Improvements to Onshape - August 29th, 2025

mlaflecheCAD · August 25

This update to Onshape delivers groundbreaking improvements to parametric design intent with Query Variables in Part Studios. It also includes highly requested drawing enhancements and a new Notes panel to capture and share design context more clearly.

CAD IMPROVEMENTS

QUERY VARIABLES

The new Query variable tool allows you to create parametrically-defined selections. These selections are available to be used downstream as input selections in virtually all Onshape features. Since they automatically update and rebuild based on design changes to your model, they maintain design intent in ways that previously would not be possible.

https://onshape.wistia.com/medias/1jlegsdgll

Query variables are incredibly powerful, have wide-reaching use cases, and a large depth of functionality. Please be sure to review the Help Documentation for more information.

DERIVED PROPERTIES

When using Derive, there is now a checkbox to include properties from the derived part, and if they are not included, the properties are automatically cleared in the new Part.

DRAWINGS IMPROVEMENTS

TRIM SKETCH

The new Trim tool in Drawings quickly cleans up excess geometry by trimming to intersections or removing entire entities and points.

https://onshape.wistia.com/medias/xqqr9kb9uz

COSMETIC THREAD PROPERTIES

Onshape Drawings now includes controls for cosmetic thread style and appearance. Choose ANSI, ISO, or JIS standards, and adjust color or line thickness to match your templates.

https://onshape.wistia.com/medias/rn8prfq6o8

REVISION TABLE CALLOUT NOTIFICATION

Onshape Drawings now provides a blue notification when revision callouts are hidden. Right-click the revision row and select Show Revision Callouts to unhide them, giving you clear visibility and control.

https://onshape.wistia.com/medias/qxigqf3ohl

DATA MANAGEMENT IMPROVEMENTS

DOCUMENT NOTES

Document Notes bring design context directly into your work. Add text, Markdown, and links inside any document, and see the same notes on the Documents and Search page. Notes are for the entire Document, and are not version or workspace specific.

https://onshape.wistia.com/medias/8r65qk1n4o

IMPORT IMPROVEMENTS

When importing files in Onshape, you'll now find a more detailed status notification. This shows the specific steps required, and if an error occurs you can more clearly understand where in the process it occurred.

DXF EXPORT WITH WORKSPACE UNITS OPTION

When exporting DWG & DXF files from Part Studios there is now an option to use the workspace units. You can uncheck this option and choose any other units you prefer.

Image: https://lh7-rt.googleusercontent.com/docsz/AD_4nXdwYYdZtK1KRk2227L00pacHkgvSZRePAQ77YWsS6rTAVCh0r6In0_e3sKrLseWEw35kZAz3_jeGSR5_JOh_9L7ceapoHLV_0rmty1IP5V-nFYQKGVNR6AxmIcV5wthZsQj7_kWrg?key=KlTAvFaa5kJOAksO5c_5Rg

UPDATE WORKSPACE

When Onshape pushes a new release, all documents and workspaces must also be updated. This process is automatically completed in the hours just after the release. In fact, you may have noticed this statement at the bottom of our forum post always accounts for this by including the following statement:

Remember: The updates listed here are now live for all users when creating new Documents. Over the next few days, these features will also be available in Documents created before this update.

The upgrade process applies only to active workspaces, not older versions or workspaces. In cases like restoring or branching from an older version or worksapce, a manual update option is available in the Document menu when needed. This option does not replace, nor is it a substitute for automatic document updates - which will still occur as normally scheduled after an Onshape update is released. It is only advised to use this option in the rare scenarios that it is required.

CAM STUDIO IMPROVEMENTS

PROGRESSIVE SELECTION FILTER FOR HOLES

CAM Studio now includes powerful selection tools for machining. Quickly select all blind or through holes, then filter by diameter or depth to set up drilling operations faster.

https://onshape.wistia.com/medias/3hj4r98mk4

NEW MACHINE SUPPORT

New posts available for these machines.

Haas VF-2SSYT vertical mill
Thermwood CS45 5 x 10 foot router

To have a post included in Onshape CAM Studio, simply file a support request.

PCB STUDIO IMPROVEMENTS

PCB STUDIO TREE

PCB Studio now displays a full feature tree for imported ECAD data. IDF data show boards, components, and keep-in/out areas, while IDX data also include layers, stack-ups, and regions.

https://onshape.wistia.com/medias/jgbb2pnae6

Please take a moment to try out these new features and improvements and leave your comments below. For a detailed list of all the changes in this update, please see the changelog.

Remember: The updates listed here are now live for all users when creating new Documents. Over the next few days, these features will also be available in Documents created before this update.

bryan_lagrange · August 29

Thank you Thank you Thank you for updating the .dxf exporting option.

adrian_vlzkz · August 29

Document Notes 🤩!!! , also feel like we need some Webinars on the power and use-cases for Query Variable

Matthew · August 29

Thank you for the DXF update! I had just logged a support ticket on that recently!! Now if only it did not export two profiles for each hole when using the hole tool on sheet metal, will be submitting a ticket on that shortly

Derek_Van_Allen_BD · August 29

Inb4 @MichaelPascoe starts refactoring all of his query finder based functions. I know I've got a few scripts that I'm going to be redoing from scratch to take advantage of this new feature.

GregBrown · August 29

https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/comment/120541#Comment_120541

I have a youtube deep dive I'm about to upload…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2aNM5dsUnyw

eric_pesty · August 29

Query variables is huge! This has the potential to change how models are built, especially for highly configurable stuff. Looking forward to trying it out!

