Visualization files and publishing pdfs for SolidWorks files in Vault Pro 2018

[EScales]

Our company uses both Inventor and SolidWorks and we are implementing Vault Pro 2018.  I've got Inventor .idw files setup to publish pdf files automatically.  We also installed the SolidWorks addin for Vault Pro and I can check files into the vault, change the state, etc.  However, the vault does not create a visualization file for the SolidWorks files.  When I update the preview, I get this message "A visualization file cannot be generated for a non CAD file."  Is there any way to get this to work with SolidWorks files?

I also checked the Job Processor job types and I don't see any file extension options for .slddrw to create a pdf from the SolidWorks drawings.  Any ideas if this can be done?

[Senthil_Kumar · Accepted solution]

For now PDF cannot be created using Release process for SolidWorks files. Only Inventor and AutoCAD drawing files are supported.

[Anonymous]

Hi Senthil,

Is the above still the case? No automatic PDF creation for solidworks 2D drawing files? 

[Senthil_Kumar]

Jose,

It is still true. We do not create PDF for SolidWorks files yet.

[FabienMonginPoli]

Is this feature considered at Autodesk? is there an idea in the ideastation?

[gandhey]

Hello @FabienMonginPoli 

Could not find the idea for this in the ideastation board.

Please help submit the same.

Thanks,

Yogeshwar

(Vault team)

[christian_gessner]

coolOrange powerJobs can create PDF from SolidWorks files that are stored in Vault.

powerJobs is an extension to the the Vault Job Processor. It allows to create custom jobs that are Vault-version independent and has a customization layer based on Microsoft PowerShell that hides the complexity of the Vault APIs. Besides that it enables the Vault Job Processor to export PDF from SolidWorks, MS Office or other files formats.

For more information, please reach out to sales@coolorange.com 

[DeconSmal]

We have a different issue pertaining to SolidWorks.

Our issue occurs if a change happens to SolidWorks file within Vault where then the viz file needs to be updated. If we attempt to update either to the job queue or update locally, we the "A visualization file cannot be generated for a non CAD file". One specific instance happens if we need to update properties inside Vault. Sure, we can do this in SolidWorks and check the file(s) back in but this can be time consuming if we need to update multiple properties across multiple files.

I believe I was involved with the creation of the Autodesk knowledge post below. I worked with my resellers tech support team as well as Autodesk Tech Support.
"A visualization file cannot be generated for a non CAD file" when trying to generate DWF from file ...

All of the boxes are checked so to speak in our scenario when you apply all of the items suggested under the solutions given. The first bullet point stating "Check out the file, rebuild, and check back in using the appropriate CAD tool.", does in fact work, however, I do not see this as a solution. It is not efficient to do this and requires a huge effort when working with a large number of files.

What I find odd is, viz files will successfully generate all day long as files are pushed through our lifecycles and as long as we don't disrupt the state of the file after it has been checked in. What is cause the SolidWorks files to be seen as a "CAD" file from its initial check in, but as soon as it's modified within the context of Vault, it is now no longer recognized as a CAD file.

What's more unfortunate, is we did not see this issue until we upgraded from Vault 2023 to Vault 2025. This may have been an issue with Vault 2024 but was not seen by us as we typically upgrade in 2 version year increments.

I would love to see a solution to this issue that once again allows for the viz files (dwf's) to be updated locally or via the job queue. This is a constant frustration.