- The Short Answer: Decoding the Acronym
- Reading Each Part of the Name
- CSWP-API Is Not the Core CSWP
- What the Credential Actually Tests
- The 15 Exam Objectives in Plain Language
- VBA Scope vs. Add-In and PDM Development
- Cost, Delivery and Retake Mechanics
- Who Gets Value From the Credential
- A VBA-First Starting Path
- Frequently Asked Questions
- CSWP-API stands for Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional API, issued by SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes).
- The exam has 28 questions: 18 hands-on automation tasks and 10 multiple-choice, in 120 minutes.
- You need 70 of 100 points to pass; the exam centers on Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
- No prior certification is required, and the issuer states certifications do not expire.
The Short Answer: Decoding the Acronym
CSWP-API means Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional API. It is the credential SOLIDWORKS, part of Dassault Systemes, offers to people who can automate SOLIDWORKS by writing code against its Application Programming Interface. The name appears on the issuer's certification page as "SOLIDWORKS API Professional (CSWP-API)," and that is the only credential this site covers.
If you have arrived here from a search for the acronym, one clarification matters up front. The letters "CSWP-API" describe a specific, hands-on programming and automation exam inside the SOLIDWORKS certification family. It is a test of whether you can make SOLIDWORKS do things through code: create sketches, build features, drive drawings, manage components, set properties and save files. It is not a general software-engineering certificate, and it is not a theory exam about CAD concepts.
Other pages on this site approach the same question from slightly different angles, including What Is CSWP-API?, CSWP-API Meaning and What Does CSWP-API Stand For?. This article focuses on how each part of the name maps to what you will actually be asked to do on exam day.
Reading Each Part of the Name
The acronym unpacks into four pieces, and each one tells you something concrete about the credential.
Certified
"Certified" signals that SOLIDWORKS itself issues and validates the credential. The exam is delivered through the SOLIDWORKS certification program using Tangix/VirtualTester, and you follow the current VirtualTester Web Client instructions when you sit it. The issuer's 2020 Certification Program Q&A states that customer and student certifications do not expire, so the credential is a one-time achievement rather than something you renew on a cycle.
SOLIDWORKS
The product is the platform. Everything on the exam happens inside SOLIDWORKS on your own working software, and the guide sets a minimum of SOLIDWORKS 2017 or later. Note that 2017 is a software floor, not a label for an exam version; the live exam page and the linked sample guide are both undated.
Professional
"Professional" places the credential at the level above entry-level associate certifications. It is not a beginner's exam, but it also has no formal admission gate: no prior certification is required. SOLIDWORKS Design Essentials and API Fundamentals are recommended preparation, yet training-course attendance is not a condition of taking the exam. The details are laid out in CSWP-API Requirements: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
API
API is the heart of the matter. An Application Programming Interface exposes a program's functions to code. The SOLIDWORKS API lets a macro or program open documents, create geometry, read and write properties, and manipulate drawings the same way a user would with the mouse, only faster and repeatably. For this exam, the language is Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), the scripting environment built into SOLIDWORKS macros.
CSWP-API Is Not the Core CSWP
A frequent point of confusion is the relationship between CSWP-API and the standard Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional (CSWP). They share a family name, but they test different skills. The standard CSWP is about modeling competence. CSWP-API is about automating the software with code. Holding one is not a prerequisite for the other.
| Aspect | CSWP-API | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Core skill tested | Writing VBA to automate SOLIDWORKS | You code; you do not just model |
| Exam format | 28 questions: 18 hands-on tasks, 10 multiple-choice | Most of the exam is practical |
| Duration | 120 minutes | Cannot be paused once started |
| Passing grade | 70 of 100 points | A 70% threshold, not a published pass rate |
| Prior certification | Not required | You may attempt it directly |
| Delivery | Non-proctored online, your own software | Your machine and connection must be reliable |
For a deeper look at how this credential compares with the modeling-focused path, see What Is CSWP-API Certification? and the full overview at CSWP-API Certification.
What the Credential Actually Tests
The guide specifies a 28-question exam worth 100 total points. Eighteen of those questions are hands-on automation tasks, where you write or complete VBA that performs an operation in SOLIDWORKS. The other ten are multiple-choice questions. You have 120 minutes, and you need 70 points to pass. The exam cannot be paused, so the two hours run continuously once you begin.
That gap shapes how you should prepare. Because the official sample covers only a sliver of the exam, candidates need to build their own practice around runnable macros: write code, run it against a test part, and check the result in the model tree. A candidate who has only read about the object model will struggle with 18 tasks that require working code. How hard the exam feels in practice is discussed in How Hard Is the CSWP-API Exam?, and the threshold itself is covered in CSWP-API Passing Score.
The 15 Exam Objectives in Plain Language
The issuer publishes 15 exam objectives. They are unweighted, and the issuer describes the task list as non-exhaustive, so treat them as the confirmed core rather than a complete boundary. Some drawing-related headings overlap, and they are retained here as written. A full walkthrough lives in CSWP-API Exam Domains: Complete Guide to All 15 Content Areas; here is how the names translate into practical skill.
Understanding the API Object Model and Troubleshooting
The object model is the hierarchy of objects you navigate to reach any SOLIDWORKS function. Troubleshooting means diagnosing why code fails.
- Know how the application, model document and feature objects relate to one another.
- Use API Help to find the right method and its arguments.
- Recognize the limits of the macro recorder, which captures actions but often produces brittle or incomplete code.
- Read error behavior and return values rather than guessing.
Part Design Automation, Sketch Entities, Dimensions and Features
These objectives cover building geometry through code: adding sketch entities and dimensions, then creating features such as extrudes and cuts.
- Open a sketch, add entities, dimension them and close the sketch cleanly.
