Modifying Reports in SOLIDWORKS Electrical

SOLIDWORKS Electrical can generate various reports for a project. Reports in this case are sets of data that show information applied in the specific project. Some of the most common reports are bill of materials (BOMs), list of wires, list of cables and drawing list. Users may want to modify a report to present data in a different format to better meet their needs and to provide additional information. Knowing how to alter a report is very important because it can enable the user to read and understand data easily. In this blog article, I will show you some tips and tricks to modify reports inside SOLIDWORKS Electrical.

How to Modify Reports in SOLIDWORKS Electrical

To add a report to a project, click the Project tab in the ribbon menu and then select Reports. 

Report Manager: The Modifying Reports window will open. Click the Add icon and a list of usable reports will be displayed. For this example, check the box next to the reports that have the Description of Drawing list and Bill of Materials grouped by manufacturer, then click OK.

Click the Generate drawings icon and check the boxes next to Bill of Materials by manufacture and Drawing list. Then click OK.

A Report summary window will pop up, click close. As you can see, the reports were created and added to the Document/Components Manager.

Now let’s open the Drawing list report and make note of the format.  

To modify the Drawing list report, you will click the Reports icon. Highlight Drawing list and click Properties.

Report configuration edition: The Modifying Reports (Folio_Metric) window will open. If you look in the middle of this window you will see a General, Styles, Columns, Layout, Sort and break, Filters and File data tabs.

Let’s modify this report using these tabs. Click the General tab. Change description to Test drawing list and click apply. Take note that the description changed in the Report Manager: Modifying Reports window.

Click on the Styles tab. Check the box to Bold text under the Title section. If you look towards the top of the current window that’s open, you can see a real-time update of the report. Toggle the bold checkbox and notice how the title of this report will become bold and un-bold as you check and unchecked the box.

Click the Columns tab. Then click on the Column management icon.

Uncheck Folder description, Folder, Created by and Function. Check File Name. Click OK. Now only the Drawing, Description, Location, Revision, Date and File Name columns are displayed.

Click and drag the columns so the order goes File Name > Date > Location > Revision > Description > Drawing. Click apply then close. Click close again on the Report Manager: Modifying Report window.

Right-click Drawing list in the Document/Components Manager and click Update report drawings. The Report summary window will open, select close.

Notice all the modifications done were applied to the report.

Users of SOLIDWORKS Electrical can modify reports to show certain data that is important to the project. Report modification can also be utilized to format the report to better fit schematic guidelines. SOLIDWORKS Electrical gives the user many tools to customize to fit their needs.

Are you looking to learn more about SOLIDWORKS Electrical and its different capabilities? Watch our on-demand webinar, Wiring and Cable Design Using Mil-Spec Components.