SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 Silent Install (How-To Guide)

SOLIDWORKS Explorer is a file management tool designed to help you perform such tasks as renaming, replacing, and copying SOLIDWORKS files. You can show a document’s references, search for documents using a variety of criteria, and list all the places where a document is used. This article will serve as an informative guide and give you a clear understanding of how to perform a silent installation of SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 from the command line using both the EXE & MSI installers.

How to Install SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 Silently

SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 Silent Install (EXE)

  1. Navigate to: https://www.solidworks.com/support/free-downloads
  2. Click the SolidWorks Explorer arrow icon
  3. Read & Accept the End User Agreement
  4. Download the swexplorer.exe to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
  5. Extract the contents of swexplorer.exe using 7-Zip to C:\Downloads\swexplorer
  6. Navigate to: https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe
  7. Download the VC_redist.x64.exe to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
  8. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  9. Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
  10. Enter the following command: VC_redist.x64.exe /install /quiet /norestart
  11. Press Enter
  12. Navigate to the C:\Downloads\swexplorer folder
  13. Enter the following command: setup.exe /S /v/qn
  14. Press Enter

After a few moments you should see the SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

Software Title:SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019
Vendor:Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corp
Architecture:x64
Installer Type:EXE
Silent Install Switch (Step 1)VC_redist.x64.exe /install /quiet /norestart
Silent Install Switch (Step 2)setup.exe /S /v/qn
Silent Uninstall Switch:setup.exe /S /x /v/qn
Download Link:https://www.solidworks.com/support/free-downloads
PowerShell Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/solidworks-explorer-2019-install-and-uninstall-powershell/

SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 Silent Install (MSI)

  1. Navigate to: https://www.solidworks.com/support/free-downloads
  2. Click the SolidWorks Explorer arrow icon
  3. Read & Accept End User Agreement
  4. Download the swexplorer.exe to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
  5. Extract the contents of swexplorer.exe using 7-Zip to C:\Downloads\swexplorer
  6. Navigate to: https://aka.ms/vs/17/release/vc_redist.x64.exe
  7. Download the VC_redist.x64.exe to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
  8. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  9. Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
  10. Enter the following command: VC_redist.x64.exe /install /quiet /norestart
  11. Press Enter
  12. Navigate to the C:\Downloads\swexplorer folder
  13. Enter the following command: MsiExec.exe /i "SOLIDWORKS Explorer.msi" /qn
  14. Press Enter

After a few moments you should see the SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

Software Title:SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019
Vendor:Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Corp
Architecture:x64
Installer Type:MSI
Silent Install Switch (Step 1)VC_redist.x64.exe /install /quiet /norestart
Silent Install Switch (Step 2)MsiExec.exe /i "SOLIDWORKS Explorer.msi" /qn
Silent Uninstall Switch:MsiExec.exe /x "SOLIDWORKS Explorer.msi" /qn
Repair Command:MsiExec.exe /fa "SOLIDWORKS Explorer.msi" /qn
Download Link:https://www.pasco.com/downloads/matchgraph
PowerShell Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/solidworks-explorer-2019-install-and-uninstall-powershell/

The information above provides a quick overview of the software title, vendor, silent install, and silent uninstall switches. The download links provided take you directly to the vendors website. Continue reading if you are interested in additional details and configurations.


Additional Configurations

Create a SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 Installation Log File

The SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 installers offer the option to generate a log file during installation to assist with troubleshooting should any problems arise. You can use the following command to create a verbose log file with details about the installation.

SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 Silent Install (EXE) with Logging

VC_redist.x64.exe /install /quiet /norestart /log "%WINDIR%\Temp\VCRedistx64-Install.log"
setup.exe /S /v"/qn /L*v %WINDIR%\Temp\SWExplorer2019-Install.log"

SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 Silent Install (MSI) with Logging

VC_redist.x64.exe /install /quiet /norestart /log "%WINDIR%\Temp\VCRedistx64-Install.log"
MsiExec.exe /i "SOLIDWORKS Explorer.msi" /qn /L*v "%WINDIR%\Temp\SWExplorer2019-Install.log"

Change the SOLIDWORKS Explorer Default Installation Directory

You can also change the default installation directory by using the following command line parameters. In this example, I’m installing the SOLIDWORKS Explorer to C:\SOLIDWORKS\SOLIDWORKS Explorer

SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 (EXE)

VC_redist.x64.exe /install /quiet /norestart
setup.exe /S /v"INSTALLDIR=\"C:\SOLIDWORKS\SOLIDWORKS Explorer\" /qn"

SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 (MSI)

VC_redist.x64.exe /install /quiet /norestart
MsiExec.exe /i "SOLIDWORKS Explorer.msi" INSTALLDIR="C:\SOLIDWORKS\SOLIDWORKS Explorer\" /qn

How to Uninstall SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 Silently

Check out the SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 Install and Uninstall (PowerShell) post for a scripted solution.

  1. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  2. Enter one of the following commands:

SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 Silent Uninstall (EXE)

setup.exe /S /x /v/qn

SOLIDWORKS Explorer 2019 SP4.0 Silent Uninstall (MSI)

MsiExec.exe /x {ED3F46FA-EF6F-4633-AA94-5C44815EA2B2} /qn

Always make sure to test everything in a development environment prior to implementing anything into production. The information in this article is provided “As Is” without warranty of any kind.