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I've been working with 2004's new BOM functionality, specifically the 'SolidWorks BOM'. Unless I'm missing something this functionality is lame. There is a dire lack of formatting control. A nice feature is text wrapping, but it too is not consistent. I wanted to see how it would handle config'd parts so I created one and both configs have the same description, yet one row of the BOM only wrapped the description two lines and the other wrapped it 3 lines. What gives? BTW- What controls column width anyway? How can I get my part number columns to include configuration names (ex. MD001-1 and MD001-2)?
Should I just go back to using the excel-based BOM?
I don't know, I can use the BOM for some things quite well. However, it needs a bit of work. I would like to get rid of the quantity column sometimes. It should have a "fixed width" for each column so that the BOM fits in its designated spot . Have the people who make these things actually ever created a drawing in the real world? For most people BOM height is a variable, but the width is usually fixed. I would like to link custom parts to their balloons. If there is a way, I don't know it. Changing the column descriptions is a bit mysterious. Here's the magic: First type in the new description. Hold your tongue to the right. With your mouse, click once on the gray part of the dialog box, not in the text field. Say, "abra cadabra" while hitting the enter key. That should do it. For left handed people, the tongue still must be to the right.
There are some really cool features. You can group things together. We use left and a right halves for our hinges, then we change the angle mates to show doors open and closed. If we group the left and right into one number, we can balloon either part. It also works well with tubing and wire. Simply group all the 1/2" tubing as one item. Changing quantities is a snap. Double click and away you go. Even though spreadsheet formulas are a bust, you can use VBA to define your properties (except quantity). The BOM updates immediately. And for those who don't like the new BOM, you can still use Excel. However, it sucks when you get all watered up for apple pie and they only serve you apple sauce.
I usually fill out enhancement requests (ER) before I rant. I would recommend the same for everyone.
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