Drawing Flag Notes vs BOM Cells in SolidWorks — Workarounds for the Missing Parametric Link
A question on r/SolidWorks last week: can you make flag note ⑤ in a drawing appear automatically in the BOM cell for line item 1? The answers suggested balloons, linked notes, and custom properties — all partially right, none complete. SolidWorks does not have a native mechanism for this. What it has is a custom property workaround that approximates the result, with specific limitations that trip people up. What flag notes are (and are not) A flag note in SolidWorks is a drawing annotation with a bordered symbol — typically a circled number like ①, ②, ③ — stored in a flag note bank. You create them via Insert → Annotations → Note, check Flag Note, and assign a border shape and symbol from the PropertyManager. Once created, a note can be added to the bank with Add to Flag Note Bank, making the symbol reusable across sheets. ...