"Load Project" dialogue and keeping or discarding old profiles

[Thisismydigitalself]

With all due respect, Can Cura's UX / Product manager tell us all what "Save Project" was designed to save?Thank you.

[jackha]

In short:

• The 3d model(s)
• Cura's printer, print profiles and settings

When loading a project file, you should get the complete state.

[smartavionics]

But what isn't saved is the paths to the model files so that having loaded a project, hitting F5 doesn't reload the models (see https://github.com/Ultimaker/Cura/issues/2124).

[Thisismydigitalself]

Thanks, FYI: With both 3.1 and 3.2, saving a project with stl models arranged in a particular manner on bed, when reopening the project they are placed in a completely different layout, and this is not the only issue with projects - settings are not the same as well.

To this moment i am completely puzzled how come some of us are experiencing this completely wrong behavior and some are not. it sure feels like those who do not experience this issue do not save/open projects.

[Thisismydigitalself]

Here's a short clip. Let me know what am I doing wrong.

https://expirebox.com/download/d818d05e3fd4850a08c8cb4749c476df.html

[jackha]

Ahh I think I know the problem here. In preferences under Opening and saving files there is "Default behavior when opening a project file". The first time it will ask (default behavior), but dependent on the choice this can become "Always import models". In that case the models are just imported and placed as it normally would. I would prefer "Always open as a project".

The reason for this preference is that you can also "save" (vs save as project) a 3mf file. In that case it doesn't contain Cura's settings.

[Thisismydigitalself]

Sorry to kill the joy. This is how i always keep my preferences. Can it be that Cura has a bug and disregards these settings?

[jackha]

Hmmm ok that's really weird... I really thought I nailed it ^^ (it exactly made that difference on my machine)

Can you send us the logs and the project file? Then we can have a look at it.

[Thisismydigitalself]

I will do so shortly, Thank you. And, you might have nailed it after all as we might just found a persistent bug here.

[Thisismydigitalself]

Went to look for Cura.log i stopped and checked my Cura.cfg file. this is from [cura] section:

[cura] categories_expanded = ;acceleration_layer_0;acceleration_print;acceleration_support;acceleration_support_interface;acceleration_wall;bottom_thickness;brim_width;jerk_layer_0;jerk_print;jerk_support;jerk_support_interface;jerk_wall;platform_adhesion;raft_acceleration;raft_fan_speed;raft_jerk;raft_speed;shell;speed;speed_layer_0;speed_print;speed_support;speed_support_interface;speed_wall;top_bottom_thickness;top_thickness;travel_compensate_overlapping_walls_enabled;wall_extruder_nr;wall_thickness active_mode = 1 active_machine = LM choice_on_open_project = open_as_project dialog_on_project_save = False

Can this be the culprit? Checking..

EDIT: No. this is just a prompting message.

[Thisismydigitalself]

Here's my Cura.log file. i deleted the existing log, started Cura and created the same steps as in my video so the log contains only that senario.

cura.log

[joyfromprocess]

Just wanted to add that I am also facing the problem of saved projects not remembering model position (and numerous other settings, it seems). If I save a project file in 3.2 and then re-open, not only are all my models scattered but I notice stderr.log reports an issue with the project file:

WARNING - 3MFReader.ThreeMFWorkspaceReader.preRead [350]: File C:/blablabla/blablabla.curaproject.3mf is not a valid workspace.

For what it's worth, I have my option set to "Always open as a project"

[fieldOfView]

The same error pops up in @Thisismydigitalself's log. Could either one of you post a project file to inspect, so we can check if it is the loading or the saving that is broken?

[joyfromprocess]

Here you go:

10mm-slicing-layers.curaproject.zip

[Thisismydigitalself]

For what it's worth, I wasn't asked by my Cura (both 3.1 and 3.2) how I would I like to open @joyfromprocess project file and I can only guess the attached screenshot is telling us it was not opened as a project.

