If your team needs to view complex assemblies quickly without slowdowns, or 3D-Tool are excellent choices. Their optimized performance handles large files smoothly.
Another critical advantage that makes modern viewers "better" is the security of intellectual property (IP). Sharing a native SolidWorks part file ( .SLDPRT ) or assembly file ( .SLDASM ) is often a security risk; these files contain the design intent, feature history, and parametric data that a competitor could easily steal or reverse-engineer. Viewers utilize lightweight file formats, such as the .ePRT or .eASM formats, which strip away the parametric history and leave only the visual geometry. This allows companies to share their designs with external vendors, clients, and contractors with confidence. It establishes a "need-to-know" basis for data: the viewer sees the shape and size, but the proprietary "recipe" of how the part was made remains locked away. solidworks viewer better