Why cant we just have folders?

chrisjh777

owen_sparks

Many, many thanks for your comprehensive pictorial explanation.

I now know that tags and labels enable user defined "filing cabinet" drawers into which I can store my CAD designs.

When I have time (flat out right now helping an injured colleague), I will experiment with some ideas.

If I can prove that a "Label" can store my Solidworks fastener library, and access the library from all documents within Onshape, what a revolution!!

I guess I would have to create a SW assembly and place all my fasteners without mates into the assembly.  Then zip it up (pack and go) and import it into OS.

 Most likely I have the concept wrong, and it won't work.

3dcad

chrisjh777 said:

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If I can prove that a "Label" can store my Solidworks fastener library, and access the library from all documents within Onshape, what a revolution!!

I guess I would have to create a SW assembly and place all my fasteners without mates into the assembly.  Then zip it up (pack and go) and import it into OS.

 Most likely I have the concept wrong, and it won't work.

This method can put all your fasteners in single part studio (using flattened on import). It will work but needs, of course, descriptive names for each part.
If you need to edit one of those in Onshape, just 'hide other parts' to keep things simple.

I don't know which is better pack&go or step ap 214 but I suppose they both will do the transition.
 
And if you think forward, having all your 'old' fasteners in single part studio there is plenty of space creating/importing new stuff into same document without getting too crowded with tabs. So you could just name that doc fasteners and give it labels like fasteners, common parts, sw import, whatEverLabelYouMightThinkWhenLookingForTheseParts etc.

owen_sparks

I'm sure OS are way ahead of me on this but I'd love to see the tags incorporated into individual parts and then into the derived feature...
Imagine clicking "derive" then adding a bunch of tags such as "Created By Me", "Sensor" "Stainless Steel", "M20" and being presented with any part you've ever designed that matches the criteria.  You wouldn't even need to remember what project it was for, what you called it or where you saved it.

The more I think about this the more outdated folders seem.

Think of documents like a loyal sheep dog or valet parked car.  You don't really care where they are "right now", just as long as they come when you call them.

Owen S.

3dcad

Today I got weird feeling when trying to remember the right document where I created certain tab, why do we need documents? If we have tags and state-of-google-art search tool, I wouldn't mind just having part studios, assemblies, drawings, spreadsheets, images and automatic connective tags to group for example part studio and related assembly together..

If you give this idea a chance, you will notice that you waste one click and valuable time every time you click to open document and wait for it to open the first tab for you - just to notice that you opened wrong document or click another tab in that document and wait again. 

brucebartlett

owen_sparks said:

 I'd love to see the tags incorporated into individual parts and then into the derived feature...

Spot on @owen_sparks I was just about to post the same thing, also want to be able to sort deeper than just the documents list. However not sure if it needs tagging system or just the ability to access the meta properties and sort with these in a flat outside of document view. 

The whole folder thing becomes a lot more relevant when dealing with part files and assemblies of tradition CAD we use to rather than documents which are almost like the folders but much more powerful. I have about 250 odd documents in my list and never really found it a problem to sort through, i do try to group parts ie. fasteners or hydraulic rams into documents as well and can't see a real need for folders but if I was to flatten out all my parts, assy's, etc, there would be 1000's, not even counting versions, then micro version's. Therefore think the document/project container system works well where folders would not survive.

famadorian

oh my god; I ended up here from a google search trying to find an operating system that doesn't have folders. Folders sucks in every way and it's totally useless. There's not one reason to use folders and whoever thinks that doesn't understand tags; your "folder" is just a tag search and you can keep this search around as your "folder"

francois_boulet

As I see Folders, it is just a way of mapping the structure of the project I'm working on. A way of having an overview of our work.
Things do not have to be organised that way reely, but it is more pleasant for my brain to see them that way.
For me, the need for a hierarchy type structure is a real need.

To have the benefit of the 2 world, I think that the only tool I would need is a page named "Folders" where I can créate the hierarchy I want with the labels names linked to the labels themselfs. 

When I'm working on a project and then créate a document, I would love to be prompt for a Label (not just a name). When prompt for the label, I would be directed to that page of links to place that label in the structure or use an existing one. The document would have then to be automaticaly taged with that path

A month later, I start a new project, I create Documents, Labels and a Folder like structure for that project because I'm always prompt to assigne a Label.
If I want to use an existing document, I just tag it with a new label of that new project. And the document is automaticaly taged with that new path.

If Labels could be labeled, then we could (on that page named "Folders") clic on a Label in a  project and see a list of Labels or sub labels and documents.

This is not my field, maby I am too simplistic, but I know that it would be great to find a solution so that we could better organise our work

francois_boulet

Everybody seams to be focussing on the "search" aspect of that subject, but in the Folder-Tags debate there is more than searching.
In the Folder system when I save a document, with one clic, I place it somewhere in a structure that is logical for me. I do not have to think of all the tags I have to add to that document to créate it's own structure. Folders are more intuitive with a more global view. Labels have their advantages too, but they need to be complement to have the browsing quality and the global view of the Folder system.

3dcad

+1 for being able to add tags when creating new document

Stefan_DMS

As a pro user we have the ability to define groups to be able to manage who has access to our documents. This also gives the ability to collate groups of documents together. We have 8 different groups labeled as the 8 different product groups we have designs for, this shows up in the left hand access bar in the teams Icon. It isn't grouping using folders but it is a way to classify documents and makes it super easy to find documents. Note it is only a single layer which we actually prefer.