[joyfromprocess]

Yep - it loaded the models in the wrong place and it doesn't look like it loaded any of the main print settings that were applied when the project was saved. Not sure if it's supposed to or not, but it didn't load the machine either (since the project was saved on a Cartesian and you loaded it onto a delta)

Besides the models themselves, per-model settings are the only thing I see loading when I open a project file.

[nallath]

It could well be that the multi-buildplate changes caused the saving of the 3mf to go wrong.

[Thisismydigitalself]

It could well be that the multi-buildplate changes caused the saving of the 3mf to go wrong.

Does 3.1 support Multi-Builtplate? projects issues are the same with 3.1

I did not know about this MultiBuildplate until you mentioned it. I gave it a try. very sluggish response by Cura. what i did found out which I think is interesting was that when I saved a project and then reopned it in MultiBuildPlate mode and chose the "Save to all built plates" - For a split second Cura arranged the models on plate as they were saved, and after this split of a second (like a quick flash fast) Cura reset the model's position to the same problem as without multiplate mode.

Hope this helps. I don't really understand the use of MultiPlate mode..

Here's a shot video: https://expirebox.com/download/7815c921b8ac3b4c5a3152a7c0438d6b.html

[jackha]

What are the settings of "Automatically drop models to build plate" and "Ensure models are kept apart"? They should both be turned off if you do not want any models moved.

@Thisismydigitalself multi build plate is introduced in 3.2. "Arrange to all build plates" rearranges everything to as many build plates as needed. Multi build plate + project files are not yet fully supported as the current active build plate is only saved. If you open a project file the current active build plate will be overwritten, along with all the settings. One of the reasons that it's in Experimental now.

@joyfromprocess is the project supposed to be like this? It seems to load fine. I wonder why "some computers" get the not a valid workspace error. In that case I think it falls back to re-arranging on load (which may be a bug itself, .. I'm going to investigate that).

[Thisismydigitalself]

I have "Automatically drop models to build plate" and "Ensure models are kept apart" checked at all times. Are you saying for loading projects one should turn these OFF? - Makes no sense to me. Projects should always load the very same complete Cura setup before saving the project.

[fieldOfView]

Ah, this sparked something...

The block in the project has an infill_mesh setting attached to it. Models with an infill_mesh do not get a convex hull in Cura (since the 3.2 release; see #2758). However, when loading the project, my guess is that a convex hull is created for the block (and push apart is triggered) before the infill_mesh setting is restored.

The pushing apart should be inhibited until the project has finished loading, and all (per model) settings have been restored.

[fieldOfView]

@Thisismydigitalself, a workaround to keep your sanity would be to group your objects before saving a project. Could you test if that results in the objects staying together properly?

[joyfromprocess]

@jackha - I always have "Automatically drop models to build plate" and "Ensure models are kept apart" turned off. Your screenshot shows the proper model arrangement at the time I saved that test project. Very odd that it loads incorrectly for both @Thisismydigitalself and me.

@fieldOfView - I will try playing with model grouping and see if it makes any difference. Even if we figure out model positioning with this workaround, the projects still aren't loading the main print settings for @Thisismydigitalself and me. Note the difference in print settings between the two screenshots above.

[Thisismydigitalself]

@Thisismydigitalself, a workaround to keep your sanity would be to group your objects before saving a project. Could you test if that results in the objects staying together properly?

For what it's worth, - Loading a project with grouped objects did the trick but only for objects position. Cura did not ask me how I would like to open the project file nor it changed the settings as they were when saved.

[joyfromprocess]

@fieldOfView - I just observed the exact same behavior as @Thisismydigitalself on my machine:

Loading a project with grouped objects did the trick but only for objects position. Cura did not ask me how I would like to open the project file nor it changed the settings as they were when saved.

[Thisismydigitalself]

Guys, Check out how @joyfromprocess project opened up on my Cura and as it should** after i deleted the content of C:\Users\User\AppData\Roaming\cura\3.2\ folder and created a new CR10 printer.

I can't remember when was the last time i got a project file to open up as it should. What a strange feeling.. Now trying to understand what breaks it.

