 (Organize, Folder and search options in Win 7), then the View tab and Apply to Folders.

You can now see at a glance which SOLIDWORKS version a file was last saved in.

For more tips, check out out Tech Support FAQ blog series.