SW 2022 SP2 - First Thoughts

SPerman · Unread post by **SPerman** » Thu Apr 28, 2022 4:59 pm

I upgraded from 2020 SP5 to 2022 SP2 this afternoon. This is my feedback after about 2 hours.

The program seems more responsive rotating assemblies and in general. I've tried having Enhanced Graphics on and off and I can't see any difference. At least it is now usable, which for me, it wasn't in the past.

That's where the good comments end.

In 2 hours it hung once, which I was able to somehow recover from by killing the task in task manager. Later it crashed, hard.

When I'm working in the program, it seems quicker. Saving, at times, was back to 2019 level. Lots of spinny circle. Lots of "Solidworks is Busy." I'm hoping this is related to the PDM upgrade, and speed will improve once my local cache is up to date. That may be wishful thinking.

There's a couple of very minor things, which may or may not be correctable with a setting.

2020 had it's issues, but for the most part was rather stable. I'm disappointed to have 2 problems in the little time I've been using 2022.

TLDR: It's solidworks. Some things will be better, some worse. Spin the cylinder, pull the trigger and hope for the best.

: image.png (7.06 KiB) Viewed 8588 times

jcapriotti · Unread post by **jcapriotti** » Thu Apr 28, 2022 5:15 pm

One thing I forgot after the upgrade is check video card driver version. 2022 will most likely recommend a new driver. Maybe that will help.

https://www.solidworks.com/support/hard ... ification/

SPerman · Unread post by **SPerman** » Thu Apr 28, 2022 5:56 pm

As I think about it, the time it hung I think there was a window open behind solidworks that I couldn't see. Killing the task with task manager closed that window and SW would respond again.

Thanks for the advice on the video card. I will check on that.

Mike Gera · Unread post by **Mike Gera** » Thu Apr 28, 2022 8:47 pm

Are you on Windows 10 or Windows 11?

SPerman · Unread post by **SPerman** » Fri Apr 29, 2022 7:12 am

Windows 10.

ellundo · Unread post by **ellundo** » Fri Apr 29, 2022 7:30 am

The temporary axis popping up is better but I still would like to be able to turn it off completely, or just delete that "feature".

Mike Gera · Unread post by **Mike Gera** » Fri Apr 29, 2022 8:20 am

SPerman wrote: ↑Fri Apr 29, 2022 7:12 amWindows 10.

Thanks.

SPerman · Unread post by **SPerman** » Fri Apr 29, 2022 8:51 am

After another hour this morning I'm going back to 2020. It's like 2019 all over again. I spend more time staring at a spinny circle than I do getting any work done.

Mike Gera · Unread post by **Mike Gera** » Fri Apr 29, 2022 8:37 pm

Based on this thread, it looks like I won't be migrating to Windows 11 anytime soon...

zxys001 · Unread post by **zxys001** » Fri Apr 29, 2022 11:21 pm

SPerman wrote: ↑Fri Apr 29, 2022 8:51 am After another hour this morning I'm going back to 2020. It's like 2019 all over again. I spend more time staring at a spinny circle than I do getting any work done.

Curious, for testing, did you update all your files to 2022? I've noticed going from 2019 to 2021 and 2020,..is a big jump and change.

SPerman · Unread post by **SPerman** » Mon May 02, 2022 7:17 am

I did not.

To be honest, I have no good reason to upgrade. If we hadn't decided to install PDM, I would still be off license and 2022 wouldn't even be an option.

I was reluctant to perform the upgrade in the first place, but there are some new features in 2022 I wanted to investigate. There are no new features that are revolutionary, and even though 2020 has a few issues that affect me, I know what they are and how to work around them. I wasn't going to invest extra time upgrading all of my files, just in case I decided to go back. If the reason for my slowness was that all of my files are still 2020, so be it.

