Sometimes when testing newer versions of Software you discover some “unreported” enhancements that really can be a time saver.  That type of enhancement is the source of this post, but first we’ll take an overall look at the enhancements to Tables in SolidWorks 2010.

As reported in my SolidWorks 2010 Enhancements Highlight article, all Tables in SolidWorks 2010 now behave VERY similarly to Microsoft Excel.  You can now use the Tab key and arrow keys to quickly switch between cells during data entry.  In previous versions, you had to double-click EACH CELL to make a modification.  This could make entering data in any type of table a painfully slow experience.  Below is a link to a video that highlights the Excel behavior in tables.

Last week I got a question from one of our users concerning tables.  He was working on a cable drawing that contained a couple of “custom” tables that were produced in Microsoft Excel.  The tables were pasted into SolidWorks which utilizes standard Windows OLE (Object Linking/Embedding) to display the Excel information inside the SolidWorks Window.  In previous versions, we stored the Microsoft Excel document inside the Design Binder of the Drawing document.  The user noted that when opening a Design Binder document in SolidWorks 2010, the default behavior was now set to open Microsoft Excel WITHIN the SolidWorks Window which is similar to the behavior you see when you create or edit a Design Table.

As we were discussing the table behavior, a thought popped into my head.  I wonder if I can import the Excel data into a SolidWorks General Table?  Having the Table in SolidWorks will allow for easier table editing and more precise font and cell sizing options since OLE isn’t in use.

This table was HUGE.  About 5 columns wide and 49 rows tall.  As a test, I created a General Table that matched the column and row count.  I then editing the Excel table to where I could access the data directly in Excel.  I copied all the cells to the clipboard.  After exiting the Excel interface, I tried pasting the data from the clipboard to the new General Table I just created.  It worked!  All the Font sizes and type were perfectly preserved.

So with this little trick…it won’t take very long for users to convert OLE type Excel tables to General Tables!  There are lots of documented features to export tables, but nothing is shown for importing table information from a spreadsheet.  Below is a link to a video that shows off the Excel Import trick.

The new table behavior is a welcome change and this little import trick really completes it.

Stay tuned….more to come!

Related posts:

1. SolidWorks 2010 – The Quick List
2. SolidWorks 2010 Enhancement Highlights
3. SolidWorks 2010: Hole Wizard!
4. SolidWorks 2010: Drawing Dimension Enhancements
5. SolidWorks 2010: Sketch Pictures in Drawings

Well after some flight delays, I finally made it to Anaheim about 4:30pm PST this afternoon.  While at the baggage terminal we ran into Alex Ruiz who was there to pick up Jeff Mirisola.  Alex gave Richard Hall and myself a ride over to the Hilton which saved us from having to hunt down a taxi.  Thanks Alex!

Nothing much going on today other than meeting up with so many of the folks that I only get to see once a year.

Tomorrow I have several Roundtable sessions scheduled to discuss different parts of SolidWorks with some of the product managers and developers.  These are GREAT sessions that allow us as customers to share the types of things we need in the software that will help improve our product development and design cycles.

I got some video showing the rooms here at the Hilton and a few of the SolidWorks Twitter crowd that was gathering in the lobby this evening.  Below is the arrival day video.  Enjoy!  (The best place still to post these videos like this is YouTube, so my apologies to those behind the corporate firewalls who can’t view this at work.)  The video take a few minutes to process…so you might not be able to see it just yet after this is posted.  If you open the video on the YouTube page…you can view the video in HD.

Stay tuned…..more to come!

Related posts:

1. Getting Set for SolidWorks World 2010
2. Arrival at SolidWorks World 2011
3. Countdown to SolidWorks World Podcasts
4. SolidWorks World Sunday Part 2
5. SolidWorks World Sunday Part 1