5 SOLIDWORKS Features Most Users Never Touch (But Should)
If you've been using SOLIDWORKS for years, there's a good chance you've settled into a comfortable routine, the same handful of tools and workflows that get the job done. But some of the most powerful capabilities in SOLIDWORKS (and the broader 3DEXPERIENCE platform) sit quietly in the background, overlooked simply because there's never enough time to explore what's new.
We sat down with two members of the SWYFT Solutions team, Matt Fontana, VP of SWYFT, and Andy Snoeyink, Applications Engineer and longtime SOLIDWORKS user, to talk about the features they see skipped over most often, and why it's worth the time to finally put them to use.
1. Custom Property Tab Builder
According to Andy, this is one of the most underused tools in SOLIDWORKS, especially for teams working together on shared projects. The Custom Property Tab Builder lets you control exactly what information gets entered into custom properties, rather than leaving it up to each individual designer.
You can restrict inputs to yes/no fields, dropdown lists, or preset values, link properties together, and even combine multiple properties into one. You can also build out different tabs for purchased parts, manufactured parts, assemblies, weldments, and drawings.
The payoff is consistency. When everyone on a team is entering data the same way, it shows up cleanly and predictably in your bills of materials, drawing templates, and title blocks, with no more guessing what a teammate meant by a half-filled-in field.
2. Design States (Instead of Configurations)
Matt points to design states as a feature people don't even realize exists, largely because they've never needed to look past configurations. For large assemblies, especially ones with many configurations, that habit can come at a real cost.
Configurations are often used to show different visual states of the same model: components hidden, suppressed, or shown in different colors. The problem is that every configuration adds weight to the file and slows down rebuild times. Design states solve this by letting you save purely graphical differences, like hiding a component instead of suppressing it, without the added computational overhead.
A common example Matt has seen: teams using configurations to represent manufacturing operations (OP1, OP2, OP3), suppressing components at each stage rather than simply hiding them. Switching that workflow to design states can meaningfully cut down on rebuild time and file size. The rule of thumb: if the change is purely visual, use a design state. If you actually need a different part, dimension, or mate, that's when a true configuration is called for.
3. 3DEXPERIENCE Data Management
Both Matt and Andy flagged data management as one of the biggest missed opportunities they see in the field. Many teams are still working directly out of File Explorer or a local hard drive, a setup that puts every design at risk if that drive ever fails. Others have moved to cloud storage like OneDrive or Google Drive, but those platforms weren't built for CAD and don't offer real revision control.
The usual workaround, saving files as _RevA, _RevB, and so on, is messy and prone to errors. A proper data management system removes that headache by handling revisions and engineering releases automatically.
Matt shared a real example: a client managing all of their engineering data through OneDrive and SharePoint ran into constant file-reference conflicts. Because SOLIDWORKS points to a file's local cached location, two people opening the same assembly at once would cause OneDrive to create duplicate, renamed files, breaking the reference chain and creating cleanup work again and again.
After moving fully onto the 3DEXPERIENCE platform (including their toolbox), the client eliminated the syncing conflicts entirely and adopted proper revision management for parts, assemblies, and drawings, finally leaving the "_RevA / _RevB" naming convention behind for good.
Andy's take: 3DEXPERIENCE is also one of the easiest data management systems for smaller teams to adopt, since there's no hardware infrastructure to manage. You can install it and get moving right away.
4. SOLIDWORKS MBD (Model-Based Definition)
With more shops trying to go paperless, Andy calls out SOLIDWORKS MBD as a tool that rarely gets the attention it deserves. Instead of creating a full 2D drawing for every part, MBD lets engineers apply dimensions and annotations directly to the 3D model.
That shift matters because it puts control in the hands of the engineer who actually understands the design intent, rather than relegating dimensioning to a separate drafting step. And the output isn't just a static image. A fully utilized MBD workflow can generate an interactive 3D PDF, letting anyone on the receiving end rotate the part and see exactly where each dimension connects, instead of trying to interpret it from a flat 2D print.
5. Weldments and Structure Systems
Weldments made the list too, not because they're unknown, but because they're often underused due to limitations elsewhere in a company's tech stack. Andy explained that many third-party ERP and data management systems don't recognize multibody weldment parts the way they recognize assemblies made of separate components. That forces some teams to build "weldments" as assemblies of individual parts just to keep their ERP system happy, losing access to SOLIDWORKS' purpose-built weldment tools in the process.
Matt added that Structure Systems takes this even further for teams building large-scale frame structures, offering real time savings for anyone doing heavy weldment work who hasn't yet made the switch.
Why Do These Features Get Skipped?
The short answer, according to both Matt and Andy: time and familiarity.
"Finding that extra time to explore something new to apply to your team" is, in Andy's words, probably the biggest barrier. Most designers and engineers are focused on getting the current job done, not researching what's new in the latest release.
For data management specifically, Matt points to a hesitancy around change. It feels like a big lift to adopt, like it'll slow you down and require learning an entirely new way of working. And to be fair, if you're just working solo on a single part, it might. But as soon as multiple people are collaborating on the same assembly or managing revisions, the time saved far outweighs the time invested. SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE are actively working to close that gap, too, building toward a future where creating a new revision feels no different from a simple file save.
For design states, it's mostly a matter of sequence: configurations are usually the first thing people learn, so that's the tool they reach for by default, even when it isn't the best fit.
Matt's broader point: self-paced learning only teaches you what you already know to search for. A comprehensive training walks you through the full toolset, so you know what's available before you ever need to Google it.
A Tool That's Sometimes Overused (or Misapplied)
We also asked the reverse question: what's a feature people lean on too often, or use in the wrong situation?
Both Matt and Andy landed on Cut Extrude. It's a foundational tool, everyone needs it at some point, but it's frequently used as a default when a more purpose-built feature would do the job better. Andy pointed to round holes as a common example, where Hole Wizard is often the smarter choice. Matt noted that a revolve or a shell feature can sometimes replace what would otherwise take five or six stacked bosses and cuts, resulting in a model that's simpler to update down the road.
The takeaway: Cut Extrude is a great learning tool and a genuine workhorse, but it's worth pausing before defaulting to it. There may be a feature built specifically for what you're trying to accomplish.
What should you take away from this?
SOLIDWORKS is packed with tools that quietly solve real, everyday problems, and many teams just haven't had the chance to discover them yet. Whether it's tightening up your data with Custom Property Tab Builder, lightening your assemblies with design states, protecting your work with proper data management, going paperless with MBD, or unlocking the full power of the weldments toolset, there's likely a feature on this list that could change how your team works.
Interested in a deeper dive into any of these tools? Reach out to the SWYFT Solutions team. Comprehensive training might be the fastest way to find the exact feature you didn't know you needed.