Last November, I posted a tip on how to more easily mate components using an Alt-Drag technique.  A reader had a question about it, so I thought I would create a video demonstrating it.  I hope it helps.  (Tip: switch to full screen or view in HD on Vimeo)
This is my first attempt at video in quite a while, and I was impressed with the results!  Sorry about the audio, but I don’t think it’s too bad.
Like it/hate it?  Let me know what you think in the comments!
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How do you recreate an identical sketch on another face/plane? Convert edges is fine if you want to project a sketch to a parallel face or plane, but what if the face in question is not parallel? You could copy a sketch and then mess around with linking all the dimensions, but what if you want the sketch in a different orientation? Enter the Derived Sketch command.
The Derived Sketch is a cool tool; it creates a copy of a sketch that is tied back to the original. After deriving a …

Ah, the pretty RGB colors! I usually use the triad in the bottom left corner of the SolidWorks model view as a reference to keep myself oriented in my model.  But did you know that in SolidWorks 2009 you can use it to change your view of the model?  Clicking each triad arrow will give you a view normal to the respective arrow, and another click on the same arrow flips the view normally.
I.e., click on the Z arrow, and you are instantly transported to the Front (X-Y) view.  Clicking …