STEPFILE.com Add-In for SOLIDWORKS
Version 0.7.1

Send the part or assembly you have open in SOLIDWORKS to your STEPFILE.com account in one
click: it is saved as a STEP file, filed in the folder you choose, and, if you like, shared.


WHAT YOU NEED

- Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit).
- SOLIDWORKS installed on this computer. Tested with SOLIDWORKS 2023; earlier versions back to
  2017 should work but have not been tested.
- A STEPFILE.com account (free or paid) with a confirmed email address.
- Permission to approve one administrator prompt during install.


INSTALL (ABOUT TWO MINUTES)

1. Save your work and close SOLIDWORKS.
2. Unzip this folder anywhere, for example your Downloads folder. (Right-click the
   zip file, Extract All, Extract.) Do not run it from inside the zip.
3. Double-click Install.cmd.
   - If Windows shows "Windows protected your PC", click More info, then Run anyway. The add-in is
     not yet code-signed, so Windows doesn't recognize the publisher.
4. A window shows the install steps. Windows will ask once for permission so SOLIDWORKS can load
   the add-in ("Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device?"): click Yes.
   If you don't see the prompt, look for it in the taskbar. If you clicked No or missed it, run
   Install.cmd again and click Yes when Windows asks.
5. When the window says Installed, press any key to close it. You can delete the unzipped folder.
6. Open SOLIDWORKS and open any part or assembly. A STEPFILE.com tab appears in the
   CommandManager with three buttons: Send to STEPFILE.com, Connect account, Disconnect.
   If the tab is missing, see TROUBLESHOOTING below.


CONNECT YOUR ACCOUNT (ONCE PER COMPUTER)

1. Click Connect account on the STEPFILE.com tab.
2. Your browser opens stepfile.com. Sign in if it asks, then click Allow.
3. The browser says Connected. Go back to SOLIDWORKS. You never type or copy a password or key:
   the add-in receives a connection key of its own, stored encrypted for your Windows user only.

To see or cut off this computer's access from the website: your account, Settings, Connected apps.


SEND A MODEL

1. Open a part or assembly and click Send to STEPFILE.com.
   - A model must be saved first. If it has unsaved changes, the add-in offers to save them.
   - A model with no solid or surface body (a sketch only) is refused.
2. Check the name it will have on STEPFILE.com and pick a folder (or New folder...).
3. Share, if you want to:
   - Don't share: saved to your account only.
   - Everyone: anyone with the link can open it.
   - An individual: STEPFILE.com emails each person a link.
   - A group: every member of one of your STEPFILE.com groups can open it.
   Then choose what recipients may do (download and re-share, measure, see attachments, comment),
   when the link expires (blank means the longest your plan allows), and on paid plans a password.
   The choices start from your sharing defaults in account Settings.
4. Click Send. The model is exported as STEP AP242 (or AP214 if your SOLIDWORKS can't publish
   AP242), uploaded, and shown in a window with Open it and Copy link.


REMOVE

Close SOLIDWORKS, then double-click Uninstall.cmd (from this folder, or download the package
again). It asks once for administrator approval, unregisters the add-in and deletes its files
and this computer's connection key. To also remove the connection on the website: your account,
Settings, Connected apps, Revoke.


TROUBLESHOOTING

- No STEPFILE.com tab: in SOLIDWORKS choose Tools, Add-Ins, and make sure STEPFILE.com is
  ticked in both columns (Active Add-ins and Start Up). Close and reopen SOLIDWORKS.
- "SOLIDWORKS is running": close it (check the taskbar and Task Manager for SLDWORKS.exe) and run
  Install.cmd again.
- "The website's security check stopped the request": open stepfile.com in your browser
  once, then try again.
- "Your email address isn't confirmed": open the confirmation email from STEPFILE.com, or resend
  it from your account page.
- Install log files are in %LOCALAPPDATA%\StepFileViewer\Addin (register.log). The
  add-in's own log is %LOCALAPPDATA%\StepFileViewer\addin.log. Send these with any bug report
  from the Contact page on stepfile.com.


WHAT IT DOES AND DOESN'T TOUCH

- Installs into %LOCALAPPDATA%\StepFileViewer and registers one add-in with SOLIDWORKS.
- Talks only to https://stepfile.com.
- Exports a temporary STEP copy of your model, uploads it, then deletes the copy. Your SOLIDWORKS
  files are never changed, except that it saves unsaved changes when you ask it to.
- The add-in can list your folders and groups, create folders and models, and share a model it
  has just sent. It cannot open, download, overwrite, unshare or delete anything already in your
  account.


SOLIDWORKS is a registered trademark of Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corporation.
STEPFILE.com is a Texas Metal Works product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by
Dassault Systemes.

Copyright Texas Metal Works. Free to use with a STEPFILE.com account. Not for redistribution.
