SOLIDWORKS PDM Login prompts can get annoying when you open Office applications. This article will show how to avoid these login prompts by following the instructions below.
Why am I getting so many logins prompts from PDM?
When you create a new mail, since Outlook 16, while not logged into PDM, the system will prompt you to log in if you do not have the automatic login configured in PDM. The reason for this is because of the new Attach File feature in Outlook 16 which accesses the Windows list of recent items. If there are any PDM files on that list of recent items, the user will be prompted to log into the vault to access those files.
The image below is an example of recently accessed SOLIDWORKS files from PDM that display in the Recent Items list when creating a new email.
How to prevent the PDM Login Prompt:
To prevent the PDM log in prompt, the recent items feature in Outlook will need to be disabled within the Windows registry as there is no general setting to switch this off. After following the below steps, the Windows recent items list will no longer display when selecting the 'Attach File' command in Outlook. You will therefore need to browse for the files that you would like to attach.
CAUTION: Incorrectly editing the registry can severely damage your operating system. The SOLIDWORKS Technical Support team strongly suggests that you back up the registry data before making any changes to the registry. If you are unfamiliar with the registry, please work with your IT group to make these changes. Please proceed with the following steps at own risk, MECAD will not take responsibility for incorrect editing of the Windows registry.
1. Launch the Windows Registry Editor by clicking on the Windows Start icon and typing: regedit
2. In the Registry Editor, browse to and expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Outlook\Options\Mail
Note, if the sub key ‘Mail’ does not exist, you can create it by right clicking the Options folder and then selecting New > Key.
3. Right-click the Mail key and select New > DWORD (32-bit) Value.
4. Name it MaxAttachmentMenuItems and set the Value data to 0 with Base Hexadecimal.
5. Restart Outlook. The recent file list should be disabled and the PDM login prompt will no longer display to log into the vault when creating email messages. You will need to browse to files to attach them to emails.
Please contact MECAD Support (support@mecad.co.za) for additional assistance.
Date: 10/092024