It was close enough to what I experienced after one of the 2019 service packs that I started having PTSD and couldn't get that S*** off of my computer quick enough. I know others didn't have the same experience, but for me I lost about 1/3rd of my productivity staring at "solidworks is busy." I have no desire to do that to myself again.

SPerman · Unread post by **SPerman** » Mon May 02, 2022 8:24 am

There is one regression I found right away. (Search for SPR 1230978.)

In 2020 if you do a concentric mate, a 2nd set of breadcrumbs appears to allow you to flip the mate or lock the rotation. According to the SPR, that option disappears immediately after it appears. I know some people hated this feature, but I had become used to it and miss it, despite the extra clicks it requires at times.

(Kudos to the support tech at Trimech who actually did the work and attached my sn to the SPR. My previous VAR would have done less than the bare minimum.)

Tera · Unread post by **Tera** » Mon May 02, 2022 6:40 pm

SPerman wrote: ↑Mon May 02, 2022 8:24 am There is one regression I found right away. (Search for SPR 1230978.)

In 2020 if you do a concentric mate, a 2nd set of breadcrumbs appears to allow you to flip the mate or lock the rotation. According to the SPR, that option disappears immediately after it appears. I know some people hated this feature, but I had become used to it and miss it, despite the extra clicks it requires at times.

(Kudos to the support tech at Trimech who actually did the work and attached my sn to the SPR. My previous VAR would have done less than the bare minimum.)

I had the exact same problem from SP1 and all the time I thought it's a side effect of using Windows 11.
I never talked to our VAR because I was sure the first thing they would say would be "SW doesn't support windows 11".

As a work around I ticked the following checkbox in customize.
It prevents breadcrumbs disappear.

bentlybobcat · Unread post by **bentlybobcat** » Tue May 03, 2022 9:05 am

I was looking through the release notes for v2022 and this turd jumped out:

"Reactivating SOLIDWORKS Perpetual Licenses
Starting with SOLIDWORKS 2022, commercial and educational customers who have purchased perpetual licenses of SOLIDWORKS products will be required to reactivate their licenses once a year. The licenses never expire but need to be reactivated periodically regardless of whether or not customers remain on subscription. Term licenses and student licenses are not affected."

Nice....

bnemec · Unread post by **bnemec** » Tue May 03, 2022 11:17 am

bentlybobcat wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 9:05 am I was looking through the release notes for v2022 and this turd jumped out:

"Reactivating SOLIDWORKS Perpetual Licenses
Starting with SOLIDWORKS 2022, commercial and educational customers who have purchased perpetual licenses of SOLIDWORKS products will be required to reactivate their licenses once a year. The licenses never expire but need to be reactivated periodically regardless of whether or not customers remain on subscription. Term licenses and student licenses are not affected."

Nice....

That doesn't change anything. They make clear that "[perpetual] licenses never expire". We have no reason to think that the company would ever change that especially after they change the license manager to require reactivation once a year.

bentlybobcat · Tue May 03, 2022 12:51 pm

bnemec wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 11:17 am That doesn't change anything. They make clear that "[perpetual] licenses never expire". We have no reason to think that the company would ever change that especially after they change the license manager to require reactivation once a year.

LOL!

Kinda like the free version of DraftSight......

jcapriotti · Unread post by **jcapriotti** » Tue May 03, 2022 7:21 pm

bnemec wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 11:17 am That doesn't change anything. They make clear that "[perpetual] licenses never expire". We have no reason to think that the company would ever change that especially after they change the license manager to require reactivation once a year.

It stinks but seems to be the way everyone is going...not just CAD. Most software these days is fairly mature and upgrades aren't as needed unlike the 90s and early 2000s. I guess it's inevitable. SolidWorks, Solidedge, and NX are the hold outs.

SPerman · Unread post by **SPerman** » Wed May 04, 2022 7:26 am

We are having the same discussion at our workplace. Developing software costs money. It's hard to pay for developing your software if the customer only pays for it once and uses it for years / decades.

bentlybobcat · Unread post by **bentlybobcat** » Wed May 04, 2022 8:48 am

I don't think anyone is begrudging their need to make money. We all have to eat.

