SolidWorks:HEARD! - Episode 419 - CAD Admin Dashboard
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CAD Admin Dashboard:
This podcast covers the new service offered inside the SolidWorks Customer Portal that finally takes the "Performance Email" that we all used to disable and gives a full history of usage and specs to help any CAD admin or curious user. Topics covered:
- How to find the new CAD Admin Dashboard (C.A.D)
- What tools from SolidWorks assist the C.A.D.
- Navigating the C.A.D. interface
- Customizing warnings
- Setting up baselines
- Tips and observations
For years we all would see the "Would you like to enable Performance Logging" after we install a SolidWorks service pack and most would check "NO" since it appeared to be sent into the DS abyss only to never be seen again. Despite countless assurances from SolidWorks that this information was very important to improving and understanding usage, saying "No" to stop the phoning home might have more draw, even by those of us who knew this was put to good use by R&D.
SolidWorks 2013 finally gave users a selfish reason to turn it back on....VISIBILITY... and then some. Building on the importance of SoildWorks to better understand its users, the new CAD Admin Dashboard is a user-facing tool that takes the information about your SolidWorks session history, options, hardware specs, etc. This gives those of us supporting SolidWorks (both internal and external) to get a wider understanding of what is really happening.
Understanding this is the first year this has launched, I'm sure pressure testing from the user base will probably reveal needs to make the offering exceptional. Currently the service is available to all users with a login to the account and not a restricted group or external groups like resellers and support staff. This is a great start and a service I think all users will benefit from. ~Lou
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