For ease of use and especially to allow automatic updates, the miniPDM SolidWorks Add-in has been embedded into a ClickOnce application. Because of the nature of this application you might receive several warnings from Windows Defender and/or your antivirus.

Installation

To download the installer click on this link and launch “setup.exe”

• If you get a Windows Defender SmartScreen warning, click More info:

• Then select Run anyway:

• You will then get a prompt to Accept or Don’t Accept the End User License Agreement. Please red it carefully and if you agree with the terms click on Accept.

• Click Install. If there is only a Close button, take a look at the article about miniPDM Troubleshooting.

• You might get an other “SmartScreen” warning. Proceed like you did before. Then follow the instructions of the dialogue. If you select No, SolidWorks won’t be able to find the add-in and you will have to run the setup again.

Basically this dialogue tells you that the installation has to run some commands as administrator. For SolidWorks to know how to launch an add-in and where to find it, an entry has to be created in the Windows Registry. Unfortunately this entry has to be created in the Local Machine and not the Current User section of the registry which requires administrator rights.

For curious people, the registry entry is there:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\solidworks\AddIns

• After the UAC warning, if you clicked Run As Administrator, you should see a black Windows Command Processor screen for a brief instant and then you should get the following message:

• You can now launch SolidWorks and the add-in will be loaded automatically. If SolidWorks was already running you will have to restart it.

Each time SolidWorks starts, if you have an internet connection, the add-in will check if there is an update and install it automatically.
The next step is to configure the add-in, to guide you on how to do it, check the article about the SolidWorks Add-in Settings.

Most of the miniPDM feature require a license to run. To activate the add-in, see the article about the miniPDM License.
For more information about the latest updates, check the Changelog.
Click here to download some Demo Files to test this add-in.

Interface

Once the add-in is loaded in SolidWorks you have to place the add-in main menu wherever you want in the user interface for quick access.

• Go to Tools, then Customize. Click on the Shortcut Bars tab and select Flyout Toolbars in the Toolbar drop down menu.

• Click on the miniPDM icon and drag and drop it wherever you want.

If you plan to use the Serial Number Generator, it is convenient to place the miniPDM icon next to the Save icon to easily assign a file name.

Removal

To remove the SolidWorks Add-in, just proceed like you would do for any other Windows App.

• In Windows 10’s Apps located in Windows Settings, select Apps & features and search for miniPDM.

• Click on the application you want to remove, click on Uninstall and then OK to remove the add-in.

• To remove the add-in from the list in SolidWorks’ Add-ins, the registry entry has to be deleted.

• Open the Registry Editor and navigate to:

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\solidworks\AddIns

• Search the GUID key that has miniPDM as title value and delete the whole folder. Next time you restart SolidWorks, miniPDM won’t be listed.