Solidworks Configurations and Design Tables — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which SolidWorks feature allows you to drive multiple configurations from a single Microsoft Excel spreadsheet?
- Design Table (Correct answer)
- Configuration Manager
- Property Tab Builder
- Equations Editor
Correct answer: Design Table
A Design Table is an embedded Excel spreadsheet that controls dimension values, suppression states, and other configuration-specific parameters across multiple configurations simultaneously.
Question 2: In a SolidWorks part with multiple configurations, what does suppressing a feature in one configuration do to the other configurations?
- It suppresses the feature in all configurations automatically
- It has no effect on other configurations — each configuration stores its own suppression state (Correct answer)
- It prompts the user to choose which configurations should be affected
- It deletes the feature from the FeatureManager tree entirely
Correct answer: It has no effect on other configurations — each configuration stores its own suppression state
Suppression state is configuration-specific. Suppressing a feature in one configuration only affects that configuration; all other configurations retain their own independent suppression state for that feature.
Question 3: Which panel in SolidWorks is used to switch between, add, and manage configurations of a part or assembly?
- FeatureManager Design Tree
- Task Pane
- ConfigurationManager (Correct answer)
- PropertyManager
Correct answer: ConfigurationManager
The ConfigurationManager is the dedicated panel (accessible via its tab next to the FeatureManager) for creating, viewing, and managing all configurations in a part or assembly document.
Question 4: When referencing a specific configuration of a SolidWorks part in an assembly, which dialog allows you to choose which configuration of the inserted component to use?
- Edit Component dialog
- Insert Component PropertyManager (Correct answer)
- Feature Properties dialog
- Assembly Explode Wizard
Correct answer: Insert Component PropertyManager
The Insert Component PropertyManager, shown when inserting a part into an assembly, includes a Configuration option that lets you select which configuration of that component to use in the assembly.
Question 5: In a SolidWorks Design Table, what symbol is placed at the beginning of a column header to reference a dimension named 'Width@Sketch1'?
- $
- @
- D1@
- No symbol — the dimension name is entered as-is (Correct answer)
Correct answer: No symbol — the dimension name is entered as-is
In a Design Table, dimension column headers are entered exactly as the dimension's full name with its feature reference, e.g., 'Width@Sketch1', with no leading symbol. SolidWorks recognizes this pattern to link the column to that dimension.
Question 6: Which Design Table column header syntax controls whether a feature named 'Fillet1' is suppressed or unsuppressed in each configuration?
- HIDE@Fillet1
- $STATE@Fillet1
- SUPPRESS@Fillet1
- $SUPPRESS@Fillet1 (Correct answer)
Correct answer: $SUPPRESS@Fillet1
The '$SUPPRESS@FeatureName' syntax in a Design Table column header controls the suppression state of that feature per configuration row. Values 'S' (suppressed) or 'U' (unsuppressed) are entered in each row.
Solidworks Configurations and Design Tables
Which SolidWorks feature allows you to drive multiple configurations from a single Microsoft Excel spreadsheet?