If you’ve ever worked on a project that lasted more than a day, you’ve probably needed to re-open a document. The most common way to do this is to search through the file system until you find the document you need. If the part or assembly is within a very large filing system, this can become tedious. Luckily, SolidWorks allows for easy opening of recent documents.

The Recent Documents menu can be accessed by clicking the dropdown arrow next to the folder icon, as shown in Figure 1.

In the Recent Documents Menu, the documents that have been worked on most recently are shown. If there is a file that gets opened and closed quite often, it can be pinned. Pinning a file always puts it first in the menu, no matter how long ago it has been recently opened. To pin a file, click the push-pin icon in the upper right corner of the file, as shown in Figure 2.

The Recent Documents list has more features, which can be accessed by clicking the arrow in the bottom right corner of the part window. Once expanded, there are new options for how to open, as shown in Figure 3.

If the part or assembly is rather large, the part can be opened in Lightweight mode, which is easier to open and view, although some of the features are disabled. This can be good for reviewing a project. This is accessed by clicking the drop-down arrow on the Mode bar. The default is Resolved mode, which allows full access but may take longer if the assembly or part is large.

If there are multiple configurations or display states, the desired option can be chosen by using the respective toolbars.

By clicking on the References button, all the assemblies or parts reference files will be shown in a separate window, as shown in Figure 4.

If there is a need to determine where the document is located, the Show in Folder option will open the file’s location in the File Explorer, showing all the folders or subfolders it is located in.

Another feature of the expanded menu is the ability to open in read-only mode. This is done by selecting the drop-down arrow next to open, as shown in Figure 5.

Read-only mode allows a user to open the file without the ability to make any changes. This tool is useful when doing project reviews, as the person reviewing won’t be able to accidentally alter the file.

If there are many recent documents that have been opened, the Quick Filter Tool can be used to sort the documents by type or name. The buttons are located at the top of the window, as shown in Figure 6.

The Recent Documents menu can save a lot of time in searching through files trying to find the one that’s needed.

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