How To Show Hidden Lines In SolidWorks Drawing: Complete Setup Guide
Displaying hidden lines in SolidWorks drawings is essential for clearly communicating internal geometry and complex features that are obscured from a direct orthographic view. By mastering view display settings, layer properties, and component-level visibility overrides, mechanical drafters can produce production-ready blueprints that comply strictly with ASME Y14.2 and ISO 128 drafting standards.
Pre-Operation & Technical Prerequisites
Before altering view properties in your engineering drawing sheet, you must establish a clean baseline based on your 3D computer-aided design model structure. SolidWorks drawing views inherit their initial display states from the active configurations of the referenced part or assembly files.
- Essential Software & Hardware Tools: SolidWorks 2021 or newer (Standard, Professional, or Premium), a certified graphics card with hardware-accelerated OpenGL enabled, and a multi-button mouse for rapid view manipulation.
- Mandatory Prerequisite Knowledge: Familiarity with third-angle vs. first-angle projection, drawing view selection hierarchy, system options for line weights, and the difference between model items and cosmetic sketches.
- Estimated Execution Duration & Scope: 2 to 5 minutes per drawing sheet, applicable to single-part drawings, large assembly multi-sheet drawings, and exploded configurations.
Step-by-Step Procedure to Display Hidden Lines
Step 1: Select the Target Drawing View
Navigate to your active drawing sheet and click on the boundary frame or edge of the specific orthographic view where you need to reveal internal geometry. Selecting the view activates the PropertyManager panel on the left side of your user interface, displaying all hierarchical display configurations for that specific viewport.
Pro-Tip: If you intend to change the visibility settings for every view on the entire drawing sheet simultaneously, you can right-click the sheet background, select Properties, and adjust the default projection type, though view-specific overrides are generally managed individually.
Step 2: Locate the View Display Property Panel
In the Drawing View PropertyManager that appears upon selection, scroll down until you locate the section labeled View Display. This panel houses the core rendering buttons that dictate how SolidWorks translates 3D volumetric boundaries into 2D line work.
Step 3: Activate the Hidden Lines Visible Toggle
Click the second icon from the left within the View Display buttons, which is officially designated as Hidden Lines Visible. You will notice the view instantly updates on your canvas, rendering internal bores, pocket floors, and obscured fastener holes using dashed or dotted line styles according to your document properties.
Warning: Enabling hidden lines globally on complex assembly drawings can introduce severe visual clutter and make dimensioning nearly impossible. Always restrict hidden line visibility to single-part views or simplified sub-assemblies where internal clearance checks are mandatory.
Step 4: Fine-Line Customization and Component Overrides
If certain components within an assembly drawing require hidden lines while others do not, right-click the specific component either in the graphics area or within the drawing feature tree. Select Component Line Font or use Hidden Edge selection tools to manually suppress or expose individual edges without altering the parent view's global settings.
Drawing hidden lines - CYPE
Drawing View Display States Comparison
| Display Mode Icon | Technical Description | Recommended Engineering Use Case | ASME / ISO Compliance Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wireframe | Shows all front and back edges as continuous lines without surface shading. | Rarely used in modern production drawings; useful for legacy data checks. | Non-compliant for standard manufacturing documentation. |
| Hidden Lines Visible (HLV) | Renders obscured geometry using dashed line weights. | Standard machining drawings, revealing internal threads, steps, and pockets. | Fully compliant for standard orthographic detailing. |
| Hidden Lines Removed (HLR) | Suppresses all internal obscured geometry, showing only outer silhouettes. | Complex assembly drawings, exterior casting views, and clean general arrangements. | Fully compliant when internal features are detailed in separate section views. |
| Shaded with Edges | Combines full color/material rendering with crisp foreground model edges. | Sales portfolios, user manuals, and conceptual rendering sheets. | Supplementary use only; not suitable for shop floor fabrication. |
Common Drawing Visibility Failures & Field Fixes
Symptom: Hidden lines fail to appear even after clicking the Hidden Lines Visible icon.
- Root Cause: The underlying 3D model configuration has lightweight components enabled, or the drawing view scale is too small, causing dashed lines to render as solid black blocks.
- Actionable Fix: Resolve all lightweight components in the parent assembly, right-click the view, select Reload, and adjust your document line font scaling parameters under Options > Document Properties > Line Font.
Symptom: Hidden lines are visible, but they appear as continuous solid lines instead of dashed patterns.
- Root Cause: The drawing template's document properties have custom line style definitions overridden, or the graphics driver is failing to process stippled vector lines.
- Actionable Fix: Navigate to Tools > Options > Document Properties > Line Style, verify that the hidden line pattern is set to the standard dashed metric/ANSI specification, and update your certified workstation GPU drivers.
Symptom: Specific internal threads or cosmetic threads are missing from the hidden line view.
- Root Cause: Cosmetic thread display is toggled off at the document annotation level.
- Actionable Fix: Go to View > Hide/Show items, ensure Cosmetic Threads is checked, and verify that the model feature was correctly created using the Hole Wizard rather than an unlinked cut extrude.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I show hidden lines in an isometric or trimetric drawing view?
Yes, SolidWorks allows you to enable hidden lines in isometric views, but standard drafting practices strongly discourage this because it severely degrades drawing clarity. Instead of using hidden lines in isometric views, drafters should utilize broken-out sections or isometric cutaways to expose internal assembly mechanics.
Why do hidden lines look jagged or pixelated in my drawing PDF export?
Jagged hidden lines are typically caused by low image quality settings for printing and exporting within SolidWorks system options. To resolve this, navigate to Tools > Options > Document Properties > Image Quality and increase the slider for wireframe and high quality resolution settings before generating your final PDF.
How do I hide specific annoying hidden lines without turning them off globally?
You can selectively hide individual edges by right-clicking the specific line in the drawing view, hovering over the edge options, and selecting Hide Edge. This creates a drawing-specific sketch override that suppresses that exact line segment without modifying the underlying 3D model geometry.
Does changing hidden line visibility affect the 3D model file?
No, all display states, hidden line toggles, and line font overrides applied within a SolidWorks drawing file are strictly local to that specific drawing document (.slddrw). Your underlying part (.sldprt) and assembly (.sldasm) files remain completely unmodified, preserving your master design intent.
Optimize Your Mechanical Drafting Workflow Today
Mastering drawing view controls and hidden line configurations ensures your manufacturing packages communicate design intent flawlessly, reducing costly shop floor misinterpretations. Upgrade your technical documentation standards by implementing systematic view property management across all active engineering projects.
