find and retrieve missing folders with part studios and assemblies

SR_integrator

Hi,
A folder with part studios and assemblies is lost (deleted?). I do not now when and why. How can I find and retrieve the folder?
Are searchable logfiles available?
regards, Guus

NeilCooke

If you go to the history button top left you can view or restore any action taken since the document was created and undo anything. 

SR_integrator

True, but how to find the action that removed the folder?
My document has several versions and a few branches. Do I have to inspect every action, or are helpfull tools available?
The missing folder was a subfolder in my document.
I even do not know what action to search for: is is possible to remove/delete a folder with parts without getting notified? Or did I simply miss the notification?

NeilCooke

There is no way to search for an action, but the entry will read something like "Unpack: Folder 1" (it is called unpack because "deleting" the folder does not delete the contents, it just places them at the level above). If you have a rough idea of when the folder went missing, then you can hover over each entry to see the timestamp. Also, a branch is like a "save as" at a point in time, so if the folder was unpacked in the branch, the main branch will still be OK. Likewise if you find the action that unpacked the folder, restoring the branch will not fix the main branch. If that makes sense? 

SR_integrator

Thanks, this helped. The folder was still available in the main branch. I was searching in another relevant branch.

philip_thomas

Integrator- there is another scenario that is worth talking about. 
Lets imagine that you created a folder on branch A and then versioned the document to create V1. 
From V1 you now branch to create Branch B. 
The folder now exists on both branches. 
Now imagine that you are working on Branch B to try out some ideas and to remove some clutter, you unpack the folder and subsequently delete its former contents. It's ok, because the folder still exists on Branch A. As it happens, you experiment on Branch B goes well and you like what you have come up with. You now merge from Branch B to Branch A. 
The problem is that now the folder is gone from both branches because the action that you took of unpacking the folder on A has now been merged onto B. 

Dont worry - very easy to fix in many ways. 
Simply undo the merge (or restore to a point in time before the merge) and create a new branch 'C'  (this one has the folder). Now re-apply the merge (folder disappears). Next, merge C -> A and the folder re-appears!
TA DA!

Pne of the (many) great things about Onshape is just how much control you have over everything - you can always get back to any state!