SOLIDWORKS – Incorrect Graphical Display Colors

A particular graphical error has presented itself in the form of improperly displayed graphical analysis colors. Expected color analysis appears incorrect in the graphics display in several situations: Draft Analysis, Simulation mesh/result plots, and more. Red, yellow, green, blue, and variations of these colors used for graphical analysis can appear as the wrong color in some areas of the model.

The problem can occur for one of two known reasons; the Background Appearance is set to Gradient and/or Enhanced Graphics Performance is enabled. Typically, when Enhanced Graphics Performance is enabled, the issue can be corrected simply by navigating to ‘Tools>Options>System Options>Colors’ and switching the Background Appearance to either Plain or Use Document Scene Background. This bug (SPR 1157844) has been corrected in SOLIDWORKS Version 2020 Service Pack 3.

While the problem has been corrected in a software release, the problem remains for Surface Bodies despite using a Background Appearance other than Gradient in later releases. So long as Enhanced Graphics Performance is enabled, colors can still appear incorrect in the graphical analysis display (SPR 1172713). The issue seems to have been addressed in SOLIDWORKS Version 2021 as of Service Pack 1.

To highlight the described graphical issue, the images below show the same Draft Analysis properties to the same Surface Body. Use document Scene Background is the selected Background Appearance. The difference between the two images, using SOLIDWORKS SP03, is a direct result of the Enhanced Graphics Performance selection.

Enhanced Graphics Performance can be found by navigating to ‘Tools>Options>System Options>Performance’ and scrolling to the last option at the bottom of the window. Deselecting this option will allow the graphical colors to properly display as expected. Toggling this option on or off will require a restart of SOLIDWORKS each time.

Gabriel Rodriguez
Application Engineer
Computer Aided Technology, Inc.