Who moved my cheese? (Solid Edge ST6 help and training)

To summarize

Solid Edge ST6 user assistance combines help + training into one collection on the web. With web help and training, you get:

• A new Solid Edge Help home page that provides access to all Solid Edge user assistance. You do not have to bookmark one place for help and another for training. It is all available from this starting point.

• An outstanding search capability.


• Instructional videos for self-paced training.


• Access to YouTube videos to facilitate communication.


• The Learning Portal, with directed learning paths.


• Two new self-paced courses in the Solid Edge Training library.

Also new for ST6 are user interface themes, which configure your Solid Edge work space based on experience level.

But even if you do not have Internet access, you can still use local help and the tutorials that are installed with Solid Edge.

I attached a printable quick reference sheet that explains how to search and navigate web help. It also tells you how to find the familiar tutorials and self-paced courses that have been moved to the web.

Why use web help?

Using web-served help instead of locally installed help provides the following advantages:

• You can search for a word or phrase, and find relevant material in help as well as training courses.
• We added videos to many self-paced courses. These are only available on the web.
• You have access to the new Learning Portal. The Learning Portal is the starting point for anyone wanting to learn to use Solid Edge.

For example, the Learning Portal offers experience-based learning paths. Learning paths combine enhanced video and audio with sequenced tutorials and suggested reading in help. In ST6, three learning paths were introduced: 
       – New to CAD
       – Experienced user of other CAD systems
       – Experienced Solid Edger who wants to incorporate synchronous technology

  

Changing between help systems

When you access user assistance in ST6, it is displayed using Internet Explorer. If you do not have Internet access, a dialog box displays for you to change to local help.

It is easy to switch between web help and local help at any time. The option, Use my web browser to display help (requires Internet access), which is located on the Helpers tab in the Solid Edge Options dialog box, controls which system is used to display content. You do not have to exit Solid Edge for the change to take effect.

NOTE: Web help is not available in some Solid Edge applications, such as Solid Edge 2D Drafting or Revision Manager and View and Markup. In these cases, local help is displayed.

New in the Solid Edge Training library

The Solid Edge Training library is available on the web. You can access it from the Solid Edge Help home page and from the Knowledge Center pane in the Solid Edge window.

In ST6, the library is organized by modeling category. Many self-paced courses now contain videos to help you learn the fundamentals of solid modeling. In addition, two new courses were added:
• Using a cam relationship (under Assembly courses)
• Solid Edge SP, which is SharePoint based visual design management (under Miscellaneous courses)

Solid Edge SP is a completely new type of self-paced training course. It uses interactive simulations of a real-world data management scenario to provide hands-on experience, without requiring you to have SharePoint or Solid Edge software installed.

What are Solid Edge user interface themes?

Predefined user interface themes set up your work space based on your familiarity with Solid Edge or with other CAD products. A recent post by MLombard shows how he chose a theme as a starting point, and then customized it to suit his way of working.

The user interface themes marked with an asterisk (*) in the following table also support the new learning paths in the Learning Portal.

 

You can watch a video explaining the differences in the themes. You can select a theme when you install Solid Edge, and you can change the theme at any time. You also can turn themes off.

This is all explained in one help topic. Search in local help or web help for Solid Edge themes. 

Sending us feedback

Tell us what you think about ST6 user assistance. Let us know how we can improve. There are different mechanisms for doing this in web help than in local help.

In web help, when a help topic is displayed, you can click one of these icons located at the bottom of the web help window:

In local help, you can send an email to seedumedia.plm@siemens.com. Be sure to tell us what information you were looking for, where you tried to find it, and what version of the product you are using.