The part that sticks in your craw is when arbitrary, antagonistic decisions are made, like doing away with the 2 activation license, the license server, etc, that seem to be money grubbing bean counters at work.

The elimination of the free DraftSight version was particularly onerous. I get it, it's not going to be free forever. Saying that, let me know and I would have gladly paid the then $50 cost for the low end version. Instead, it's arbitrarily turned it off without notice, the perpetual license was eliminated and it's now a subscription at a rate that I'm not going to fork out for something I used 2-3 times a year. Nice work guys. My VAR was extremely embarrassed about the whole thing.

And then to spend the kind of coin they are spending on the entire 3DExperience website, it's quite frustrating.

The beauty of the 3dExperience website is it's broken and they know it. My interaction to get my 3DExperience account unlocked highlighted the frustration that middle level folks at Dassault have as well.

I'm coming to a point where I'm going to have to make a decision as to whether or not I'm going to keep my subscription active.

Unless things get straightened out pretty quickly over in Dassault-ville, it's prolly not going to happen. I've owned a seat of SolidWorks since '95, so some 17 years I've paid my annual stipend. It's just I really get the feeling they don't care about individual users any longer....

bnemec · Unread post by **bnemec** » Wed May 04, 2022 10:58 am

SPerman wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 7:26 am We are having the same discussion at our workplace. Developing software costs money. It's hard to pay for developing your software if the customer only pays for it once and uses it for years / decades.

Just my perception, but when someone identifies a need or demand then develops the service or product that does a good job of fulfilling that existing need they will not be able to keep up and there will be plenty of revenue. There is rapid growth and budgets aren't very tight. Once others jump in and start under cutting then the race is on to add features to fill every nook and cranny of the potential need or demand. As burden and overhead continue to grow and the needs/demands are met a crunch is inevitable. It seems there is never a road map at this point to reduce the ballooning and trim down to a maintenance crew to support the product. That's just bad business right? By now there's investors and other forces that need to see growth and profits while the natural cycle is demanding the opposite. This is where they start forcing unwanted products and using mechanisms to keep customers on the hook buying unwanted stuff. Create more features whether there's really a demand for it and marketing will convince the customers (not users but the PO signers) with fear tactics that if they don't purchase the new product, they're falling behind the competition and will be out in the next 5-10 years. Chaos ensues while some person in the back is recognizing a demand and makes a tool to fulfill the demand then starts to sell it.

jcapriotti · Unread post by **jcapriotti** » Wed May 04, 2022 12:35 pm

bentlybobcat wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 8:48 am
The elimination of the free DraftSight version was particularly onerous. I get it, it's not going to be free forever. Saying that, let me know and I would have gladly paid the then $50 cost for the low end version. Instead, it's arbitrarily turned it off without notice, the perpetual license was eliminated and it's now a subscription at a rate that I'm not going to fork out for something I used 2-3 times a year. Nice work guys. My VAR was extremely embarrassed about the whole thing.

You can get the perpetual license still but you have to buy the Enterprise version at $599.

https://trimech.com/products/draftsight ... al-license

Question is, what's your alternative? AutoCAD is subscription only, so is Nanocad. BricsCAD is priced similar to DraftSight Enterprise. This is industrywide and I imagine in a few years it will be worse.

There are a few free options that you could maybe use if you don't need to do much (Librecad, Nanocad free, etc.)

bentlybobcat · Unread post by **bentlybobcat** » Wed May 04, 2022 1:45 pm

I've been using nanocad free, but extremely infrequently.

It's a bit of a concern considering where it's written.

zxys001 · Unread post by **zxys001** » Wed May 04, 2022 11:30 pm

bentlybobcat wrote: ↑Wed May 04, 2022 8:48 am I don't think anyone is begrudging their need to make money. We all have to eat.
.. they don't care about individual users any longer....

