What Are Views in SOLIDWORKS?

A view determines how your 3D model or 2D drawing is oriented and displayed on the screen. Instead of manually orbiting the model with your mouse every time you need to inspect a particular feature, SOLIDWORKS offers predefined and customizable viewing orientations.

Views are commonly used for:

• Inspecting individual features and sketch planes
• Understanding intricate part geometry
• Navigating and inspecting assemblies
• Creating precise technical manufacturing drawings
• Checking internal components for clearances and interferences
• Preparing high-quality presentation and marketing images
• Clearly communicating design intent across engineering teams

1. Standard Views in SOLIDWORKS

SOLIDWORKS provides primary orthographic and isometric orientations that give you immediate access to your model from all cardinal directions.

2. Normal To View

The Normal To command automatically orients the viewport perpendicular to whichever planar face, reference plane, or sketch you have selected.

If you click on an inclined face and trigger Normal To, SOLIDWORKS re-centers the camera so you look straight down on that surface.

Commonly used when:

• Creating sketches on angled geometry or reference planes
• Dimensioning non-orthogonal features
• Inspecting draft angles and contour tapers

3. Section View

Exterior geometry only reveals part of the design story. Section View virtually slices through parts or assemblies using cross-section planes without altering the actual CAD geometry.

Section Views help you uncover:

• Internal through-holes, countersinks, and o-ring glands
• Bushing and shaft alignments
• Internal cavity depths and core geometry
• Wall thickness variations and draft consistency
• Component clearances and assembly interference

4. Auxiliary View

Standard Front, Top, or Side projections project true dimensions only when surfaces are parallel to the viewing plane. An Auxiliary View creates an orthographic projection onto a custom plane aligned parallel to an inclined surface.

Typical applications include:

• Inclined mounting brackets and angled flanges
• Tilted tapped holes and counterbores
• Bevels, chamfer transitions, and compound face angles
• Engineering drawings that require true dimensions for CNC machining

5. Perspective View

While orthographic views maintain parallel projection lines without vanishing points, Perspective View mimics natural human optical perception: objects further away appear proportionally smaller.

• Ideal for design reviews, photorealistic renders, client presentations, and marketing brochures.
• Important: Avoid perspective views when detailing manufacturing drawings or taking critical dimension checks, as non-parallel lines can cause visual confusion.

6. Exploded Views

Used primarily within assemblies and technical documentation, an Exploded View separates individual components along defined translation and rotation axes while preserving their assembly alignment.

• Essential for bill-of-materials (BOM) drawings and balloon callouts
• Generates step-by-step assembly and disassembly manuals
• Clarifies field repair procedures and replacement parts ordering

7. Section Views in Drawings

Inside 2D drawing sheets (.slddrw), section views are essential to document internal geometry without cluttering views with dashed hidden lines. A cutting line designates where the cut takes place, generating a projected cross-section with standard hatching patterns according to material standards.

8. Detail View & 9. Broken View

10. Named Views

When you find an orientation that captures tricky geometry or is needed repeatedly for customer presentations, save it as a Named View via the View Orientation palette.

Named views can be recalled in the 3D model at any time and can also be inserted directly onto 2D drawing sheets as custom drawing views.

SOLIDWORKS Views vs. Display Styles

It is important not to confuse where you look from with how the model looks:

Common SOLIDWORKS View Shortcuts

Memorizing these default keyboard shortcuts will save significant design time over repetitive mouse clicks:

How to Choose the Right SOLIDWORKS View

Tips for Working Efficiently With SOLIDWORKS Views

1. Rely on Keyboard Shortcuts: Avoid searching through the Heads-Up View Toolbar. Snapping to Ctrl + 1 through Ctrl + 7 becomes second nature after just a few modeling sessions.
2. Make Normal To Your Sketching Reflex: Whenever you select a planar face to initiate a 2D sketch, immediately press Ctrl + 8 to align flat with your screen.
3. Use Live Section Views for Troubleshooting: When diagnosing mates that fail or looking for part interference, use dynamic section plane dragging to view interior clashes directly.
4. Leverage Named Views for Technical Documentation: Lock down critical camera angles early with Named Views so marketing and drafting teams share the exact same framing.
5. Pair Views with Display Styles: Switch to Hidden Lines Visible on an orthographic projection to quickly confirm deep through-hole alignment without having to rotate.