Version management

[dbohomolov]

I'm (or at least, I'm trying very hard to be) in the process of migrating from EAGLE to Fusion, and to start with, I'm testing the basic functionality of the program, the convenience of which will determine whether I continue this thorny path or not. What I've encountered is a complete lack of understanding of version control for a) the project and b) the schematic/layout.

Having learned from bitter experience, I quite often press the simple Ctrl+S combination even after a small number of changes, as I don't want to worry about unsaved changes in my project due to program crashes. But each time Fusion creates a new version of the file (and then the project) for me, which I don't like. I want the program to create a new version when I say, "Yes, I've done enough for this to become a new version." Because after an hour of work, I already have v1-v10 variants that take up the entire list. And I still want to be able to specify versions, not just work in the latest one (in Eagle, I simply renamed files accordingly).

Moreover, I haven't found a system for how I can delete old versions. I'm sure that after a couple of months of working on a project, I'll have more than 100 files that I obviously don't need. I don't want to create a new project after some time, transferring the latest version there, as then the convenience of migrating from the time-tested Eagle would be worthless. I want to be able to manage about 10 different versions, and even better, sub-versions with some minor differences. Here, in theory, the Milestone functionality should help somehow, but reviewing guides for 3D modeling didn't help, as the interface there and in Electronics differs. I don't need the advantages of a "share project link" button if I can't properly manage my versions. In the YouTube guides for beginners and migration guides I've watched, I didn't find an answer to my question.

So, how can I save changes without creating a new version (but just do a normal save within the workflow)? How do I delete unnecessary versions? How do I use the Milestones system in Fusion Electronics? How can I create sub-versions (v1.0, v2.1, v3.5.11, etc.)? How can I avoid having a list of hundreds of junk files in my project, but instead have a clearly organized access system? How is version control in Fusion Electronics supposed to be used correctly?

Kind regards,
Daniel

[silvio3105]

This is a "problem" of Fusion in general, no Electronics module only(the replacement for EAGLE).

I agree, Git style versioning would be better.
Btw. those version files are in the cloud and I guess those versions are differential(I guess that is the name) where each version is not complete file rather list of changes between version.

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @dbohomolov,

I hope you're doing well. See the first video in this series for the general setup
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmA_xUT-8UlL80Xm8Gxz98YNum3I9GInr

Like @silvio3105 mentioned this is a general Fusion thing and not just electronics. The file versions will continue to grow every time you save, there  is no way around this. You can use Milestones to define key versions(ie this is good to go for production). You can promote an older version to be the latest version of the design and that way recovering should something go wrong.

For any files you don't want to deal with anymore but can't delete, you can just move them to the trash project. You'll see that in the first video of the series I linked. You can always make copies of the design and take the design in a different direction.

It's all functional but if you are used to a GIT workflow it requires a change in mental model.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Best Regards,