Overview
This document will walk you through the download and installation process of the software SOLIDWORKS. This is a large program, so expect complete set-up to take ~1-1.5 hours, depending on your internet connection and computer processing speed.
Requirements
PC, License Key (see other documentation), internet access, about 1-1.5 hrs
Note: This software is Windows only and is not compatible with macOS.
Instructions
- Navigate to the Engineering Portal at egrportal.villanova.edu and log in.
- Expand ‘Software Download Links’ and click ‘Download’ for SOLIDWORKS 2019 (SP3)
- The software will automatically begin downloading and should take 15-20 minutes depending on your internet speed.
- Once finished downloading, open the Downloads folder in File Explorer to locate the .zip folder, which is labeled with the software name.
- Right-click on the folder and select ‘Extract All…’ then click ‘Extract’ to confirm. This should look something like the below image.
- This may take a while (~30 mins). The extracted files will be placed in a folder with the same name as the .zip folder.
- Once the contents are extracted, navigate to the unzipped folder (this will appear as a normal folder icon without a zipper). Inside of this folder, there is another folder by the same name. On the upper left in the image below is the parent folder in the PC’s Downloads folder. The lower right window shows a second folder within the first one
- The app may not properly set up unless this inner fold is moved out of the parent folder and into a different location (This can be your Desktop, Documents, or Downloads).
- Click and drag the inner SOLIDWORKS-2019-SP3.0 folder to a new location, such as Downloads, as shown in the image below.
- Once the unzipped folder is in its new location, locate and open the folder so that you see the contents shown below. Then double-click on ‘64bit" folder.
10. Find and open the "SOLIDWORKS" folder to access the installer:
11.Click the "Solidworks" Windows Installer Package:
12. You will be prompted to run the software. Click ‘Run’
13. The starting screen shown below will appear (but it will read ‘SOLIDWORKS 2019 SP3.0’). Click the top button: ‘Install SOLIDWORKS products now,’ then wait for it to load.
14. The app may prompt you to make changes to your device. Click ‘Yes’
15. The installation will start automatically. This will take between 30 min and 1 hr.
16. Keep your charger plugged in, and periodically check the installer. Depending on the requirements necessary, you may be required to restart your computer to install a component (such as Microsoft SQL Server) that SOLIDWORKS depends on.
17. If a restart is required, restart your computer. Then return to, re-open, and start the installer again as shown in steps 10-12.
18. The installation will continue automatically.Once the installation is complete, the installer will close by itself.
19. Before opening SOLIDWORKS, you must set up the license server.
20.Search ‘SOLID’ or ‘SOLIDWORKS’ in the Windows search bar and select the License Manager Client, as shown in the picture below (except for the 2019 version).
21. Now refer to the set-up instructions for the SOLIDWORKS License Manager.
22. Once you have set up the License Manager, you can open the SOLIDWORKS application by either double-clicking on the SOLIDWORKS shortcut on your Desktop or entering ‘SOLIDWORKS’ in the Windows search bar.