7 Oct 2026 · CAD & Design · TutorialHow to Enable RealView Graphics in SolidWorks

RealView Graphics gives SolidWorks models a realistic, reflective look, but on a lot of machines it’s greyed out under View > Display. The fix is two quick steps in the Windows registry. It works on SolidWorks 2021 through 2024 in my experience.

A quick disclaimer: this involves editing the Windows registry, so do it at your own risk. Done as below it won’t break anything; it either works or it doesn’t.

Step 1: Find your graphics card name

1. Close SolidWorks.
2. Press the Windows key, type regedit and press Enter.
3. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareSolidWorksAllowListCurrent.
4. Double-click Renderer and copy the value (mine reads like “NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080/PCIe/SSE2”).

Step 2: Create the key

1. Still in the registry, go to HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareSolidWorksAllowListGl2ShadersNV40.
2. Right-click NV40 > New > Key, and paste your card name as the key’s name.
3. Inside it, right-click > New > DWORD (32-bit) Value, and name it Workarounds.
4. Double-click it and set the value to 31480.

Step 3: Check it worked

Open SolidWorks and a part. RealView Graphics should now be selectable under View > Display and in the View Settings drop-down.

Not working? Close SolidWorks, change the Workarounds value to 30480, and try again. If that fails, try 32480.

Why bother?

• A much nicer view to model in, which some people find easier on the eyes.
• Quick renders: turn on RealView, ambient occlusion and perspective, set an isometric view and take a screenshot. That’s a decent render without opening KeyShot.
• It does use more graphics power, so you may want it off for very large assemblies.