[joyfromprocess]

Interesting. Guess I need to consider wiping all my Cura settings and starting over. I had just done that after installing 3.2, but perhaps I annoyed the Cura gods when setting everything up again.

For what it's worth, that is better but still not completely correct. There should be multiple blocks stacked on top of each other in the center of the build plate, as seen in the earlier screenshot from @jackha

[Thisismydigitalself]

Wait,.. there's more!

[Thisismydigitalself]

After clearing 3.2 folder and seeing that with CR10 printer I get much better results, i went ahead and recreated my Delta printer as a CustomFDM printer. then tried loading the project again. I was happy to see that i got the proper message before opening the file. please note the PLA material as well as the settings as a reference to what comes next..

Then got the second confirmation message - Good.Material still set to PLA..

Now, the moment Cura opened the file - it switched from my Custom FDM Delta printer to MS2. Please note PLA changed to EDC and settings changed as well. Still, Not exactly as @joyfromprocess told us he saved the project.

And now back to my Delta - Please note we're back to PLA and my default settings which are not relevant to the loaded project:

What are we seeing here? a bug with CustomFDM plugin/printer?

[Thisismydigitalself]

I managed to screen capture my screen while Cura was loading the project and managed to catch a split second where the middle box is higher, much like @joyfromprocess and @jackha project opens up, but for only a split second, than the box drops in height - much like the video i posted 2 days ago https://expirebox.com/download/7815c921b8ac3b4c5a3152a7c0438d6b.html

At least I am happy my personal projects are acting the same, meaning they are being opened as projects BUT not on my LM printer which is a CustomFDM Delta printer. As It seems:

1. Problem is with 3MF reader and not the writer AND ..

2. CustomFDM Printer/plugin is buggy.

   i can't be certain there are no issues but at least we're getting somewhere.

It's 02:30 am. Zzz..

[Thisismydigitalself]

Cura 3.2 was just released so i was eager to try it out and see if saving/opening project issue was solved, just to find out it was not..

Then i did my thing and again deleted 3.2 folder content and started Cura 3.2 again. this time it booted up clean. then i tried loading previous saved project and like it should it asked me if I want to open it as a project. so guys - defiantly something is being copied from previous installed versions (I have 3.1 running side by side to 3.2) whch f**s things up. I will now check other projects uploaded to this thread and see how they are loaded.

[Thisismydigitalself]

Tried uploading @joyfromprocess project:

After 3 seconds, Cura changed the cube by itself and this is the outcome:

I am so sorry to say that I can't work with Cura this way. I really am sorry. I just can't trust what it generates.

👎

[Thisismydigitalself]

Here's a video clip (no edit - I am moving the mouse cursor to show realtime video) https://expirebox.com/download/1e328870c9ac44ed3f5a39de2c9ae192.html

[jackha]

Deleting the 3.2 folder deletes the preferences as well. Are those settings turned on? Hopefully that explains what happened.

• Ensure models are kept apart <-- this will push models apart
• Automatically drop models to the build plate <-- this will drop every model on the build plate

[jackha]

Turning off those 2 settings gives this result:

[Thisismydigitalself]

Turning these off yield the same result on my end. If opening Project does not override these settings then this is no good. Please also note the settings - do you also get no top layers?

[Thisismydigitalself]

Please be kind and tell us what's cooking and how Cura 3.3 beta is going to handle projects. What one should be expecting to see and get in regards to the behavior of saving and opening projects. Will we get to save and open project and get the exact same settings as they were when project was saved while overriding Cura's settings (model settings & General/global settings)?

[fieldOfView]

Sofar nothing has changed regarding the saving or loading of projects. I guess they're still examining what goes wrong exactly.

[Thisismydigitalself]

A good start would be to label this issue as a bug.

