Tag,...You're It

One of the most overlooked abilities within SolidWorks documents is the ability to "tag" items with descriptive terms. Let's take a look at the basics:

1. You can apply a tag by first, selecting a feature or sketch in a part file or, a component or sub-assembly in an assembly file (multiple items can be selected utilizing the standard windows techniques like SHIFT & CTRL). Once selected, click the tag icon in the lower right hand corner of the window.
2. A window will appear and allow you to type in a descriptive "tag" for the item(s) you have selected. Item(s) can have more than one tag with each tag is separated by a semi-colon.
3. Once you have items tagged, you can utilize the filter box at the top of the feature manager to filter items that have the same tag. The filtering occurs both in the feature manager as well as in the graphics area.

And that's it! Tags are not only available in SolidWorks but can also be leveraged and used within SolidWorks Explorer.

Have you visited SolidWorks Labs? (labs.solidworks.com)
Whenever I show this functionality to customers, the first question is, "How do I know what tags are on a component or in the document as a whole?" There is a great little add-in on SolidWorks labs that adds a tab to your task pane. The tab show all tags that are in the open document, allows you to indicate favorites, and easily tag other items with the same tags. Check it out!