Upgrade Options

One or more older major versions of SolidWorks are currently installed on this computer. Choose whether to upgrade the latest existing version to the new version or to create a new installation for the new version.

This choice appears only if no previous version of this major release is installed on this computer. If a previous version of this major release is installed, SolidWorks Installation Manager always updates that installation.

(Starting in SolidWorks 2010, parallel installations of multiple Service Pack versions of the same major release are no longer supported.)

When upgrading:
  • All specified products are upgraded.
  • All installed products are selected by default.
  • If you deselect a product, that product is not upgraded.
    If you deselect a product component, you are not specifying that SolidWorks Installation Manager remove that component. To remove a product component, use Add/Remove Programs, as described under Removing an Installation.

Select the appropriate option and click Next to continue.


Create a new installation of SolidWorks version.

Selecting this option preserves the older major version installation in addition to creating a new installation for this major version.

This can be useful if you want to access the older version of SolidWorks even after the newer version is installed. For example, if you are sharing files with other users who are still running the older version, you can avoid version incompatibility with files saved using the newer version.

Upgrade SolidWorks previous_major_version to SolidWorks current_major_version.

Selecting this option upgrades the older version installation to the newer version.
Once the installation completes, the older SolidWorks version will no longer be available on this computer.

Upgrade Options