Large Design Review lets you open very large assemblies quickly, while still retaining capabilities that are useful when conducting design reviews of assemblies. Included with SolidWorks Premium, this lets you open massive assemblies in seconds without the need for a high-end workstation. The view is fully interactive, just like working on a smaller assembly. You can explore, analyze, and then directly open the design to make changes. The idea is to bring upfront into design the kind of product review or design review that has been typically done outside the CAD tool with specialized view/markup software. One product manager called Large Design Review “Quick View on steroids.” Opening any SolidWorks model with more than 5,000 parts automatically calls the Large Design Review feature.

When you open an assembly in Large Design Review mode, you can:

• Navigate the FeatureManager design tree
• Measure distances
• Create cross sections
• Hide and show components
• Create, edit, and play back walk-throughs

Access It

To open an assembly in Large Design Review mode, click Open (Standard toolbar) or File > Open. In the dialog box, select the assembly you want to open, and then, in Mode, select Large Design Review.

Assembly and Component Information

Information about the assembly and its components is limited in Large Design Review.

FeatureManager Design Tree

The FeatureManager design tree displays information about the assembly components and hierarchy.

Information displayed in the tree includes:

• Component names
• Assembly and subassembly hierarchy

An eye overlay appears on the icons of all components when the assembly is opened in Large Design Review mode.

Information about the following items is not shown in the FeatureManager design tree:

Limitation

• Assembly features
• Component patterns
• Mates

Assembly Statistics
In AssemblyXpert , you can see assembly statistics such as number and type of components, depth of the assembly hierarchy, etc.

Click AssemblyXpert (Large Design Review tab of the Command Manager) or Tools > AssemblyXpert.

Limitation
The reported assembly statistics are approximate. They can differ from the numbers reported when the document is opened in resolved or lightweight mode. AssemblyXpert diagnostic tests are not available in Large Design Review.

Component Properties

You can view component properties, but you cannot change them. Right-click a component and click Component Properties.

You can see information such as:

• Model Document Path
• List of configurations

Limitation You cannot change the properties. For example, you cannot:

• Switch configurations
• Switch between flexible and rigid

Reviewing Assemblies

Most of the capabilities in Large Design Review mode are limited versions of existing SolidWorks capabilities. Snapshots are a new capability available only in Large Design Review. Most available tools appear on the Large Design Review tab of the Command Manager.

Measurements
You can measure the distance between entities in Large Design Review. Click Measure or Tools > Measure. When you select two entities (vertices, edges, or faces) the software reports the approximate distance between them.

Limitation
Measurements reported in Large Design Review are approximate. To obtain accurate measurements, you must resolve the components.

Section Views
You can create section views in Large Design Review.

Click Section View or View > Display > Section View. You can select one or more
of the three standard planes to section the model. You can cap the ends of the section
view.

Limitation
You cannot select other planes to section the model.

Isolate

You can use Isolate to focus on selected components.
Select one or more components, and then right-click and click Isolate.

Walk-throughs

You can create Walk-throughs in Large Design Review just as you do in resolved mode.

Click Add Walk-through or View > Lights and Cameras > Add Walk-through. Walk-throughs can be played back in both Large Design Review and resolved modes, regardless of which mode they were created in.

Snapshots

Snapshots are a new capability available only in Large Design Review. You can take snapshots of locations that you want to return to.
A snapshot captures the state of the graphics area, similar to a custom named view, and saves it in a Snap feature on the DisplayManager tab of the Manager Pane. Unlike a custom named view, if some parts are hidden when you take a snapshot, those parts are always hidden when you return to that snapshot.

Click Take Snapshot or View > Lights and Cameras > Take Snapshot, or press Alt + Spacebar.

You can:

• Right-click a Snap feature and add a comment (140 characters maximum)
• Double-click a Snap feature to return to that view of the assembly
• Click-pause-click a Snap feature to rename it
• Hover over a Snap feature to see the comments and a preview

NOTE: A snapshot named Home is created whenever you open an assembly in Large Design Review. If you make changes such as hiding components, zooming, and rotating, you can double-click the Home snapshot to return the graphics area to the state it was in when you opened the assembly. You cannot remove or rename the Home snapshot and you cannot add comments to it.

For more information about creating snapshots, see SolidWorks Help: Snapshots.

Save

You can save an assembly in Large Design Review only when you create or change Walk-throughs or snapshots.
Click Save (Standard toolbar) or File > Save.

Component Changes

While an assembly is open in Large Design Review, you can make changes to its components. New tools help you to visually indicate which components have been modified and to update the graphics data of dependent components. To make changes to a component, right-click it in the FeatureManager design tree and click Open Part. The component opens in a separate window where you can modify the component and save the changes.

NOTE: In Large Design Review, you cannot edit components in the context of the assembly.

Filtering Modified Components

In the assembly window, you can use the new Filter Modified Components tool to visually indicate which components have been modified.

Filter Modified Components is available only in assemblies that have been opened in Large Design Review mode, and only when one or more components have been modified.

When Filter Modified Components is enabled and you edit and save a component in a separate window, the changed component remains opaque in the assembly window, while unchanged components become transparent. Using Filter Modified Components allows you to see more easily which components have been modified.

Modified components include:

• Components that are detected as out of date when you open the assembly in Large Design Review
• Components that you modify and save in a separate window during the current Large Design Review session
  

To filter modified components:

1. Click Filter Modified Components or View > Modify > Filter Modified Components.

2. In the PropertyManager:
a) Select Enable. Modified components remain opaque; unmodified components become transparent.
b) Use the slider to adjust the transparency.

Select Dynamic to see the transparency level change in the graphics area as you move the slider in the Property Manager.

3. Click

NOTE: To turn off the transparency, click Filter Modified Components again and clear Enable.

LDR Update

You can use LDR Update to update the graphics data of a dependent component that becomes out of date due to changes to its parent component.

If changes that you make to one component influence a dependent component, then the graphics data in Large Design Review might become out of date for the dependent component.

Examples of changes that might require LDR Update:

• A change to an equation in one part that influences a dimension in another part.
• A change to a part that is the seed component for a mirrored part.

To update the graphics data:
1. Right-click the assembly name at the top of the FeatureManager design tree.
2. Click LDR Update.

Opening and Resolving Components

Selective Open is available on the Large Design Review tab of the Command Manager. Previously it was in the Open dialog box. New tools let you selectively open as lightweight, or set all components to resolved or to lightweight.

The following commands cause the software to exit Large Design Review. You might notice a delay while component data is loaded. To return to Large Design Review, close and reopen the assembly.

Selective Open . In the Selective Open dialog box, select components to fully load. Other components are not loaded and become hidden.

Selective Open in Lightweight (on Selective Open flyout tool). In the Selective Open in Lightweight dialog box, select components to load as lightweight. Other components are not loaded and become hidden.

Set All to Resolved . All components are fully loaded.

Set All to Lightweight (on Set All to Resolved flyout tool). All components are loaded as lightweight.