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Assemblies: Saving, Updates and Sharing

An assembly points at your saved models, so it needs to be saved to your account to keep. You need to be signed in to save.

Step by Step: Save an Assembly

  1. Click File, Save. The first time it opens Save assembly to my account.
  2. Type a name, choose a folder and (on plans with notes) add notes, then save.
  3. After that the assembly saves itself about 1.5 seconds after each change, and again when you switch to another browser tab. Autosave is quiet.
  4. Use File, Save as to make a copy: it opens Save this assembly as a new copy.

The message "Saved to your account" appears when you save by hand. A saved assembly appears in Manage files with the label Assembly. An assembly that has never been saved stays open only as long as its tab does.

Step by Step: Open an Assembly

  1. Open it from Manage files, File, Open or Recent.
  2. The loading text counts the parts ("Loading part N of M").
  3. A message confirms "Opened <name>".

Step by Step: Share an Assembly

  1. Open the saved assembly and click Share in the viewer, the same as for a model.
  2. Press Create link and copy the link.
  3. To refresh the link after you change the assembly, press Create link again, or use the refresh arrow next to the link in the Shared with list.

The link shows the assembly as it is now. It is a frozen snapshot of the assembly and its parts, and those copies count against your storage. If that would put you over your storage, the share is refused. Later changes do not reach the link. An assembly with no components cannot be shared.

People who open the link see the badge Assembly (view only) and the message "This assembly is shared with you to view only." They can orbit, hide parts, explode and collapse an exploded view, and use the tools your share allows. They cannot change it.

Parts Changed

When you save a new version of a part somewhere else, the assembly notices. It checks every 30 seconds and whenever you come back to the tab. A bar appears: "Parts changed: <names>. Update now?" with the buttons Update now and Later. After updating it says "Updated <name>." Later hides the bar until something else changes.

Missing and Frozen Parts

  • If a part was deleted and nothing is left of it, its row reads (missing) with the name. The rest of the assembly still opens, and a message lists what is missing. Right-click the row and choose Remove from This Assembly.
  • Deleting a model that assemblies use asks you to confirm and names the assemblies. Each of those keeps a frozen copy, shown with a lock and the words "(frozen copy)".

Used Parts

Used Parts on the Assembly tab (Evaluate group) lists every saved model the assembly uses, with the columns MODEL, PART NUMBER, VERSION, STATE and QTY. Click a name to open that model.

Tips

  • Save before you share, so the link shows the version you meant.
  • Plan for storage: a shared assembly copies its parts.

Common Problems

  • Save asks you to sign in. Saving needs an account.
  • The share is refused. It would put you over your storage, or the assembly is empty.
  • If the owner's plan drops below Pro, they can still open their assemblies to look: "changing it needs the Pro plan."

Open the viewer

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