Community
Fusion Support
Report issues, bugs, and or unexpected behaviors you’re seeing. Share Fusion (formerly Fusion 360) issues here and get support from the community as well as the Fusion team.
cancel
Showing results for 
Show  only  | Search instead for 
Did you mean: 

Lost Work

8 REPLIES 8
Reply
Message 1 of 9
Dagodevas
2054 Views, 8 Replies

Lost Work

F360 stopped responding and somehow the last autosave was 3 hours earlier.  Very upset. 

Tags (2)
8 REPLIES 8
Message 2 of 9
philip.s
in reply to: Dagodevas

Understandably so @Dagodevas and our apologies for the poor experience. Not that it will bring the data back, but to potentially avoid future issues can you verify what your automatic versioning time interval (menu -> preferences) is set to?

Message 3 of 9
Dagodevas
in reply to: philip.s

It is set to 60 minutes. Previously, F360 had switched to offline mode for
a little while because my internet went down, but then it appeared to have
returned to online mode for some time before it crashed. Seems as though
it would autosave on schedule as soon as it got back online, but it didn't
appear to.
Message 4 of 9
innovatenate
in reply to: Dagodevas


From your description, it sounds like you should be using the Save a Version command and/or export archive more often. Please review the below information and let me know if it helps.

 

A forewarning about Hard Drive Space

In Windows, it is ideal to leave at least 10% of the total capacity of a hard disk free on a system. You'll note that the capacity meter in for a particular drive in Windows will change to a red color from the normal blue whenever the 10% threshold is crossed. See the media, or Z:\ drive in the below image for clarification.

capacity meter.PNG 

 

On Mac OS X, go to the About This Mac in from the Apple Menu to review the available Storage.

 

Screen Shot 2014-07-02 at 4.11.37 PM.png

When less than 10% is available, the disk can become unstable, prone to disk errors, or even catastrophic failure leading to data loss.

 

Since Fusion 360 is a cloud-based product, it may be easy to think that hard disk space is not required. However, the available capacity on a hard drive should be adequate to handle the level of designing you are doing. The amount of space required will vary based upon the level of complexity of a design, the frequency, and the number of designs that you're working on. One way of judging the size of a file is to create an .f3d file and look at the size of the file.  This can be done by using the Export Archive command which is discussed in the next section. 

 

As a rule of thumb, I think it is best to leave a minimum of 10% of the hard disk free.

 

Making localized back-up files

It is possible to save a localized file that will archive all of the Fusion 360 native design data (features, timeline, geometry, etc..). This command is called Export Archive, and is available from the main application menu while in an open workspace.

Export Archive.png 

The export archive command will save a *.F3D file to your local hard drive. This file can be later re-imported by using the Import CAD data from my hard drive command in the dashboard.

Import CAD Data from my local hard drive.png

 

Saving a New Version

Fusion 360 works on a localized, cached, version of your design similar to the F3D file mention in the previous section. When you open a design from the dashboard, a version is downloaded from the cloud to the computer’s local hard drive to work on. Design complexity, due to file size, can significantly impact the time required to open a design. Likewise, the complexity can impact the time required to save a design in Fusion 360 since communication must occur between the Fusion 360 and the file servers. The available internet bandwidth may also impact this behavior. Total saving and opening times may vary based upon the available bandwidth and design complexity.

 

Note: Ample time should be made for Fusion 360 to communicate with the server. Do not shut down the computer, or close Fusion 360 while saving. Fusion 360 displays a message in the Toolbar to indicate when a save is occurring.

 

If the Save a Version command is select, the user will see a warning “Creating New Version..” while the design is being saved. The “New version created” when the save process is complete. If a workspace is closed with pending edits, “Creating a Version and Closing…”will display until the process is complete and the files closes on its own.

 

New Version Created.png

 

Always wait until the message in the upper toolbar confirms that a version has been saved prior to closing down (especially laptops). When in doubt, utilize the Export Archive to create local back-up files.

 

Fusion 360 saves versions of a file in the following situations:

  • When a version is manually saved using the Save a Version command

Save a Version.png 

  • When  the workspace is closed
  • During an Auto-Save

Please note that the auto-save interval is controlled by the Automatic Versioning time Interval (min) field located in Fusion 360’s preferences. The Preferences dialog can be accessed via the main application menu. Also, note that the Automatic versioning feature can be disabled by unchecking the radio box.

 

Automatic Versioning Time field.png

 

Generally, the best method to save is to use the Save a Version command. When this command is used, the Add Version Description dialog will appear.

 

Add Version Description dialog.png

 

A description can be added to accompany this version. This description will appear in the Versions page of the Item Details in the Dashboard. Descriptions are critical since this may help locate or distinguish this version later.

