Suppressing and unsuppressing features in Solidworks - Dashboard Guide

Dashboard Mode - Suppressing and unsuppressing features

Business Question

How can we track and analyze the status of features being suppressed or unsuppressed in a SolidWorks project to improve design management?

Sample Data

Feature Name	Type	Status	Last Modified Date	Modified By
Boss-Extrude1	Extrude	Unsuppressed	2024-06-01	Alice
Cut-Extrude2	Cut	Suppressed	2024-06-02	Bob
Fillet1	Fillet	Unsuppressed	2024-06-03	Alice
Chamfer1	Chamfer	Suppressed	2024-06-04	Charlie
Boss-Extrude3	Extrude	Unsuppressed	2024-06-05	Bob
Cut-Extrude4	Cut	Suppressed	2024-06-06	Alice

Dashboard Components

• KPI Card: Total Features
  Formula: COUNTROWS(Features)
  Result: 6
• KPI Card: Suppressed Features
  Formula: COUNTROWS(FILTER(Features, Features[Status] = "Suppressed"))
  Result: 3
• KPI Card: Unsuppressed Features
  Formula: COUNTROWS(FILTER(Features, Features[Status] = "Unsuppressed"))
  Result: 3
• Bar Chart: Features by Type and Status
  X-axis: Type
  Y-axis: Count of Features
  Legend: Status (Suppressed, Unsuppressed)
  Data: Counts per Type and Status from sample data
• Table: Feature Details
  Columns: Feature Name, Type, Status, Last Modified Date, Modified By
  Shows all rows from sample data

Dashboard Layout

+----------------------+----------------------+
| Total Features (KPI) | Suppressed Features  |
|                      | (KPI)                |
+----------------------+----------------------+
| Unsuppressed Features (KPI)               |
+------------------------------------------+
| Bar Chart: Features by Type and Status    |
+------------------------------------------+
| Table: Feature Details                     |
+------------------------------------------+

Interactivity

A slicer filter on Status allows users to select Suppressed, Unsuppressed, or All. Selecting a status updates the KPI cards, bar chart, and table to show only features with that status.

A slicer on Type lets users filter features by type (Extrude, Cut, Fillet, Chamfer). All visuals update accordingly.

Self Check

If you add a filter to show only Suppressed features, which components update?

• All KPI cards update: Total Features shows 3, Suppressed Features shows 3, Unsuppressed Features shows 0.
• Bar chart updates to show counts only for suppressed features by type.
• Table shows only rows where Status is Suppressed.

Key Result

Dashboard shows counts and details of suppressed and unsuppressed SolidWorks features by type and status.

Practice

1. What does suppressing a feature in SolidWorks do?
Suppress means:

easy

A. Permanently deletes the feature from the model

B. Locks the feature to prevent changes

C. Creates a copy of the feature

D. Temporarily hides the feature without deleting it

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the meaning of suppress

   Suppressing a feature means hiding it temporarily so it does not affect the model but is not deleted.

2. Step 2: Compare options

   Only Temporarily hides the feature without deleting it describes hiding temporarily without deletion, which matches suppressing.

3. Final Answer:

   Temporarily hides the feature without deleting it -> Option D

4. Quick Check:

   Suppress = Temporary hide [OK]

Hint: Suppress means hide temporarily, not delete [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Thinking suppress deletes the feature
• Confusing suppress with locking
• Assuming suppress duplicates the feature

2. Which of the following is the correct way to unsuppress a feature in SolidWorks?

easy

A. Right-click the feature and select Delete

B. Right-click the feature and select Unsuppress

C. Double-click the feature to hide it

D. Drag the feature out of the feature tree

Solution

1. Step 1: Identify the correct unsuppress action

   Unsuppressing means bringing back a hidden feature, done by right-clicking and choosing Unsuppress.

2. Step 2: Eliminate incorrect options

   Deleting removes the feature, double-click hides or edits, dragging out is invalid.

3. Final Answer:

   Right-click the feature and select Unsuppress -> Option B

4. Quick Check:

   Unsuppress = Right-click + Unsuppress [OK]

Hint: Unsuppress by right-clicking and choosing Unsuppress [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Choosing Delete instead of Unsuppress
• Thinking double-click unsuppresses
• Trying to drag features to unsuppress

3. Given a model with three features: A (unsuppressed), B (suppressed), and C (unsuppressed). If you unsuppress feature B, what will be the visible features in the model?

medium

A. Features A, B, and C

B. Features A and C only

C. Only feature B

D. No features visible

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand current feature states

   Feature A and C are visible; B is hidden (suppressed).

2. Step 2: Unsuppress feature B

   Unsuppressing B makes it visible along with A and C.

3. Final Answer:

   Features A, B, and C -> Option A

4. Quick Check:

   Unsuppress B shows all three features [OK]

Hint: Unsuppress shows hidden features again [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Assuming unsuppress hides other features
• Thinking only the unsuppressed feature shows
• Confusing suppress and unsuppress effects

4. You tried to unsuppress a feature but it remains hidden. What is the most likely cause?

medium

A. The feature is deleted, not suppressed

B. You did not save the model before unsuppressing

C. The feature is suppressed by a parent feature

D. The feature is locked and cannot be unsuppressed

Solution

1. Step 1: Analyze why unsuppress fails

   If a parent feature is suppressed, child features remain hidden even if unsuppressed.

2. Step 2: Check other options

   Deleted features cannot be unsuppressed; saving does not affect visibility; locking is not a standard feature.

3. Final Answer:

   The feature is suppressed by a parent feature -> Option C

4. Quick Check:

   Parent suppression blocks child unsuppress [OK]

Hint: Check parent feature suppression if unsuppress fails [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Trying to unsuppress deleted features
• Assuming saving affects suppression
• Confusing locking with suppression

5. You have a complex assembly with multiple features suppressed to test a design change. After testing, you want to restore the original model quickly. What is the best practice to unsuppress all features efficiently?

hard

A. Use the Unsuppress All command in the feature tree

B. Unsuppress each feature one by one manually

C. Delete all suppressed features and recreate them

D. Restart SolidWorks to reset feature states

Solution

1. Step 1: Understand the need for efficiency

   Manually unsuppressing many features is slow and error-prone.

2. Step 2: Identify the best tool

   SolidWorks provides an Unsuppress All command to restore all suppressed features quickly.

3. Step 3: Eliminate wrong options

   Deleting features loses data; restarting does not change suppression; manual unsuppress is inefficient.

4. Final Answer:

   Use the Unsuppress All command in the feature tree -> Option A

5. Quick Check:

   Unsuppress All restores features fast [OK]

Hint: Use Unsuppress All to restore features fast [OK]

Common Mistakes:

• Unsuppressing features one by one
• Deleting suppressed features unnecessarily
• Restarting expecting suppression reset