SW2004 BOM's using Excel

[Standing]

On the SolidWorks web site there is code to “save the BOM as an Excel file”. AT the end of the write up there is the statement “BEWARE - relies on SW using Excel!” In SolidWorks 2004 there is a new BOM generator. Does anyone know if excel will be an option in SolidWorks in the future? Our VAR did not have answer a few weeks ago.


Bradley

 

[MrPickles]

In SW 2004, you can do it either way.


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Mr. Pickles

 

[MrPickles]

I should expand...

In SW2004 you can have the old Excel based, or the new "ineternal" based, but not both on the same drawing at the same time.

If you highlight the Excel based on and do a "Saveas", it will give you an Excel file. If you use the new "internal" method, highlight it and do a "Saveas", you have your choice of TXT or CSV files, both of which can be opened in Excel.


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Mr. Pickles

 

[Standing]

Mr. Pickles,
I have just completed our Excel BOM to add units of length into the BOM. E.g. QTY = 1.7 FT or QTY = 0 or QTY = EA or a % of EA. The QTY column has a nice formula now. My guess would be that SW is going to kill the excel table. I asked our VAR a couple of weeks ago how to program the new SW BOM. They are still working on it. If SW is going to kill the excel table, then I would like to get started on the new one soon.


Bradley

 

[MrPickles]

Bradley,

I assume you are talking about having a formula in a cell in the Excel one, that uses other cells values, and/or hiding other cells.

Beats me. I haven't studied it a lot, even in the Beta program. I messed with it some, and I haven't found a way to do it, or seen a way to do it.

I was actually not happy with it in Beta 1, and it prompted a quick request to SW to at least put the old one back so folks could phase themselves in. Apparently more folks felt the same, thus both versions are included.

The new one is more flexible than the Excel one in some areas, but lacking in others apprently. It is easier to use sometimes to. Like if you right-click on the BOM, you can add a column to the left or right, and you get a drop-down box of your Properties to put in the column. There are other niceties, but it isn't as great as it could be.



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Mr. Pickles

 

[MrPickles]

I did just discover this:

If you have a Property called "Total" (value=3) and you have a Column in the new BOM Table, you can do this in the cell:

2 * $PRP:"TOTAL"

and........

the cell will display:

2 * 3

Not that it helps, and if the 2 was a Property too, then it would still be 2 * 3

Keep working on it........




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Mr. Pickles

 

[MrPickles]

I forgot one key point. Once you do as I suggested above, the $PRP:"TOTAL" part is NOT retained in the cell. It is converted to a number (in this case 3), BUT when you change the Property to 4, the cell updates to 4.

SO, it knows in the background what you want, it is just a pain to edit, especially by someone other than the one that did it, since they don't know that there is a property stuck in there somewhere....


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Mr. Pickles

 

[MrPickles]

Okay, unless I am dense (highly possible), the new BOM's cells are incapable of doing math. I exhausted my limited ideas, so now I'm back on the clock....


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Mr. Pickles

 

[Standing]

Thanks for the help MrPickles,
I think your right, the new BOM needs work. I will continue to work on the new BOM. I think SW will dump Excel some day.

Bradley

 

[mumbletoad]

Does anyone have any experience with programming macros that communicate between excel & SW?

I am trying to set up a system so that once the BOM is saved as an excel file, it will be automatically updated if the BOM has been modified.