Naming Strategies for SOLIDWORKS Parts, Assemblies, and Drawings

March 27, 2025
Naming Strategies for SOLIDWORKS Parts, Assemblies, and Drawings
Naming Strategies for SOLIDWORKS Parts, Assemblies, and Drawings

A well-structured file-naming strategy is essential for efficient collaboration, data management, and searchability within SOLIDWORKS and the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. By following best practices in naming parts, assemblies, and drawings, teams can avoid confusion, duplication, and errors in product development.

Importance of a Standardized Naming Strategy

A structured naming convention helps in:

  • Organizing Data – Ensures files are easy to locate and categorize.
  • Minimizing Errors – Reduces the risk of overwriting or misidentifying files.
  • Enhancing Collaboration – Helps multiple users work on projects seamlessly.
  • Enabling Searchability – Simplifies searching for specific parts, assemblies, and drawings within 3DEXPERIENCE.

Step: 1

To avoid creating items with duplicate Titles, from 2022x FD01 a new option in SOLIDWORKS Platform settings called “check file title for uniqueness” can be enabled.

Then enable Auto-Name option. Finaly set Apply to process the settings.

Step: 2

In the Collaborative space configuration center tab, select Content naming rules and set it to CAD Family as the content type.

Set the prefix and suffix based to your requirements. Then, check the preview and select to apply the settings.

Step: 3

Launch a SOLIDWORKS Connected version and open the existing assembly File and check the Component Name, File Name & Name in the My session from task pane.

Save the Files on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform, it will save the Component name in the Counter with Prefix we set up in the Content naming rule.

Step: 4

Setting up the Tree Display naming, Right click the assembly in the tree display and select tree display > Choose component name & description.

Select primary, secondary and tertiary name and description elements to show in the Feature Manager Tree. Certain elements appear inside ( ) or < > as shown.

Conclusion

A well-defined file-naming strategy streamlines collaboration, minimizes confusion, and improves overall efficiency in SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE. By enforcing structured naming rules, teams can optimize design workflows and ensure smooth data management within the platform.