Michael Lord

I’m becoming more of a creature of habit as the days go by!  There’s No doubt!

Call it Muscle Memory (call it old age) but when it comes to computers I don’t do change that well!  I’ve been using the same laptop for the past three years, it’s seen SolidWorks 2010, 2011 and now is running both 2012 & 2013.  With the continuing improvements in the SolidWorks Installation Manager I haven’t done a clean install in that time.  That includes running SolidWorks 2013 as Beta and going straight to SP0 (without uninstalling Beta!)   Throw in the fact that I almost exclusively used a Logitech Wireless Trackball (M570 now and before that a LogitechTrackman Wheel )   So I have developed a dislike for most mice! (Mouses?)

So it’s been more than a few years (I’m saying late 2010 with the introduction of Mouse Gestures) since I’ve set up my personal configuration.  I use a combination of Keyboard short cuts , S Key and Mouse Gestures.  I use Command Manger and turn off “Large Buttons with Text”

I haven’t realised just how set in my ways I’ve become until the young bloke I work with has taken a 3 month sabbatical “to do Europe” (I somehow missed that memo! or is it just my generation that have to put in Forty to Fifty years of hard labour before we’re allowed to relax and enjoy ourselves!)   Either way I’ve been sliding my chair two metres to the right (& back) to work between our two computers.     I mainly program our MultiCAM CNC router from his computer, we use Enroute & would normally run DraftSight at the same time.  Doing updates it’s not uncommon to be running SolidWorks as well and toggle between the programs!

This has certainly highlighted my muscle memory (or old age!) as Enroute uses Shift + select for multiple selection (not Control + as in SolidWorks)  We wont go into what it requires to Pan and what happens when you do similar in DraftSight!  Apart from having a near heartattack when you see your 2D drawing rotating and skewing on the screen!

I can’t do much about that!   But I’ve had enough of his lack of set up in SolidWorks!

SolidWorks has a solution for that!   Under the SolidWorks Folder> SolidWorks Tools – Copy Settings Wizard

It’s as simple as Selecting the Copy Settings Wizard on my computer.

Select (in my case) all of my Settings and Saving them to my chosen location!

It’s was then just a case of coping them to a USB drive, sliding the two metres (to my right) & using the Restore Setting Selection then Save a Back up to his computer!

I’m now more comfortable when I use SolidWorks on his computer!

As for him ………….. I’m sure he’ll get accustomed to how I’ve set up his computer on his return!