Solidworks For Mac 2016
Web Help Content Version: SOLIDWORKS 2016 SP05 To disable Web help from within SOLIDWORKS and use local help instead, click Help Use SOLIDWORKS Web Help. To report problems encountered with the Web help interface and search, contact your local support representative. To provide feedback on individual help topics, use the “Feedback on this. This video shows how to install the Solidworks 2016 Full Version. Facebook CAD Solution Blog https://cadsolutionst.bl. These requirements apply to all SOLIDWORKS products except where noted. Use this information to ensure you are always working with a SOLIDWORKS-supported and optimized system for hardware, operating system and Microsoft products. Windows Server 2016: 2017 SP2: Active. Apple Mac ® based machines running Windows using Boot Camp are not.
This is a fairly long-standing issue we come up against on the Innova Systems technical support desk, and also while talking to prospective customers about SOLIDWORKS. The simple answer is that SOLIDWORKS do not develop an Apple Mac version of the software, so we can’t install SOLIDWORKS natively.
We used to recommend the Bootcamp route, which involves installation of Bootcamp and then Microsoft Windows on the partition Bootcamp creates. The issue here is that if you need to access the Apple Mac Operating System (OS), you would need to shut down windows and boot up the Apple Mac OS, because they cannot be running simultaneously. This allows the full use of the hardware (RAM and graphics card) you have in your Apple Mac for Windows.
The alternative solution that we used to steer people away from is Parallels, a virtual machine software that allows you to run another OS inside the Mac OS (inside a window). The reason for not recommending this is that you are sharing the resource of the machine with two operating systems, thus not necessarily having the required resource to run a demanding program like SOLIDWORKS.
There were also historic problems with not being able to use the graphics card properly which would result in exceptionally slow performance when selecting things. This is due to most Macs not having certified graphics cards for SOLIDWORKS and parallels using a virtual graphics card driver or the default Windows driver. The virtual or generic drivers don’t offer the level of performance needed to run SOLIDWORKS correctly.
Innova Systems Technical Director, Ed Hawkins, explains
We have now installed and configured this on over 20 users’ Apple Mac computers and I have to say the response from these people has been amazing.
I have a mid 2014 MacBook Pro, which I’ve been using as a test bed. The specs are listed below:
You will note that this machine has Intel Iris Graphics (specific to the Mac) and not a certified graphics card for SOLIDWORKS.
So, I installed the latest version of Parallels (version 10) and a fresh copy of Windows 10 into the virtual environment and then set about making SOLIDWORKS work!
It’s pretty easy to get Windows installed, as Parallels guides you through that process very nicely. You can specify how much of the machine’s resource to give to the Windows OS – which is where a high spec Mac will stand you in better stead. It is always a good rule of thumb to assign half the available RAM to the Windows OS, so in my set up, I assigned 4GB of RAM.
The difficult bit is making the “Use Software OpenGL” button inside SOLIDWORKS become accessible. When you first install SOLIDWORKS, this button is ticked and greyed out, so we can’t turn it off. In our opinion, SOLIDWORKS is unusable at this point, as selecting geometry and navigating the software is too slow to be productive.
With a bit of effort, and some registry modifications, I was able to untick the OpenGL box, allowing us to use the graphics card to a much higher potential. The difference in performance was huge, and it allowed me to select and navigate the software much, much faster. One limitation that frustrated me early on was the lack of RealView Graphics (Accurate reflections and appearances), so I set about solving this problem too. I’m happy to report that RealView works perfectly on a properly specced Mac Book Pro!
Download Solidworks For Mac
Of course, this isn’t necessarily a new solution – Parallels has been around for some time, and installing Windows on a Mac for as long. The difference with our solution is that we can make SOLIDWORKS behave as well as a normal windows PC. No more slow selecting or poor rotational speed.
Above is a screenshot of the working set up, albeit in Window mode, not full screen. I have this running at a resolution of 2560 x 1600 in full screen mode and it is functioning very well. Please note: the specification of my Mac, and the resource I can assign to Windows is far from ideal. It would be recommended for people who are creating fairly simple parts with up to 100 features, and assemblies containing up to 500 components. Any more than that, and I think it would struggle.
In summary, the Parallels solution is now recommended by Innova Systems. We are confident of this working well in a production environment, but the spec of the Mac is key to the success. Along with our modifications to the registry in Windows, of course.
Video: See SOLIDWORKS running on Apple Mac
Video: How to run SOLIDWORKS on Apple Mac Computers
Get in touch with us to find out more
Are you based in the UK and interested in running SOLIDWORKS on your Apple Mac? We can demonstrate our configuration to you via a Team Viewer session, or if you prefer and are interested in purchasing SOLIDWORKS we can come out and show you live with some of your data.
Solidworks 2016 Mac
Call us on (01223) 200690 or complete this form to organise a consultation
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in August 2015 and has been updated to feature new information on our process.
