Other SOLIDWORKS Applications for Mac. SOLIDWORKS do develop several other applications that are available for macOS and iOS. This includes eDrawings Viewer for macOS, as well as eDrawings and eDrawings Professional for iOS. DraftSight is also available for macOS as a beta version. 'I got a response from SolidWorks. Unfortunately there hasn't been an eDrawings Version for Mac in several years. I'm not sure what the latest available version was, but you won't be able to open 2018 files on a Mac.' So, to those at SolidWorks that may or may not being monitoring this thread, my client is SERIOUSLY FRAKING PISSED! To use the file reference checking for standalone eDrawings installations, you must download and install the SolidWorks Document Manager when prompted. The Mac OS ® version of eDrawings cannot check file references. Download free eDrawings Viewer software for your Mac to view, print, and review all types of eDrawings files, SOLIDWORKS files and supported AutoCAD® DWG and DXF files.
- Convert Edrawings To Solidworks
- Solidworks Edrawings 2020 Full Download
- Solidworks Edrawings For Mac Download
- Edrawings 2014 Free Download
This is a fairly long-standing issue we come up against on the Innova Systems technical support desk, and also while talking to prospective customers about SOLIDWORKS. The simple answer is that SOLIDWORKS do not develop an Apple Mac version of the software, so we can’t install SOLIDWORKS natively.
We used to recommend the Bootcamp route, which involves installation of Bootcamp and then Microsoft Windows on the partition Bootcamp creates. The issue here is that if you need to access the Apple Mac Operating System (OS), you would need to shut down windows and boot up the Apple Mac OS, because they cannot be running simultaneously. This allows the full use of the hardware (RAM and graphics card) you have in your Apple Mac for Windows.
The alternative solution that we used to steer people away from is Parallels, a virtual machine software that allows you to run another OS inside the Mac OS (inside a window). The reason for not recommending this is that you are sharing the resource of the machine with two operating systems, thus not necessarily having the required resource to run a demanding program like SOLIDWORKS.
There were also historic problems with not being able to use the graphics card properly which would result in exceptionally slow performance when selecting things. This is due to most Macs not having certified graphics cards for SOLIDWORKS and parallels using a virtual graphics card driver or the default Windows driver. The virtual or generic drivers don’t offer the level of performance needed to run SOLIDWORKS correctly.
Innova Systems Technical Director, Ed Hawkins, explains
We have now installed and configured this on over 20 users’ Apple Mac computers and I have to say the response from these people has been amazing.
I have a mid 2014 MacBook Pro, which I’ve been using as a test bed. The specs are listed below:
You will note that this machine has Intel Iris Graphics (specific to the Mac) and not a certified graphics card for SOLIDWORKS.
So, I installed the latest version of Parallels (version 10) and a fresh copy of Windows 10 into the virtual environment and then set about making SOLIDWORKS work!
It’s pretty easy to get Windows installed, as Parallels guides you through that process very nicely. You can specify how much of the machine’s resource to give to the Windows OS – which is where a high spec Mac will stand you in better stead. It is always a good rule of thumb to assign half the available RAM to the Windows OS, so in my set up, I assigned 4GB of RAM.
The difficult bit is making the “Use Software OpenGL” button inside SOLIDWORKS become accessible. When you first install SOLIDWORKS, this button is ticked and greyed out, so we can’t turn it off. In our opinion, SOLIDWORKS is unusable at this point, as selecting geometry and navigating the software is too slow to be productive.
With a bit of effort, and some registry modifications, I was able to untick the OpenGL box, allowing us to use the graphics card to a much higher potential. The difference in performance was huge, and it allowed me to select and navigate the software much, much faster. One limitation that frustrated me early on was the lack of RealView Graphics (Accurate reflections and appearances), so I set about solving this problem too. I’m happy to report that RealView works perfectly on a properly specced Mac Book Pro!
Of course, this isn’t necessarily a new solution – Parallels has been around for some time, and installing Windows on a Mac for as long. The difference with our solution is that we can make SOLIDWORKS behave as well as a normal windows PC. No more slow selecting or poor rotational speed.
