MySolidWorks is an excellent online resource for all SOLIDWORKS users. It contains access to a wide range of information and content from online training courses to downloadable CAD Models. There are various levels of MySolidWorks user account, including a free Guest account, Standard and Professional accounts and also a Student account.
One of the main subjects that will be covered is the introduction of eCourses to the Professional level MySolidWorks account, entitling you to a wide range of online, interactive courses. Previously, these eCourses were only available on an individual basis at a cost of up to £800 each, they are now included in the Professional package for £306 + VAT per year, which is a fraction of the price of what they used to be and that of classroom based courses.
We’ll begin by exploring what each of these account levels give us access to.
The table below shows the features available to each MySolidWorks user level. It’s available by selecting your name in the top right and then ‘My Profile’ from the drop down, followed by ‘My Subscription’. From your profile you can also add information about yourself, add any models that you would like to share with other users, you can also manage your SOLIDWORKS ID from there.
The FREE MySolidWorks Guest account
Firstly, the Guest account, as mentioned earlier this is a free account available to anyone with or without a SOLIDWORKS license. Despite being free, there is still a lot of information that can be accessed.
From the ‘Buzz’ tab located at the top of MySolidWorks, you can explore all the news and discussions happening on various sources such as Twitter and YouTube. There is also a whole host of blogs on various subjects relating to SOLIDWORKS, including very useful ‘SOLIDWORKS Tech Blogs’.
Also available is a library of existing ‘CAD Models’ that have been created by other users, these models can be downloaded and used within a SOLIDWORKS project, a massive time saving compared with modelling them yourself.
With the Guest account there is also access to a SOLIDWORKS Online Product trial, here you can try SOLIDWORKS out and see its capabilities all from within a web browser. Simply click on the ‘Try SOLIDWORKS’ tab at the top of MySolidWorks.
The Guest account also gives access to the wealth of information that is the SOLIDWORKS Forums, here you will find posts from users about problems and solutions that they have found or just general information that may be useful to know. You can quickly find a post that is relevant to you by using the ‘Search Forums’ bar in the top right. Alternatively, post a question yourself if it has not been asked before.
One of the great things about creating a Guest account is the availability of hundreds of free tutorials that consist of explanations, videos and quizzes that are designed by SOLIDWORKS experts to help you learn at your own pace. To access these, select the ‘Training’ tab at the top of MySolidworks, then ‘View All Lessons’ and filter for ‘Guest’ Access level. You can also search the training content to find a lesson that suit you.
There’s also a ‘Manufacturers’ tab at the top of MySolidWorks that takes you to 3DEXPERIENCE Marketplace | Make, here you can get your parts made. Get quotes from a variety of manufacturers and then choose the one that best suits you. You will be able to communicate effortlessly from request to delivery. You can also find existing models and products that are already out there that you can use in your projects.
The MySolidWorks Standard account
If you have an existing SOLIDWORKS license that is on subscription or a SOLIDWORKS term license then you are automatically entitled to the MySolidworks Standard level access. Make sure to register your serial number against your SOLIDWORKS ID, you can do this when you first create your ID, or alternatively, go to the SOLIDWORKS Customer Portal (https://customerportal.solidworks.com/) and select ‘Register My Products’.
With Standard you have all the access available to you as you do with Guest but much more.
Much like with Guest level, you have access to the Training tutorials, however with the Standard level, you have every Training lesson available, an increase of 294 over the guest access.
Due to your SOLIDWORKS license being on subscription and therefore having MySolidWorks Standard, you have the ability to view information from your reseller, such as News, Videos and Blogs as well as Training and upcoming events. You can also see contact details and links directly to the reseller’s website. This can all be accessed from the ‘My Reseller’ tab.
Having the Standard level also allows you access to the SOLIDWORKS Knowledge Base which is accessible from the Customer Portal. This is an excellent resource for any user, it contains vast amounts of information and solutions about current and historical problems that you may come up against during day to day use and a lot of general knowledge that has been collated from various sources.
The ‘Support’ tab of MySolidWorks lets you access a range of pages with information such as ‘System Requirements’ to run SOLIDWORKS, a link to download SOLIDWORKS software and service packs, documentation including What’s new and Administration Guides. Here there is also a link to ‘My Support’ which directs you to the SOLIDWORKS Customer Portal where you can view any Service Requests (SRs) or Software Performance Reports (SPRs) that have been created by your VAR on your behalf.
SOLIDWORKS Certifications are a great way to showcase your skills to potential employers, the entry level exam along the certification path is the Certified SOLIDWORKS Associate (CSWA). The Standard level MySolidWorks account allows you to take a CSWA Certification Prep course. You can access this course from the ‘Training’ tab and simply searching for CSWA.
For more information, check out our ‘Why you should take the SOLIDWORKS Certification exams’ blog post.
The MySolidworks Professional account
The Professional level account gives you access to everything included in Standard with a few additions.
The largest and most recent addition being the introduction of eCourses. These eCourses offer convenient, unlimited 24/7 access to online training which can be completed in your own time wherever you are. Every course is adapted from the same training manuals used in our instructor led courses, meaning you’ll get the same high-quality content as always. Each course consists of professional-quality design assets, guided practice, offline exercises and fully interactive online content.
Access these eCourses through the ‘Training’ tab at the top of MySolidWorks. Currently available courses can be seen below:
For more information regarding MySolidWorks eCourses, take a look at our recent blog post on the subject here.
As well as the aforementioned eCourses, MySolidWorks Professional also gives you access to additional Certification Prep courses for Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional (CSWP), Certified SOLIDWORKS Expert (CSWE) and Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional Advanced exams. These prep courses are again available from the ‘Training’ tab.
The MySolidWorks Student account
MySolidWorks Student licences are included with an active Student Engineering Kit (SEK and Student Edition (SWSE) Licences.
The Student level access includes everything that is included with Standard, excluding ‘My Reseller’ information and also access to Software Performance Reports (SPRs) and Service Request (SR) information.
However, the Student level does allow you extensive access to all Certification Prep courses.
In summary, MySolidWorks is a fantastic online portal that allows you to take advantage of the huge amounts of SOLIDWORKS learning content and resources, and, with the addition of a whole host of eCourses with MySolidWorks Professional, the benefits are now greater than ever.
