Clearing history but keeping a part with the original sketch entities

aaron_kahn

Hi, I am definitely new to CAD in general, and I am learning with Onshape. I noticed that once I make a part drawing, and then spend a lot of time editing and making changes to it, the history begins to take up a massive amount of storage space for a simple little part. If I export the part, delete that part with all it's history, and then I import it back into Onshape, I loose the original sketch entities with all the visible drawing dimensions. Can you delete just the stored history that was created when building a part? I know I couldn't revert back to an earlier version at that point, but once the part is finished I don't need to go back.   

Also, when I import a file of any type, why isn't it editable like a sketch? I tried all sorts of file types, but all of them treat the imported part like a solid and don't show any dimensions. Why can't I import a part and then change the way it was sketched? I think I am missing something but I have done tons of reading and watching videos and can't figure it out. 
 

jakeramsley

If you copy a document, it will make a duplicate at the current state of the document with no history.

_Ðave_

 aaron, The feature tree data isn't standardized between cad systems therefore not importable,

 To remove just the history of a document use copy workspace command from the menu icon at the top left (3 bar icon). That will create a copy without any history.

aaron_kahn

Ok jakeramsley that worked great, thanks so much! 

_Dave_ , I imported a part to add a hose fitting to my sketch without having to draw it from scratch. The hose fitting is part of a larger item. Is there a way to select a portion of an imported part and then add it to what I am drawing? When I try to select the lines in the imported part it wouldn't let me remove the selection, and it wouldn't copy just the selection. 

_Ðave_

aaron, You can't move just part of an imported model. You may be able to modify the model to reflect the portion you wish to move.

aaron_kahn

Ok thank you for the help!!! 

jan_rychter

I think OnShape really needs to let us clear part history better. Documents grow very, very rapidly, and it's easy to get surprised by their size. The "Copy workspace" workaround looks neat, except if you shared a document with several people, you will need to share the new document again, and manage the resulting confusion.

Please let us clear part history. Ideally, I'd like to see "Clear All", "Clear up to version" and "Clear everything inbetween versions". If that's not possible, even "Clear All" would do.

Please note that this would not be a problem for me if documents didn't grow so quickly.

I can understand the motivation to push people to paid plans (in fact, I will move to one soon), but this might not be the best way to do it.

curtis_vancura

I agree. I am on a paid plan, and still learning best techniques. One that seems difficult to manage is to back out of my misteakes rather than delete them, or make changes upon changes till I finally get it right. Having the record of all this in my history is unnecessary, and a major waste.

I would like to be able to clear the history on individual part studios and assemblies. Even when I get to be a pro, I don't envision that I will want to keep all my history from concept to project completion (unless I need it for my patent attorney).