Bravo, well said!

Mike Gera · Unread post by **Mike Gera** » Sat May 07, 2022 7:51 pm

Is anybody having a problem with random temporary axes appearing in SW 2022 SP 2.0 on Windows 11?

berg_lauritz · Unread post by **berg_lauritz** » Sun May 08, 2022 9:16 pm

SPerman wrote: ↑Mon May 02, 2022 7:17 am I did not.

To be honest, I have no good reason to upgrade. If we hadn't decided to install PDM, I would still be off license and 2022 wouldn't even be an option.

I was reluctant to perform the upgrade in the first place, but there are some new features in 2022 I wanted to investigate. There are no new features that are revolutionary, and even though 2020 has a few issues that affect me, I know what they are and how to work around them. I wasn't going to invest extra time upgrading all of my files, just in case I decided to go back. If the reason for my slowness was that all of my files are still 2020, so be it.

It was close enough to what I experienced after one of the 2019 service packs that I started having PTSD and couldn't get that S*** off of my computer quick enough. I know others didn't have the same experience, but for me I lost about 1/3rd of my productivity staring at "solidworks is busy." I have no desire to do that to myself again.

So you did not upgrade the files? I don't think there is a fair comparison possible without upgrading the files. Or does it not affect the performance anymore?

SPerman · Unread post by **SPerman** » Mon May 09, 2022 8:15 am

You are correct. It was not a true fair comparison. Maybe if I had invested another day in upgrading all of my files I would have a different experience. Or maybe I would have wasted another day and a half and still reverted. I'm comfortable with the decision I made. I would recommend anyone do whatever level of testing they feel comfortable with before upgrading.

SPerman · Unread post by **SPerman** » Mon May 09, 2022 8:16 am

Mike Gera wrote: ↑Sat May 07, 2022 7:51 pm Is anybody having a problem with random temporary axes appearing in SW 2022 SP 2.0 on Windows 11?

If you haven't already, try toggling "enhanced Graphics" and see if that makes a difference.

Mike Gera · Unread post by **Mike Gera** » Mon May 09, 2022 8:30 am

SPerman wrote: ↑Mon May 09, 2022 8:16 am If you haven't already, try toggling "enhanced Graphics" and see if that makes a difference.

Will give it a try, thanks.

nevillew · Unread post by **nevillew** » Wed May 11, 2022 8:28 pm

bentlybobcat wrote: ↑Tue May 03, 2022 12:51 pm LOL!

Kinda like the free version of DraftSight.....

On the 'Draftsight not free anymore' nonsense by Dassault....
After about a year or 2 of using something else, out of curiosity I tried again to see if it would open a file, without telling me I need to pay.
Lo and behold it works again - I'm wondering if if in their corporate body they have developed some sort of conscience or heart of some kind and thought about us individual users keeping the promise of always being free. . . .

I've canned my subscription of SNOTWorks.
Down this part of the world it costs in excess of $2000 just to maintain a sub with standard version.
Just not worth it when they keep tinkering around the edges with fluffy stuff and breaking other existing functionality.

Tera · Unread post by **Tera** » Thu May 12, 2022 4:19 am

Is there anything wrong with Pack & Go in SW2022 SP2?

It seems I can not Pack & Go an assembly. The task ends without any error, but the new assembly is full of broken references. I really hate SW.
-

Frank_Oostendorp · Thu May 12, 2022 6:23 am

@Tera,
yes, Pack&Go does not update references in new saved assembly. Supposed to be fixed in SP3.0.

Tera · Unread post by **Tera** » Thu May 12, 2022 7:54 am

Frank_Oostendorp wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 6:23 am @Tera,
yes, Pack&Go does not update references in new saved assembly. Supposed to be fixed in SP3.0.

Why something that has been working for years breaks in an update?
Is it possible to uninstall SP2 and go back to SP1 without uninstalling the whole application?