 

A unique behavior for Fusion 360 is that all iterations, or saved versions of a design, are saved in the dashboard. If the thumbnail or name of a design is selected in the Dashboard or feed, the Item Details are display. You can access the versions in the Version panel of the Item Details. Descriptions, User Saved, Auto-Save, and Save on Close will be noted in the Notes of each version of the design. The user that saved the version is also noted and the versions can be filtered accordingly.

Details.png

 

To access an older design, use the Promote command to move an older version to the top to be current version.

Promote.png

 

After promoting a version, use the Edit command (pencil icon) to open the design.

Edit.png

 

 

Offline Mode

Fusion 360 will enter Offline Mode when the internet connection is interrupted. A simplified "Local" page will be used in place of the dashboard. From there, it is possible to edit recently "Cached" designs or to create new ones. While in offline mode and saving work, a queue is created. When a connection is regained, the designs created or edited will be updated online.

Note: In Offline Mode, Fusion 360 operates on a “last-save-wins” basis. This means only one version for each design will be re-synced when an online connection is regained. The most recently saved version of the design is the only version that will be uploaded. All previous versions saved while in Offline mode will be lost. You may consider using the Export Archive command as a back-up in this scenario.

 

The Offline cache time period (days) field cache time limit in the General panel of the Preferences describes the length of time, or 'lag' by which design versions are cached for possibility of working offline.

 

Offline cach time period days.png

 

Recovery  

Recovery occurs after an unexpected exit in Fusion 360. Upon re-launching, Fusion 360 will prompt the user to review a recovered model. The user will have the opportunity to save and open a recovered version of the file. Damaged files cannot be recovered.

 

Upload Queue

To clear problems with syncing, it may be good to know where the upload queue is located in case there are any issues uploading a file.

 

Windows

C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\Autodesk\Autodesk Fusion 360\<Product Version ID>\PLM360Cache\<ID>.plm360.net\UploadQueue

Mac OS

/Users/<USERNAME>/Library/Application Support/Autodesk/ Autodesk Fusion 360/<Product Version ID>

 

It may help to review the “AppLogFile….log” files located in the below locations if you are experiencing problems with saving.

Windows

C:\Users\<UserName>\AppData\Local\Autodesk\Autodesk Fusion 360\<Product Version ID>

Mac OS

/Users/<USERNAME>/Library/Application Support/Autodesk/Autodesk Fusion 360/<Product Version ID>

 

 

 

Hope this is helpful.

 

Thanks,

 

 




Nathan Chandler
Principal Specialist
Message 5 of 9
Dagodevas
in reply to: innovatenate

Thank you, that is good information.  I seems as though "When a connection is regained, the designs created or edited will be updated online." is what didn't happen correctly.  I went to offline mode, then my connection came back and I believe it no longer said it was in offline mode.  I worked for at least about 1 to 2 hours more and then it crashed and I lost all the work I had done since some time before it went offline.  I can't be certain of the timing, but it certainly seems as though it should have auto saved at least once since going back to online mode.  I have since decrease the auto versioning interval to 15 minutes, manually save more often, and will keep a close eye on things if I ever loose internet connection.

Message 6 of 9
Scoox
in reply to: Dagodevas

Well, I don't get it. I have my automatic recovery save interval set to 5 minutes. I have just spent over one hour working on a component and suddenly Fusion 360 crashed and closed unexpectedly. I reopened it and all the work was gone, and I wasn't given the option to restore a recovery backup. None of this nonsense would happen if hitting Ctrl+S would simply save the current version without up-versioning it. The fact that Ctrl+S up-versions is a deterrent for users to save their work. There is no point in creating a thousand versions when all you meant to do was create a save point to ensure what you've done so far gets "banked". It's absolutely infuriating.

Message 7 of 9
innovatenate
in reply to: Scoox

 

 

There are some nuances to with the auto-save or recovery system. CTRL + SHIFT + S saves a local recovery file without uploading to the cloud. 

 

Here's a related conversation and Ideastation post that may help.

 

Thanks,

 

 




Nathan Chandler
Principal Specialist
Message 8 of 9
thetwit
in reply to: Scoox

I have had this happen to me periodically as well.

 

Personally I find this whole save to cloud "system" a dogs you know what. Please, give us the option to be flexible with how we save our work!

 

Thanks

Message 9 of 9
Scoox
in reply to: thetwit

Thank you Nathan, sorry I've posted about the same thing on several threads. Indeed manual recovery save does just what I need. I'm only missing a way to annotate my drawings, so I could type a prospective comment such as "About to modify gusset proportions" and then save.

 

Can't find what you're looking for? Ask the community or share your knowledge.

Post to forums  

Autodesk Design & Make Report