These requirements apply to all SOLIDWORKS products except where noted. Use this information to ensure you are always working with a SOLIDWORKS-supported and optimized system for hardware, operating system and Microsoft products.
| Microsoft Products | Start of Life | End of Life1 |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 10, 64 bit | 2015 SP5 | Active |
| Windows 7, 64-bit | 2010 SP1 | 2020 SP5 |
| Windows Server 2019 | 2019 SP3 | Active |
| Windows Server 2016 | 2017 SP2 | Active |
| Windows Server 2012 R2 | 2014 SP3 | 2019 SP5 |
| SQL Server 2019 | 2020 SP0 | Active |
| SQL Server 2017 | 2018 SP0 | Active |
| SQL Server 2016 | 2017 SP0 | Active |
| SQL Server 2014 | 2015 SP0 | 2021 SP5 |
| SQL Server 2012 | 2013 SP2 | 2019 SP5 |
| IE 11 | 2014 SP3 | Active |
| Excel, Word 2019 (64-bit recommended) | 2019 SP2 | Active |
| Excel, Word 2016 (64-bit recommended) | 2016 SP3 | Active |
| Excel, Word 2013 | 2013 SP4 | 2020 SP5 |
| macOS Catalina (10.15) | eDrawings 2020 | Active |
| macOS Mojave (10.14) | eDrawings 2019 | Active |
| macOS High Sierra (10.13) | eDrawings 2019 | Active |
| macOS Sierra (10.12) | eDrawings 2017 | eDrawings 2019 |
Microsoft/Apple Products (SOLIDWORKS 2018 and older)
| Microsoft Products | Start of Life | End of Life1 |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 8.1, 64-bit | 2014 SP1 | 2018 SP5 |
| Windows 7, 32-bit | 2010 SP1 | 2014 SP5 |
| Windows Vista, 64-bit | 2008 SP3.1 | 2013 SP5 |
| Windows Vista, 32-bit | 2008 SP0 | 2013 SP5 |
| Windows XP, 64-bit | 2006 SP4 | 2012 SP5 |
| Windows XP, 32-bit | 2001Plus SP0 | 2013 SP5 |
| Windows Server 2012 | 2014 SP0 | 2018 SP5 |
| Windows Server 2008 R2, SP1 | 2009 | 2017 SP5 |
| Windows Server 2008 | 2008 | 2014 SP5 |
| SQL Server 2008 R2 | 2010 SP4 | 2017 SP5 |
| IE 10 | 2013 SP0 | 2016 SP5 |
| IE 9 | 2011 SP4 | 2015 SP5 |
| IE 8 | 2009 SP5 | 2014 SP5 |
| Excel, Word 2010 | 2010 SP5 | 2018 SP5 |
| Excel, Word 2007 | 2008 SP1 | 2014 SP5 |
| OS X El Capitan (10.11) | eDrawings 2017 | eDrawings 2018 |
| OS X Yosemite (10.10) | eDrawings 2015 | eDrawings 2018 |
| Operating systems | eDrawings 2019 | eDrawings2020 | eDrawings 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| macOS Catalina (10.15) | |||
| macOS Mojave (10.14) | |||
| macOS High Sierra (10.13) | |||
| macOS Sierra (10.12) |
| SOLIDWORKS 2018 (EDU 2018-2019) | SOLIDWORKS 2019 (EDU 2019-2020) | SOLIDWORKS 2020 (EDU 2020-2021) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| VMWare vSphere ESXi | 6.0 | 6.5 | 6.7 |
| Parallels Desktop, Mac | 10 | 14 | 14 |
| VMWare Workstation | 9 | 14 | 15 |
| Citrix XenServer | 6.2 | 7.4 | 7.6 |
| Microsoft Hyper-V | 2012 | 2016 | 2019 |
Notes on Supported Virtual Environments:
- SOLIDWORKS and eDrawings require a GPU for optimal performance in a virtualized environment. SolidWorks has tested and certified graphics cards for virtualized environments. For a complete listing, check Certified Cards and Drivers.
- SOLIDWORKS Composer is not supported in virtualized environments.
- End Of Life (EOL) corresponds to the last SOLIDWORKS release where a Microsoft product is supported (This is synchronized with the Microsoft Mainstream Support End Date). SOLIDWORKS releases after the EOL are not supported for the said Microsoft product and SOLIDWORKS installation is blocked in the case of an operating system.
- SOLIDWORKS Product Support Lifecycle defines the End Of Support for SOLIDWORKS versions.
- SolidWorks recommends using the latest Microsoft update of Windows, Office and Internet Explorer.
- SolidWorks supports each Windows 10 release for applicable SOLIDWORKS releases as long as it is still covered by both the SOLIDWORKS Product Support Lifecycle and Microsoft Windows Lifecycle Fact Sheet.
- SolidWorks recommends using a Windows Server operating system for all SOLIDWORKS server-based products. Refer to the Microsoft Windows Server documentation to select the Windows Server edition that meets your needs.
- Windows Home Editions and Windows To Go are not supported.
- Apple Mac ® based machines running Windows using Boot Camp are not supported.
- SOLIDWORKS 2018 on Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 requires the Microsoft April 2014 update
- It is not recommended to install any instances of other applications on the SOLIDWORKS PDM Archive or Database Server. For PDM Professional, it is recommended the Archive and Database servers are two separate, dedicated machines.
- To ensure optimum performance, it is not recommended to install antivirus software on the SOLIDWORKS PDM vault computer.
- SolidWorks does not test or certify VPN (Virtual Private Network) solutions but provides best-effort support. Users may be directed to work directly with their VPN provider to resolve issues on a case-by-case basis.
- Beginning with SOLIDWORKS 2020, DVD distribution media will only be provided on request. Please contact your Reseller.