CUSTOMTOOLS installation and attaching to company database

This instruction only applies to a situation where the CUSTOMTOOLS software has already been installed previously for the company's use and the CUSTOMTOOLS database is operational on the company's server.

Note! This instruction does not apply to the situation where CUSTOMTOOLS is to be installed for the first time in a company and the program's database does not exist yet. If you are unsure about the installation, contact your company's SOLIDWORKS/CUSTOMTOOLS administrator or PLM Group's support service.

1. VERY IMPORTANT!! Download the CUSTOMTOOLS software installation package, but be especially careful that you download exactly the same major version and Service pack version that is already in use by other users in the company. Usually, the installation package is already downloaded to the company's internal network, but confirm the currently used version and the location of its installation package from your company's SOLIDWORKS/CUSTOMTOOLS administrator. If you are unsure, contact PLM Group's support service.

2. When the installation package is downloaded, start the software update by double-clicking the downloaded exe file.
Note: To be safe, you can always use the option "Run as administrator" to complete the installation if you suspect that the user's access rights are not sufficient to complete the installation.

3. Select the language, press the "Next" button and accept the license terms.

4. Enter the 12-character CUSTOMTOOLS serial number. The fields "User Name" and "Organization" are irrelevant information that can be left blank.

5. Select the option "Custom / Network Environment Setup" and press "Next".

6. The products to be installed depend on the license in use. Usually, however, you want to install only the CUSTOMTOOLS add-in that works within SOLIDWORKS, in which case only the component "CUSTOMTOOLS SOLIDWORKS add-in" is selected for installation. Certain users also want CUSTOMTOOLS to have so-called administrative right. In this case, also select the product "CUSTOMTOOLS Administration" to install.

7. By pressing the "Browse" button, select the database server to which the CUSTOMTOOLS software is being connected. The database server name is typically of the form "SERVERNAME"\CUSTOMTOOLS. If the database server is not found in the list when pressing "Browse" button, enter the name of the database server manually.

Typically, the "Server authentication" method is used as login credentials, in which case credentials must be entered that have the rights to connect to the Microsoft SQL Server database on the server.

The username is usually "sa", but the password is known to your company's SOLIDWORKS/CUSTOMTOOLS administrator.

8. Start the installation. Installation typically takes 1-5 minutes.

9. Start SOLIDWORKS and start the CUSTOMTOOLS add-in if it is not already running.

10. Activate the CUSTOMTOOLS license. Activation requires at least your email address, but you can also enter your other information.

11. Note If, when starting the CUSTOMTOOLS add-in, the message "Active database is not defined" appears as shown in the image above, register the database used by your company as shown in the image.

12. Log in to the CUSTOMTOOLS database with your own credentials. Contact your company's SOLIDWORKS/CUSTOMTOOLS administrator if you don't have credentials yet.

After logging in, you may receive a notification asking you to add the SOLIDWORKS document templates used by CUSTOMTOOLS to the SOLIDWORKS settings. You can answer "Yes" to this question, even if you don't use these CUSTOMTOOLS templates.

13. When the CUSTOMTOOLS add-in has started and you are logged into the database, CUSTOMTOOLS functions are available in SOLIDWORKS.