Thanks.

Glenn Schroeder · Thu May 12, 2022 8:36 am

Tera wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 4:19 am Is there anything wrong with Pack & Go in SW2022 SP2?

It seems I can not Pack & Go an assembly. The task ends without any error, but the new assembly is full of broken references. I really hate SW.
-
1.png

Pack and Go works fine in SW2022, as long as you don't try to re-name components as part of the process (or at least it does for me). Fortunately, since we got the ability a few years to re-name components within an Assembly that's not as big a deal as it would have been otherwise.

Frank_Oostendorp · Thu May 12, 2022 8:54 am

Glenn Schroeder wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 8:36 am Pack and Go works fine in SW2022, as long as you don't try to re-name components as part of the process (or at least it does for me). Fortunately, since we got the ability a few years to re-name components within an Assembly that's not as big a deal as it would have been otherwise.

Right, Glenn. In your case it doesn't seem to be a big problem. In our case, it is a huge problem, costing us many extra hours. I am staying at SolidWorks 2019, postponing upgrading. Amazed by the number of issues in the last three versions of SolidWorks.

AlexLachance · Unread post by **AlexLachance** » Thu May 12, 2022 9:19 am

Frank_Oostendorp wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 8:54 am Right, Glenn. In your case it doesn't seem to be a big problem. In our case, it is a huge problem, costing us many extra hours. I am staying at SolidWorks 2019, postponing upgrading. Amazed by the number of issues in the last three versions of SolidWorks.

This is a good representation of SolidWorks for the last 2 to 3 years I'd say, if not more.

Tera · Unread post by **Tera** » Thu May 12, 2022 9:42 am

Glenn Schroeder wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 8:36 am Pack and Go works fine in SW2022, as long as you don't try to re-name components as part of the process

All components are virtual. So there's no renaming.
Can you test if pack & Go has any problem with virtual parts?

thank you.

PS : Are you using SP2?

Glenn Schroeder · Thu May 12, 2022 9:52 am

Tera wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 9:42 am All components are virtual. So there's no renaming.
Can you test if pack & Go has any problem with virtual parts?

thank you.

PS : Are you using SP2?

1. It worked fine with a virtual Part.

2. Yes, I'm using SW 2022 sp 2.0.

3. Why can't you re-name virtual Parts from the Assembly tree?

Tera · Unread post by **Tera** » Thu May 12, 2022 10:19 am

Glenn Schroeder wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 9:52 am 3. Why can't you re-name virtual Parts from the Assembly tree?

I don't. Not that I can't. I simply select pack & go, then Replace the old name to new name (using replace all).
The assembly has 158 parts. All sheet metal. 102 parts are OK. the rest ends up with broken references.
No matter how many times I repeat this, the same result.
I've been using Pack & Go regularly, never had this problem before.

Thanks for testing and letting me know the result.

jcapriotti · Unread post by **jcapriotti** » Thu May 12, 2022 11:00 am

@TeraDid this work in a previous version? We are on 2019 and it seems I ran across this before and it was related to virtual components not updating. Problem affects assembly renames in PDM as well as the "update references" code cannot 'reach' into virtual components that are embedded inside an assembly file to update the in-context links.

I find several SPRs on this...all fairly old.

Glenn Schroeder · Thu May 12, 2022 11:29 am

jcapriotti wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 11:00 am @TeraDid this work in a previous version? We are on 2019 and it seems I ran across this before and it was related to virtual components not updating. Problem affects assembly renames in PDM as well as the "update references" code cannot 'reach' into virtual components that are embedded inside an assembly file to update the in-context links.

I find several SPRs on this...all fairly old.

image.png

Back around that time I had problems with virtual parts getting left behind when doing a Pack and Go. I didn't use them often, and even then it was usually just one per Assembly, so I stopped using them altogether.

The problem with re-naming files during the Pack and Go operation is new with SW2022 (at least I didn't have the problem with older versions).