Document notes look very useful, and I've wanted a manual workspace update so many times!

Definitely a happy Friday before a long weekend!

Derek_Van_Allen_BD · August 29

Also let it be known that my first use of the new document notes feature was to immediately post a rickroll link into the documents my team was working on to show them the new tab.

Caden_Armstrong · August 29

Query variables! Never thought I'd see the day.
I made a video a few months back about how queries in selections were technically possible through the API, and how powerful they would be.
Like many things in Onshape, I really appreciate the implementation of them is accessible through featurescript. This means that a custom feature can as part of its "output" can create query variables to be used by the used downstream. Opens up some interesting workflow potential.

Document notes is also fantastic.

Nick_Holzem · August 29

Prayers have been answered! Thank you. 😊Query Variables sounds pretty sweet. Looking forward to exploring that one.

Still looking for these requests to be filled:

*Add Internal guide/profiles to boundary surface

*Fix the Curve/Surface analysis tool to retain selections with final button (drops inputs depending on selections and scenarios)

*Improve sketch performance while using curvature constrains

*Sketch blocks

*Allow configurations to reference releases of parts and their configurations in an assembly

*G3 sketch constrain, surface end condition, and fillet/face blend option

tjones · August 29

Hm.

Derek_Van_Allen_BD · August 29

RIP sheetMetalUnfold.fs, you'll always live on in my cursed origami tools.

MichaelPascoe · August 29

.

Woot! 🎉

"The query finder is dead, long live the query variable!"

I've never been so happy to deprecate one of my own new features Query Finder 😁

This is exciting news!

.

Andre_Comella · August 29

Between Query Variables and Document Notes, this is my favorite and likely most useful update yet! I'm genuinely thrilled to see these

S1mon · August 29

This is one of the most exciting changes to Onshape in a long time. Query variables will completely change modeling workflows. Notes are seemingly simple but huge. Thanks!

Cary_Bettenhausen · August 29

Hell yes! So much good stuff here, immediately useful.

Thanks to the Onshape Team for your hard work, you are truly appreciated.

S1mon · August 29

For years I've been wanting there to be something with the power of Grasshopper for Rhino, but in Onshape. Query Variables feels like an essential part of a very Onshape approach to this goal.

This isn't fully thought out, but what if there was a "pattern variable" or some other way of generating a list of inputs for other features? Patterning tools in Onshape are powerful, but having to essentially construct a weird For loop in Onshape with a variable feature like #P=#P+1 always feels a bit convoluted. I'd like to generate a list of dimensions, or dimensionless indices, or U/V vertices etc to drive features. Being able to do some math or calculations within the definition of that pattern variable would be great.

eric_pesty · August 29

https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/comment/120561#Comment_120561

Curious to see if you've played with the methods discussed here:

https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/3600/function-variables

I haven't tried it yet but you might be able to do some more interesting math…

S1mon · August 29

More what I'm thinking is that instead of - to take a really basic example - patterning an offset plane with a feature pattern, I was to generate a list of offsets, and then feed that into a plane feature.

This obviously doesn't work yet, but something like:

In my example above, I would manually generate the list of dimensions, but ideally, we'd have tools like Range, Series, and Sequence (and well beyond that) from Grasshopper:
https://grasshopperdocs.com/components/grasshoppersets/range.html
https://grasshopperdocs.com/components/grasshoppersets/series.html
https://grasshopperdocs.com/components/grasshoppersets/sequence.html

EvanReese · August 29

Query Variable is everything I'd ever hoped it would be 🥲 I think we can call Selection Fillet retired after 5 years in service 🫡 (*cue the forlorn trumpet music*)

Document notes is a huge one for collab, which Onshape is the best CAD on earth for!

aeromorrison · August 29

Query Variables and Document Notes!! These are all huge enablers.

Happy to see Workspace Update as well. You don't appreciate this one until you really need it!

The other updates are all solid as well.

S1mon · August 29

Now that I've tried query variables briefly, a few thoughts:

I'd really like to be able to create a query while I'm in a feature - just like I can create a variable on the fly in other contexts. One difference with @EvanReese 's Selection Fillet is that you can live preview not just the edges, but also the result. Of course with the [Final] button and a fillet feature in place after the query variable, you can simulate this, but it's not quite as immediate. Perhaps this is coming in the future?

Within FeatureScript I've managed to get sketch points from a sketch as a query without selecting the vertices of other lines in the sketch. I couldn't quickly figure out how to do that in the query variable.

I hope there are more query variable videos coming in the future. Building queries is really powerful, but it will definitely take some learning.

I was very happy to be able to do something I've been wanting a lot lately: parametrically pick edges of a sheet metal model to add corner breaks to. I was surprised to see that one of my queries (#inside_corners) didn't work unless I evaluated it on use (or just move it right before the second Corner break).

Chris_D_Mentes_001 · August 30

All good stuff but Query Variables is EPIC!!! It solves a huge issue I wrote like 3 featurescripts to overcome

Konst_Sh · August 30

https://forum.onshape.com/discussion/comment/120569#Comment_120569

I believe most of these you can archive with my Parameter pattern:
https://cad.onshape.com/documents/08581b09a233afffddba1401/w/f4d67b2b9675b6e2e9e9f600/e/c5f4954bba4130216c757bdd

shawn_crocker · August 30

Query variables is huge! This seems to be a really elegant solution to a cad problem I think most people experience day to day. I can't wait to start implementing this in some of my reusable standard library models.