Have you ever experienced unexplained issues previewing SolidWorks Files after a PDM update?

1. Do you experience instability, see a flat 2D preview, or no preview at all?
2. Do all the other tabs display the data correctly?
   
3. Did everything seem ok before an update, and then inexplicably, your SolidWorks files are not visible under the Preview Tab?

You might be suffering from an incorrectly configured Edrawing viewer directory.

To resolve this issue, let's explore in the SolidWorks PDM Administration Tool:

1. First, we’ll log in as an administrator with sufficient privileges to manage users' profiles.

2. Next, we’ll navigate to the user who is experiencing issues and right-click on their profile name:
   

1. 
   

1. We’ll select the “Viewers” option, which should display the various file extensions we want to control.
   

2. Select the row that starts with sldasm.
   

3. Inspect the program directory listed (3).
   

4. Our example notes that the directory is linked to the eDrawing version from last year.
   

5. 1. 
      To resolve this situation, we’ll select the “Browse” button and navigate to the new eDrawings installation directory.
      
   1. (Typically [C:\Program Files\Common Files\eDrawings202X]
      
   1. Be sure to add %1% after the directory location
      
   2. Note: if you have a hard time locating the directory that the program is running from, you can:
      
   1. Start the program from an easily accessible eDrawings shortcut, usually on your desktop.
      
   2. Enter the Windows Task Manager
      
   3. Right-click on the "eDrawings" process and select "Open File Location".
      
   4. Copy this directory for later use when editing the necessary setting in the PDM Administrator program
   5. 
      
   2. Return to the PDM Administration program, and browse to the eDrawings directory
      
   3. Select "OK."
      
   1. 
   4. Test the Preview tab to see if the issue is resolved.
      
   1. Note: If you've just reinstalled eDrawings, a system restart may me necessary
6.