Tera · Unread post by **Tera** » Thu May 12, 2022 12:07 pm

jcapriotti wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 11:00 am @TeraDid this work in a previous version? We are on 2019 and it seems I ran across this before and it was related to virtual components not updating. Problem affects assembly renames in PDM as well as the "update references" code cannot 'reach' into virtual components that are embedded inside an assembly file to update the in-context links.

I find several SPRs on this...all fairly old.

image.png

I've been using virtual part since 2016 and never had a single problem with Pack & Go concerning loosing references.
Even 2022 SP1 worked for me, But not SP2.
I'll uninstall SW and reinstall from SP1. They don't forget to bill us. But what they deliver is a not working application that so many users have problems with it.

Just imagine SW's CEO buys a refrigerator and it fails to make ice. He calls the manufacturer support and they ask him to wait for the next year's update. I really like to see what he answers.

SPerman · Unread post by **SPerman** » Thu May 12, 2022 12:29 pm

Next years update will make ice, but only cools the food to 60F

jcapriotti · Unread post by **jcapriotti** » Thu May 12, 2022 5:33 pm

Glenn Schroeder wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 11:29 am The problem with re-naming files during the Pack and Go operation is new with SW2022 (at least I didn't have the problem with older versions).

Confirmed working in 2019.....guess I was thinking of 2017 maybe where it didn't 100%. I do see that 2022 'enhanced' the speed of Pack and Go.....I guess by ignoring updating some of it

bnemec · Unread post by **bnemec** » Fri May 13, 2022 11:09 am

jcapriotti wrote: ↑Thu May 12, 2022 5:33 pm Confirmed working in 2019.....guess I was thinking of 2017 maybe where it didn't 100%. I do see that 2022 'enhanced' the speed of Pack and Go.....I guess by ignoring updating some of it

image.png

2022 is released by the even year group, 2019 was released by the odd year group, so the fix likely didn't get communicated to the even year group.

JSculley · Unread post by **JSculley** » Fri May 13, 2022 11:50 am

bnemec wrote: ↑Fri May 13, 2022 11:09 am 2022 is released by the even year group, 2019 was released by the odd year group, so the fix likely didn't get communicated to the even year group.

I'm trying to figure out if:

they took you comment and ran with it

they are being facetious

someone actually told them this and was serious

bnemec · Unread post by **bnemec** » Fri May 13, 2022 12:08 pm

JSculley wrote: ↑Fri May 13, 2022 11:50 am I'm trying to figure out if:
they took you comment and ran with it

they are being facetious

someone actually told them this and was serious
image.png

Bradfordzzz · Unread post by **Bradfordzzz** » Tue May 17, 2022 4:17 am

Maybe we need a new thread called "Second Thoughts" ?

Like .. on second thought .. I wish I wouldn't have installed 2022 at all!

and @AlexLachance ... before you say I told you so .. I know I know

SPerman · Unread post by **SPerman** » Tue May 17, 2022 7:18 am

My experience is the opposite. Odd years were the ones to be avoided. But with 2022 it seems like SW is over achieving and now both even and odd years are to be avoided.

DennisD · Unread post by **DennisD** » Tue May 17, 2022 8:01 am

SPerman wrote: ↑Tue May 17, 2022 7:18 am My experience is the opposite. Odd years were the ones to be avoided. But with 2022 it seems like SW is over achieving and now both even and odd years are to be avoided.

Boom!

Cadmonkeychris · Tue May 17, 2022 8:08 am

2021 was a dog (still use it for two clients) but 2022 takes the biscuit. On top of poor performance, drawings hanging and general stability issues, Visualize 2022 is almost unusable. SP0 wouldn't load SW files at all (various vintages) and SP2 randomly crashes after slowly bogging down on the loaded scene.

This rubbish has caused us to look elsewhere for a clean start cad system (I posted in CADagnostic about this). We have just received a quote for NX...

I hope it's stable at that price...