Where's the SAVE button?

rkagerer

I realize OnShape doesn't have a Save button, and that it continuously saves my work to the cloud.  However, sometimes I want to take a "snapshot" of the way things are, so I can try something out and revert back later if it doesn't work out.

I used to use Versions for this.  They were really handy.  But then I learned the hard way it's impossible to delete a version once created.  That's no good for me.  I don't want to publish my experimental work for all to see, until it's stable.  Now I have garbage in the history I can't clean up.

Can we prune old versions yet if they aren't being referenced in any other designs?  I know there was a popular feature request for that.
Can I create lightweight branches and then delete them later when I want to dispose of them?

All the decades I've used computers this common use case was very simple.  Hit File | Save to create a copy.  Now with this snazzy cloud thing I seem to have lost this most basic function.

Any solution out there I've missed?

konstantin_shiriazdanov

Hit File | Save to create a copy.  Now with this snazzy cloud thing I seem to have lost this most basic function.

that is almost everytime not as easy in file-based cads as it sounds. you would likely damage your references from the assembly this way, that why you should copy all the project. in OS to eliminate all the versions you can copy workspace after the job is done - the new document with fresh history will be created

rkagerer

Hi Konstantin. I understand what you're saying, and yes, in traditional CAD I make sure to do a "deep copy" that grabs not only the document I'm working with but also the entire hierarchy of any other referenced documents.

But what I'm really looking for is the equivalent operation in Onshape, in a  manner that doesn't leave behind tidbits impossible to later clean up.  This isn't just a matter of tidiness - it's a serious privacy issue, too.  I could foresee a situation where some engineer uploads confidential / proprietary work without realizing it then wants to remove it from the public facing web afterward and runs into a snag.

konstantin_shiriazdanov

"copy workspace" command would create a new OS document from the workspace you are currently in without all the versions

rkagerer

Cool!  Thanks I didn't know about that.  It's a bit of a sledgehammer compared to being able to snapshot "private versions", but I suspect it will do the job.

NeilCooke

You can also create a branch from a version and delete the branch afterwards. 

rkagerer

Perfect.

florian

NeilCooke said:

You can also create a branch from a version and delete the branch afterwards. 

And you can use OS as you use version control in software:

At the start create two branches. One for development and one for releases. As you can see in the example there was no direct edit in the main branch. Only one merge from "Dev". https://cad.onshape.com/documents/937e12e258e877b6c21d8aaa/w/2b90bf1c99ca889b5ef97068/e/adbcdc4659a4c899253e5c19