SolidWorks files can be previewed as either a static Bitmap view or a dynamic 3D eDrawings view in a SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional or PDM Standard vault view.
If the eDrawings preview isn’t working, but the eDrawings programme is installed and accessible from the start menu, the eDrawings-SOLIDWORKS PDM connector will most likely need to be re-registered.
Below are the steps to re-register the eDrawings connector:
- Locate the eDrawings installation folder. Depending on how eDrawings was installed, this may be located in a different location. Most commonly it will be located located in the folder c:\program files\solidworks corp\edrawings. However if this folder is missing, check also in c:\program files (x86)\common files\edrawings.
- From the Start Menu, search for the Command Prompt by typing “cmd”. Right click on the Command Prompt icon and select “Run as administrator”.
- Change directory to the eDrawings installation folder. (Type cd <path to eDrawings installation folder>)
- Type Regsvr32 emodelview.dll to register the dll.
- Type edrawingofficeautomator /regserver to finish registering the program.
- Restart Windows Explorer, either by rebooting the system or by going to the Task Manager (Ctrl + Shift + Esc) then finding the explorer.exe process and killing it, then restart the process by going to File > New Task.
Once these steps are completed, the eDrawings view in the Vault View preview tab should work properly.