- Create extrudes and cuts with the correct feature-data parameters.
- Confirm the feature appears in the model tree and has the expected geometry.
Assembly Automation, Selection and Traversal, and Component States
Assemblies require you to find components, move through them and change their state.
- Select entities by name or by traversing features and faces.
- Hide, suppress and resolve components programmatically.
- Understand how selection state affects the commands that follow.
Drawing Automation: Creation, Views, BOM and Export
Several objectives center on drawings, including creation of drawings, inserting drawing views, inserting a BOM, and saving drawings in different file formats.
- Create a drawing from a template and place standard views.
- Insert a bill of materials tied to the assembly.
- Save drawings out to other formats from code.
Custom Properties, Saving and Closing Documents
The remaining objectives round out a complete automation workflow: add custom properties, then save and close documents.
- Write custom properties to a model so downstream tools can read them.
- Save a document and close it cleanly to avoid leaving open handles.
Notice how these objectives chain together. A realistic task might create a part, add a feature, set a custom property, build a drawing with a BOM, export it and close everything. Practicing the full chain, not isolated snippets, is the most direct way to cover all 15 areas.
VBA Scope vs. Add-In and PDM Development
"API" can mean very different things depending on who is talking. The CSWP-API exam is anchored in VBA macros. That is distinct from building a compiled C# add-in that installs into SOLIDWORKS, and it is distinct again from working with the PDM (Product Data Management) API for vault automation.
| Area | Relevance to the exam |
|---|---|
| VBA macros | The exam's stated focus |
| C# add-in development | A separate skill; useful career-wise but not the exam's scope |
| PDM API work | A separate skill set outside the listed objectives |
This matters because candidates sometimes over-prepare in the wrong direction, spending weeks on add-in architecture that the exam never asks about. If your long-term goal includes add-ins or PDM, the credential is still a sensible foundation, because the object model knowledge transfers. But for exam purposes, stay in VBA.
Cost, Delivery and Retake Mechanics
The published fee is US$49 for one North American attempt. That figure excludes software and training, so it is the exam credit only. Pricing can differ by region, and the full breakdown is in CSWP-API Certification Cost: Complete Pricing Breakdown.
- Delivery: non-proctored online, using your own working commercial or student software and your own Internet connection.
- Client: follow the current VirtualTester Web Client instructions. These take precedence over the legacy TesterPRO installation and crash language that still appears in the older guide.
- No pausing: the 120-minute clock runs continuously.
- Retakes: a retake requires a new CSWP-API credit and at least a 14-day wait.
Who Gets Value From the Credential
The credential suits people who repeatedly perform CAD tasks that could be scripted: design engineers who generate many similar parts, drafters who produce large drawing sets, and CAD administrators who standardize templates and properties. It also helps technical-minded users who want to move toward automation or application-engineering roles.
Be realistic about career claims. There is no verified, certification-specific salary uplift, and published population pass rates were not verified, so any page quoting precise figures deserves skepticism. The stronger argument for the credential is demonstrated automation value: you can show an employer a macro that removes hours of repetitive drawing work. For a measured discussion, see Is the CSWP-API Certification Worth It?, CSWP-API Salary Guide and CSWP-API Jobs.
A VBA-First Starting Path
If you come from a CAD background and have never programmed, the sequence below keeps you inside exam scope. It is a suggested order, not an official curriculum. The three-day SOLIDWORKS API Fundamentals course is recommended preparation, but its length is separate from the two-hour exam and is not a mandatory training-hours requirement.
Object model and Help navigation
- Record a simple macro, then read and clean up the generated code.
- Practice finding methods in API Help rather than memorizing them.
- Learn where the recorder falls short and why.
Parts: sketches, dimensions, features
- Write macros that add sketch entities and dimensions.
- Build extrudes and cuts and verify them in the model tree.
Assemblies and selection
- Practice selection and traversal, then hide, suppress and resolve components.
Drawings, properties and full chains
- Create drawings, insert views and a BOM, and export formats.
- Add custom properties, then save and close.
- Run a full part-to-drawing macro end to end, then practice under a 120-minute clock.
The ordering is deliberate. The object model comes first because every later task depends on it, and troubleshooting habits built early pay off across all 15 areas. For a longer plan, read the CSWP-API Study Guide: How to Pass on Your First Attempt and keep the CSWP-API Cheat Sheet nearby for quick review. When you want structured question practice, the CSWP-API practice test site is built for exactly that, and the CSWP-API Training overview outlines learning options.
Key Takeaway
Think of the acronym as a promise about skills: you can drive SOLIDWORKS with VBA across parts, assemblies and drawings. Prepare by writing and running real macros against test files, not by reading about the object model alone.
Frequently Asked Questions
It stands for Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional API. The credential is issued by SOLIDWORKS (Dassault Systemes) and verifies that you can automate SOLIDWORKS using its Application Programming Interface, with the exam focused on Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).
No. They belong to the same certification family but test different skills. The CSWP-API tests code-driven automation, while the standard CSWP centers on modeling. Neither is required before attempting the other.
The exam has 28 questions: 18 hands-on automation tasks and 10 multiple-choice questions. You have 120 minutes, it is worth 100 points, and you need 70 points to pass. The exam cannot be paused once started.
No prior certification or formal programming background is required to register. However, the exam is hands-on and VBA-based, so candidates without coding experience should plan time to learn VBA basics alongside the SOLIDWORKS object model. See the What Does CSWP-API Mean? companion piece for related background.
According to the issuer's 2020 Certification Program Q&A, customer and student certifications do not expire. If you do not pass, a retake requires a new CSWP-API credit and at least a 14-day wait. For how the pass threshold works, see CSWP-API Pass Rate: What the Data Shows, which explains why the 70% passing grade should not be confused with a pass rate.