Install or update PDMShell

PDMShell installs for your Windows account and does not require administrator privileges.

Looking for the SOLIDWORKS PDM add-in instead? See Install the PDMShell add-in.

Download and install PDMShell

Download the latest PDMShell

The download is a ZIP file containing the signed PDMShell installer.

If you need to test Premium features, request a 7-day PDMShell trial license after installing.

Open your Downloads folder.
Right-click pdmcli_installer.zip and select Extract All.
Open the extracted folder.
Double-click pdmcli_installer.exe.
Wait for PDMShell to open.

PDMShell is added to the Start menu and Windows Installed apps. A Desktop shortcut is also created.

Update PDMShell

When an update is available, PDMShell displays an update message.

Select Yes, update right now.
Select Start in the updater.
Wait while PDMShell downloads and installs the update.
The updated version opens automatically.

Your shortcuts and settings are preserved. You do not need to uninstall the previous version first.

If the update is interrupted, close PDMShell and run the update again. You can also use Download Manually to install the latest version using the steps above.

Install from Microsoft Store

Open Microsoft Store.
Search for PDMShell.
Select Get or Install.
Open PDMShell from the Start menu.

The website download may receive new versions before the Microsoft Store. If the Store version is older, use the download button on this page.

System requirements

Windows 10 or Windows 11
SOLIDWORKS PDM Professional 2014 or newer
SOLIDWORKS 2017 or newer for commands that open or process SOLIDWORKS documents

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