What’s News in SolidWorks 2013: Revision Clouds

This entry is part 4 of 12 in the series New in SolidWorks 2013

Revision clouds is a new annotation type in SolidWorks.  The main purpose for revision clouds is to allow you to call attention areas where a revision was made on a drawing.  Though revision clouds are not the same as comment clouds in eDrawings, you may also want to use it to highlight comments for redlines, if you wish.  Revision clouds are likely the most entertaining annotation, as you can also get artsy and make actual cloud shapes just for the fun of it.

Making a revision cloud is easy.  Open up a drawing in SolidWorks 2013, goto the annotations tab on the CommandManager.  Nearby Revision Symbol, you’ll find Revision Cloud.  The PropertyManager allows you choose cloud type, Rectangle, Ellipse, Irregular Polygon and Freehand.  You can also control the maximum size of the cloud puff radius, line type, line thickness and layer.  Color can also be controlled via the layer or by using the Line Color tool in the Line Format toolbar.  Here’s some examples.

Elliptical cloud around a dimension


You can group the dimension and cloud together


Once grouped, the cloud and dimension will move together


Example of a rectangular cloud

Example of an irregular polygon cloud

Example of a freehand cloud with a different line style

Author: fcsuper

As a drafter, mechanical designer and CAD engineer, I've been in the mechanical design field since 1991. For the first 8 years of my career, I was an AutoCAD professional. I utilized AutoLISP and many other AutoCAD customization features to streamline drafting activities for 6+ drafters and designers. I authored several custom functions, one of which was published in the March 1997 issue of Cadalyst Magazine. Since 1998, I've been used SolidWorks non-stop. I've worked to utilize the SolidWorks' user environment to simplify drafting and design activities for 20+ engineers. I've created this website to provide current information about SolidWorks from a variety of contributors. More recently, I am now employed by Dassault Systemes as SOLIDWORKS Sr. Product Definition Manager to improve drawing, annotation and MBD related areas.

4 thoughts on “What’s News in SolidWorks 2013: Revision Clouds”

  1. Pingback: fcsuper
  2. can you add an annotation to the cloud. i used these a lot when parts of a design were not complete, but needed to start the fabrication. we annotated the area as a “reserved”

  3. David, as noted in the article, these aren’t comment clouds like in eDrawings. They have a very different purpose. However, you can group a cloud with an annotation for the same overall effect with an extra couple of steps. It seems like you are either asking for borders around note annotation to have a cloud option, or to have a separate comment cloud capability (that may or may not be combined with revision clouds tool). What do you think? Also, can you go into more detail about your used of clouds in hurried operations?

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