Sketch entities & dimensions flicker off and on

I've just installed Solidworks 2003 SP3 (Education Edition) on my IBM
Thinkpad A31p under Windows 2000 SP3. Graphics card is ATI Mobility Fire GL
7800.

This version of Swx is behaving differently than my previous Solidworks EE
versions on the same hardware.

I draw a rectangle. When I select the top edge to add a dimension, the other
edges of the rectangle disappear. When I click to place the dimension, the
other edges reappear, but the dimension disappears. The dim text appears if
I move the mouse pointer over the place where the dimension was.

I'm wondering if it might be an OpenGL issue. I checked the Performance tab
on System Options, and the "Use Software OpenGL" box is unselected and
greyed out. Help suggests the resolution is not supported (currently running
1600x1200, but it doesn't become available at lower resolutions):

NOTE: This option is automatically selected and unavailable for change if
your graphics card does not support hardware acceleration, or does not
support it for the current combination of resolution, number of colors,
refresh rate, and so forth.

.... OpenGL settings work fine in Rhino, so I'm wondering what's happening
with Solidworks.

Thanks...

 

Most likely graphics card.

The reason you cannot access the open gl setting is because you have a
document open. Close all open documents and check the setting again.

If the option is greyed out WITH a check that means your card doesnt support
open gl.

After that, try lower resolutions/refresh rates to see if that helps.

Todd

 

Perfect! Thanks a bunch.