4 Steps to Turn Off Shadows in SOLIDWORKS

Contents

To turn off shadows in SOLIDWORKS, open View Settings on the Heads-Up View toolbar and clear Shadows in Shaded Mode. You can also use View > Display > Shadows in Shaded Mode. The change takes effect immediately in parts and assemblies.

SOLIDWORKS states that shadows slow performance during dynamic view operations such as zoom, pan, and rotate. Disabling them is useful when viewport responsiveness or a simpler modeling view matters more than the visual effect.

Quick Steps

Open the part or assembly.
Click View Settings on the Heads-Up View toolbar.
Clear Shadows in Shaded Mode.
If the floor still does not look right, edit the active scene and review Floor shadows, Floor reflections, and the floor appearance.

If the toolbar or menu names are difficult to locate, the SOLIDWORKS interface guide explains the main workspace areas and toolbars.

Step 1: Open View Settings

Look at the Heads-Up View toolbar across the top of the graphics area. Click View Settings, commonly represented by a glasses icon. This menu contains quick controls for several real-time viewport effects.

If the Heads-Up View toolbar is hidden, use the main menu instead. Choose View > Display. The same shadow command is available there, so resetting or rebuilding the toolbar is not required merely to change this setting.

Step 2: Clear Shadows in Shaded Mode

Click Shadows in Shaded Mode so the check mark disappears. SOLIDWORKS removes the shadow beneath the model immediately. There is no separate Apply button.

This command is valid for parts and assemblies. It controls the real-time shaded shadow in the modeling viewport. It does not change model geometry, material properties, mass properties, mates, or a rendered output that was already created.

Step 3: Inspect the Active Scene

If the toolbar toggle does not produce the expected result, inspect the active scene:

Open the DisplayManager.
Choose View Scene, Lights, and Cameras.
Right-click Scene and select Edit Scene.
Under Floor, review Floor shadows.

The active scene defines the floor and whether the model casts a shadow onto it. The same area can also contain floor reflections, floor alignment, floor offset, and background settings. A dark floor is not by itself proof that a shadow remains. Clear Floor shadows first, then review the floor appearance and reflections if the lower part of the viewport still looks dark.

For a plain viewport, you may also prefer a simpler background. See how to change the SOLIDWORKS background color.

Step 4: Save the Preference for New Documents

The shadow and scene behavior belongs to the document environment. Changing one existing part does not automatically update every other file. To make the preferred look the starting point for new documents, configure a clean part or assembly with the desired scene and shadow setting, then save the appropriate document template.

Existing documents retain their own saved environment and may still need to be adjusted individually. Do not use display states as a substitute for this setting. Display states are useful for component visibility, display mode, appearance, and transparency, but they do not store the document-level Shadows in Shaded Mode choice. The SOLIDWORKS display states guide covers what those states actually control.

Which Visual Effect Are You Seeing?

Several display effects can darken or add depth to a model. Turning off the wrong one can make it seem as though the shadow command failed.

Shadows in Shaded Mode

This is the standard shadow shown beneath the model in the interactive graphics area. It follows the current model orientation. Use View Settings or View > Display to toggle it.

Floor Shadows and Floor Reflections

These are configured in Edit Scene under Floor. Floor reflections are available when Floor shadows is selected. If the model still appears mirrored after the shadow is removed, clear Floor reflections as well.

Ambient Occlusion

Ambient Occlusion adds contact-style shading where surfaces are close together or visually occluded. It is not the same as the floor shadow. If corners, cavities, and contact areas remain dark, check Ambient Occlusion under View Settings.

RealView Graphics

RealView adds hardware-accelerated appearance and scene effects when supported by the graphics hardware. It can include self-shadowing and more realistic reflections. Learn how to enable or disable RealView Graphics in SOLIDWORKS when you need to control those additional effects.

Appearances

A dark face may simply have a dark appearance or texture. Shadows do not change the assigned color or material appearance. If only one part or face remains dark, inspect its appearance rather than repeatedly toggling viewport effects. The guide to customizing SOLIDWORKS appearances explains those controls.

Why Turning Off Shadows Can Improve Display Speed

Shadows are recalculated as the model view changes. Official SOLIDWORKS guidance says that enabling shadows slows dynamic view operations, including zooming, panning, and rotating. The improvement from disabling them depends on the model, graphics hardware, resolution, and other active effects.

Use this change as one targeted diagnostic:

Rotate or zoom the model with shadows enabled.
Disable Shadows in Shaded Mode.
Repeat the same view movement.
If the result is still slow, turn off RealView and reduce other display demands one at a time.

This sequence helps distinguish a display-effect bottleneck from rebuild time, mate solving, file loading, or other assembly performance problems.

Large Assembly Settings

When assembly display performance is poor, Tools > Large Assembly Settings applies a collection of performance-oriented options. SOLIDWORKS documentation states that Large Assembly Settings turns off Shadows in Shaded Mode and RealView Graphics, changes Shaded With Edges to Shaded, and reduces other display demands according to the selected assembly options.

While Large Assembly Settings is active, the shadow control can be unavailable because shadows are already disabled. Turning Large Assembly Settings off restores the previous shadow setting. This is expected behavior, not a damaged toolbar.

For a fuller explanation of the tradeoffs, see the SOLIDWORKS Large Assembly Mode guide. Some Large Assembly options can defer rebuilds or reduce display quality, so use them deliberately rather than treating the mode as only a shadow switch.

Troubleshooting

Shadows in Shaded Mode Is Missing or Unavailable

Check whether Large Assembly Settings is enabled. It disables the effect and makes the control unavailable. If the Heads-Up toolbar itself is hidden, use View > Display instead.

The Floor Still Looks Dark

Edit the active scene and inspect Floor shadows, Floor reflections, the background, and the floor appearance. Also check Ambient Occlusion and RealView if the darkness appears around model features rather than only beneath the model.

Shadows Return in Another File

The other file may contain a different saved scene or shadow preference. Adjust that document. To control the starting point for future files, save the desired setup in the relevant part and assembly templates.

The View Is Still Slow

Turn off RealView, review image quality, textures, edge display, and other real-time effects. In assemblies, use Performance Evaluation and consider Large Assembly Settings. Shadow removal addresses dynamic display work; it does not fix slow rebuilds, complex mates, or heavy imported geometry.

Official SOLIDWORKS References

Summary

For the normal modeling viewport, clear View Settings > Shadows in Shaded Mode. If the floor remains visible or dark, edit the scene and review Floor shadows, Floor reflections, and the floor appearance. If the command is unavailable in a large assembly, check Large Assembly Settings because that mode already disables the shadow effect.