Above is a screenshot of the working set up, albeit in Window mode, not full screen. I have this running at a resolution of 2560 x 1600 in full screen mode and it is functioning very well. Please note: the specification of my Mac, and the resource I can assign to Windows is far from ideal. It would be recommended for people who are creating fairly simple parts with up to 100 features, and assemblies containing up to 500 components. Any more than that, and I think it would struggle.
In summary, the Parallels solution is now recommended by Innova Systems. We are confident of this working well in a production environment, but the spec of the Mac is key to the success. Along with our modifications to the registry in Windows, of course.
Video: See SOLIDWORKS running on Apple Mac
Video: How to run SOLIDWORKS on Apple Mac Computers
Get in touch with us to find out more
Are you based in the UK and interested in running SOLIDWORKS on your Apple Mac? We can demonstrate our configuration to you via a Team Viewer session, or if you prefer and are interested in purchasing SOLIDWORKS we can come out and show you live with some of your data.
Call us on (01223) 200690 or complete this form to organise a consultation
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in August 2015 and has been updated to feature new information on our process.
Permitted Uses- Research
- Classwork
- Administrative Use
Convert Edrawings To Solidworks
- Legacy VCL
- WVD
- Eos Labs
- Specific Teaching Lab
- University Owned Computers
- Virtualized environments
- Personally Owned Computers
The complete CAD teaching tool. Featuring software plus a full curriculum and interactive courseware, SOLIDWORKS Education Edition is your all-inclusive resource for teaching 3D mechanical CAD, design validation, and data management.
Additional Usage Notes- The SOLIDWORKS Education Edition license covers instructional use only.
- This license does not cover research usage, except when used for classwork in a for-credit class. See SOLIDWORKS Research for more details on using SOLIDWORKS for research purposes.
- This license does not cover use for purposes not directly related to instructional classwork; e.g., use with 3D printers or milling machines is not allowed. See SOLIDWORKS Research for more details on using SOLIDWORKS for non-instructional purposes.
- If you are using the campus license server (as with the 'packaged installers' below), you will need to connect to the NCSU VPN to run SOLIDWORKS.
A list of included components is located here: SOLIDWORKS Education Edition Software
User AgreementWhich installer should I download?
Solidworks Edrawings 2020 Full Download
- Students installing SOLIDWORKS on computers they personally own should download directly from the SOLIDWORKS web site. Link and instructions are here (login required):
- A video walkthrough of this installation is available on YouTube:
SOLIDWORKS Student-Owned Computer Install - This video was initially made for the 2018-2019 version, but it works for more recent versions as well. Just make sure to select the correct version at the SOLIDWORKS download page (0:14), and enter the new license key (1:52).
- The key changes with each version and can be found in the 'Installation Instructions' document above.
- A video walkthrough of this installation is available on YouTube:
- For university-owned computers, there are three options available for download below.
- The stub installer is a small initial download. You select options according to the below instructions and enter licensing info. Then the rest of the files are downloaded and installed directly from SOLIDWORKS.
- The basic packaged installer includes just the necessary components (SOLIDWORKS and eDrawings) that you need for a basic course like GC 120, already downloaded in this package. You just unzip the installer, run startSWinstall.hta, and click 'Install'.
- The main installer includes most of the components available in SOLDIWORKS, already downloaded in this package. You just unzip the installer, run startSWinstall.hta, and click 'Install'.
- If you are running SOLIDWORKS on campus, as long as you are connected to the campus network (wired or wireless), you do not need to do anything else. If you are running SOLIDWORKS from off campus, you will need to connect to the NCSU VPN before starting SOLIDWORKS.
- If the license can not be found when you start the program, you will get an error and the program will quit.
Solidworks Edrawings For Mac Download
Stub Installer | Basic Packaged Installer | Main Packaged Installer | |
---|---|---|---|
Initial Download Size | small (30 MB) | large (4 GB) | large (8 GB) |
Components included | you select during installation | only SOLIDWORKS and eDrawings (sufficient for GC 120) |
|
Installation process | manual (you select options and enter info during setup) | automated (click 'Install' and it runs) | automated (click 'Install' and it runs) |
Download considerations | requires fast network connection (e.g., on-campus) for the 30-60 minutes it takes to download and install SOLIDWORKS | once installer is downloaded, you can run it with or without a fast network connection | once installer is downloaded, you can run it with or without a fast network connection |