KeyShot Forum

Technical discussions => Data Import => SOLIDWORKS => Topic started by: sonicdesign on February 27, 2012, 07:48:33 AM

Title: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: sonicdesign on February 27, 2012, 07:48:33 AM
Can I import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?  I downloaded a plugin, but it seems not to work.
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: guest84672 on February 27, 2012, 01:04:15 PM
The plugin will allow you to launch KeyShot 2 from inside SolidWorks 2012.
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: sonicdesign on February 28, 2012, 06:30:50 AM
Thank you Thomas.

Good to know, but I don't see KeyShot anywhere in SW 2012 to launch it.  Have you tested the plugin for 2012 - SP02 or do you offer different plugins?
I used: keyshot2_solidworks_plugin_1.0(2)

Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: guest84672 on February 28, 2012, 05:39:17 PM
You have to go under tools > Add-ins and activate it.
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: sonicdesign on February 29, 2012, 09:22:19 AM
It does not show up under add-ins to be activated.  Reinstalled, rebooted, same thing.
I am working around it via step files, but I like to get back to where I was before upgrading to SW 2012.
Thanks for your help.

Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: guest84672 on February 29, 2012, 11:00:22 AM
Did you run the installer? Did you get an error message? I am running SW 2012 with both the KS 2 and KS 3 plugin without any problems.
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: sonicdesign on February 29, 2012, 12:03:51 PM
No error messages. Do you run SW 2012 with SP2 or SP1?
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: guest84672 on March 01, 2012, 11:17:25 AM
SP2 - but that shouldn't matter.
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: sonicdesign on March 02, 2012, 06:40:03 AM
Thomas,

I reinstalled the plugin once again and got a message that the installation was successful, yet I can not open SW 2012 files in KeyShot nor can I launch KeyShot in SW.

I upgraded to KeyShot 2.3 quite recently, because I could not open SW 2011 files and it seems that I am facing the very same situation just 4 months later.  I don't know if it matters if I am running SP1 or SP2, because the information on your plugin on your site is limited. I am in the middle of a project and like to resolve this without spending the $ to upgrade to KS 3.


Thank you.
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: guest84672 on March 02, 2012, 06:47:29 AM
Chad will give you call and get it sorted.
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: sonicdesign on March 06, 2012, 12:10:46 PM
I was on the phone with Chad a couple of times and even allowed him to remotely view my desktop to assure that I did the right thing. I am still in the limbo.

According to him and a PlugIn guru on your end this SW plugin, which by default loads into the KeyShot folder (C:/Program Files/KeyShot 2/Plugins), has to be opened in SW as followed:  Open SW/ file open /select "add-in" as file type - or just drag and drop the ddl file into the SW window and supposedly KS will show under SW tools/add-ins to be activated. 

Unfortunately these directions do not work in my case. I tried it multiple times on multiple computers with different OS and both 34 and 64 bit. BTW. Was this posted on your site or should I know all this?

Is there anyone out there having similar experiences or a solution to this problem?

:-\
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: cash68 on March 19, 2012, 02:41:50 PM
I am having the same problem.

Chad told me "KeyShot 2 will not import SW2012 files. As for the plug-in, we are having a few users with this same problem and are looking into the issue."

Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: RoyWingspan on April 11, 2012, 01:23:41 PM
Hello,

I am having the same problem with the Solidworks 2012 and Keyshot 2.3.2. 

I noticed that the latest Keyshot 2 plugin for solidworks is labeled as version 1.2, but when installing, it refers to itself as version 1.11.  Is it possible that an older plugin has been mislabelled and version 1.2 does work?
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: guest84672 on April 11, 2012, 02:01:24 PM
This is just a naming thing - 1.11 is in fact 1.2.

Could it be an administrator issue on your machine?
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: RoyWingspan on April 12, 2012, 07:24:48 AM
I doubt it's an adminstrator issue because I have administrator ability on this machine.

One thing that I noticed from SW 2011 to SW 2012 was the folder naming convention.  Instead of putting the Solidworks files in a folder with the year (Solidworks 2011), the folder is called (SolidWorks Corp).  Could this cause a problem with the plugin for locating the proper files?
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: guest84672 on April 12, 2012, 09:10:03 AM
I don't think so. I will take another look here on one of our systems.
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: cash68 on June 15, 2012, 01:40:47 PM
I got it working.  Sort of.   It works with smaller models...   but it refuses to work with a massive model.  It just hangs after reading data, then merging parts, then on "preparing geometry" it just sits there for over an hour, at 25%CPU usage.  Is it still working?
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: Speedster on June 15, 2012, 05:12:56 PM
Hi Roy;

QuoteOne thing that I noticed from SW 2011 to SW 2012 was the folder naming convention.  Instead of putting the Solidworks files in a folder with the year (Solidworks 2011), the folder is called (SolidWorks Corp).  Could this cause a problem with the plugin for locating the proper files?

Maybe.  I have 2011 and 2012 on my box.  GoEngineer, my reseller, advised me to rename the folders SW11 and SW12 for just this reason.  I don't know if it affects KeyShot, however.

Bill G
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: ggroener on June 20, 2012, 10:45:12 AM
Is the Solidworks 2012 incompatability issue only with the plug-in?  Or can you still open Keyshot 2.3 and import a Solidworks 2012 file?  My entire department is using Keyshot 2.3 and we are about to upgrade to Solidworks 2012, am I going to have an issue?
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: guest84672 on June 20, 2012, 01:24:49 PM
It will work with the plugin. You can't import native SW 2012 into KeyShot 2. You should strongly consider the upgrade to KeyShot 3. There is a lot of stuff that will make the upgrade well worth it.

@ cash68, we have improved this significantly in KeyShot 3.
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: ggroener on June 20, 2012, 03:04:57 PM
So you are saying if we use the plugin we will still be able to import Solidworks 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3?  If we just try to import the files it will fail?

Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: guest84672 on June 20, 2012, 03:10:47 PM
yes and yes. There is a plugin for SolidWorks that works with SW 2012 and KeyShot 2 on our website.
Title: Re: Import SW 2012 files into Keyshot 2.3.2?
Post by: cash68 on November 30, 2012, 11:06:54 AM
I highly suggest you don't upgrade to SW2012.  I have the Keyshot Plugin installed in SW2012, and it took me about 1.5 days of fiddling with stuff.  I don't even remember how i got it to work, I had to run everything as an administrator, and manually put things in various folders inside SW, because Keyshot won't release a straight up patch that allows KS2 to import 2012 files, for some reason.

It sucks.   Also, the tesselation is pretty bad, and when I change "Bodies" to different colors/apperances withing SW, then import them, they come in as one color, which makes rendering pointless.  I have to select every single face of each body, and change the face colors in order to get it to work.  Super annoying.