[fieldOfView]

A bug report has a bug description and clear steps to reproduce, this issue does not. Yes, we can read all of the replies and try to figure out what is the exact bug, but you really want to make it easy on developers to find the problem in the code. Not because developers are lazy, but because there are so many issues to keep track of, and developers are lazy. ;-) (me included)

[Thisismydigitalself]

Reading all the comments and questions being asked it seems to me this is more like a combination of having no clear definition of what's a Project really is, how it should work and while digging in some related bugs surfaced. I am well aware of all of you guys hard work especially when done by lazy people :)

My problem is seeing this issue across all latest 3.x versions and not really knowing what's cooking. "luckily" i see more and more are having the same issue so i really hope this will be addressed sooner than later cause i save and load projects all the time, well - Less than I would have hoped for.

[nallath]

There is a pretty clear distinction on what a project is;

• it contains all the info of a "standard" 3mf file (All models, all grouping, all positions, all per object settings).
• It also contains; Your machine, all active profiles; including materials, qualities, user settings, your setting visibilities.

[Thisismydigitalself]

Well, Few posts above I was told that before i open a project I need to turn off:

• Ensure models are kept apart
• Automatically drop models to the build plate

This is what i meant by saying I feel there is no clear definition.

[fieldOfView]

@nallath: Does the project (try to) include the settings in cura.cfg?

[nallath]

It saves the preferences; it only loads the visibility from them.

As for a clear distinction; I'm saying what is being saved. If you load a project, cura puts everything in the right spot. You can however, have certain settings that make cura do something after the project is loaded. If you have "drop models on the buildplate" enabled, cura can first load the model so that it's above the plate. It then sees that the model is above the plate and does what you asked it to do (eg; Drop the model).

So if you want an exact copy; you should disable those options.

[Thisismydigitalself]

Hi, Thanks for this discussion. To begin with i want to keep my global settings as I like them to be cause this is how i load stl's and work with them. secondly, even when i unchecked these i did not get the exact same settings @joyfromprocess claimed they were. When i save a project - i save my work, not a model. when i come back to it few days later i do not and should not trust my memory how Cura was configured. i should click open and that's it. If what I'm saying makes no sense and things are going to stay as they are then this is not really encouraging.

[fieldOfView]

Even though I hardly use projects myself, so this is not much of an issue for me personally, I agree with @Thisismydigitalself that the current behavior is not expected with the term "project". The data is there, and loads as expected for a split second, only for the parts to fall apart. I can imagine that would be frustrating.

[joyfromprocess]

Sorry for taking so long to come back and confirm, but since wiping my userdata folders and starting with a fresh installation of Cura, I'm no longer having issues saving/loading projects. I can even successfully open the project I previously posted to this discussion without issue.

Regretfully I have no idea what I did to the previous userdata to create a problem in the first place, but I'm glad that it's functional for me now.

I do see the issue with models dropping/shifting if Cura's current preferences don't match the preferences when the project was saved. I agree with @Thisismydigitalself and @fieldOfView that I would expect a project to behave differently... either by overriding the drop/keep-apart settings or by prompting the user whether or not they want to override.

[Thisismydigitalself]

@joyfromprocess
Your experience with Cura is literally same as mine. One thing thou: if you'll look at the screenshots i've posted earlier you'll see your benchy came out without top & bottom layers. was that the way you saved your project? can you please double check and tell us if so, cause if not, it's more than adding these two global settings to Cura's project but there are still issues with visibility settings as well.

And, like you, I don't know what was copied from 3.1 userdata which caused 3.2 (and 3.1 for that matter) to not open projects as projects.

[Thisismydigitalself]

Strange. Since yesterday while trying to open @joyfromprocess project, cura 3.2 crashes. it was not so few days back.

cura.log

UPDATE: Deleted @joyfromprocess's Printer from my printer's stack and now project opens up again. I wonder what changed to caused this.

[Ghostkeeper]

I'm considering the original question in this thread as answered (by the first reply).

Let's not make this thread into a hotchpotch of all issues with project files together. If you find bugs with it, please make separate bug reports and include reproduce steps!

If anything is still unclear about what gets saved in a project file, we can reopen this thread.