# Sharing and history Project links, claiming a project, read-only links and their link previews, saving and sync between browsers, and the project's history. Source: https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/editor/sharing ## The project link Every project has an id of 21 characters, and a link: `/p/` followed by that id. The id is the project's key. **Anyone who has the link or the id can open the project and edit it**, with or without an account. > **Treat the link like a password:** > > A project's id can't be changed, and claiming the project doesn't lock the link. Only give the project link to > people you want editing it. To show your design to anyone else, use a [read-only link](#read-only-links). To share a project for editing, press **Copy link** in the toolbar. The id also shows in the toolbar and in the status bar. To open a project someone sent you, open the link, or paste the link or the id into **Open a project** on [your projects](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/) page. Ids are case-sensitive. ### Where your projects are listed On [your projects](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/) page: - **Your projects** lists the projects opened in this browser, most recent first. Remove one from the list with **×**. That only forgets it in this browser. The project itself stays. - **My projects** lists the projects your account owns, from any device, when you're signed in. ![The Projects page, with Your projects listed below the New project and Open a project cards](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/shots/getting-started/projects-light.webp) *Your projects, on the Projects page.* A project you create while signed in belongs to your account from the start. See [Accounts](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/getting-started/accounts). ## Claiming a project If you're signed in and open a project that nobody owns, the toolbar shows **Claim**. Press it to make the project yours: it's listed under **My projects**, and you can make a read-only link for it. Claiming doesn't change who can edit. Anyone with the project link can still open and change it. If someone else has already claimed the project, you can't claim it. ## Duplicating a project **Duplicate** in the toolbar copies the project into a new one, named with "(copy)" at the end, and opens the copy. The copy has its own link and starts its own history. It belongs to you, so you need to be signed in. Duplicating is the way to take a design someone shared with you and make it yours without changing theirs. Export and import does the same through a file. See [Exports and printing](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/editor/exports-and-printing#the-project-file). ## Read-only links If you own a project, the toolbar shows **Read-only link**. Press it to copy a link that starts with `/v/`. Anyone with it can look at the project, but can't change it. A read-only link: - shows the project's name marked "read-only", the 3D view with all its controls, the summary row, **Clearance checks**, **Problems** and **Credits** - doesn't show Parts, the inspector, the elevation, the quote or the history - never reveals the project's id, so it can't be turned into an edit link - shows the latest saved revision when it's opened. Reload the page to see later changes. - stays the same: pressing **Read-only link** again copies the same link Only the owner can make a read-only link. There's no way to switch one off yet. ![A project's read-only view: its name marked read-only, the 3D view with its controls, and the summary, Clearance checks and Credits on the right](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/shots/editor/read-only-light.webp) *A read-only link: the design, its checks and its credits, and nothing to edit.* ### Link previews When you paste a read-only link into a chat app or a social site, it shows a preview card with: - the project's name as the title, followed by "Rack Maker" - a one-line summary, such as "Open-frame rack (10″ 6U) with 12 parts, including …", naming a few of the devices first - a picture of the design The picture is a snapshot of the 3D view, taken by your browser while you have the project open. It shows the whole rack from the iso angle, on a light background. Your browser takes a new one when the design has changed since the last snapshot: shortly after you open the project, then at most every five minutes while you edit. It waits while the tab is in the background. Until the first snapshot is taken, the preview shows Rack Maker's standard picture. So after you make a read-only link, keep the project open for a moment before you share it. Apps often keep previews for a while, so a changed design may take time to show up there. ## Saving and sync There's no save button. Every change is saved to the server about half a second after you make it. The status bar shows how it's going: | Status | Meaning | | ----------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | | **connecting…** | The project is opening. | | **synced** | What you see is what's saved. | | **saving…** | A change is on its way. | | **saved** | The change is saved. | | **offline** | The server can't be reached. Rack Maker keeps trying. | | **newer values loaded** | Someone else saved first. Their version is now on your screen. | | **save failed** | The server refused the change. | > **Warning:** > > Changes that haven't been saved yet live only in the open tab. If the status says **offline**, keep the tab open > until it says **saved** again. ### Editing in more than one browser You can have a project open in several browsers or devices at once, yours or other people's. Each one checks for newer saves every few seconds while its tab is showing, and straight away when you come back to the tab. A change made in one shows up in the others shortly after. If two browsers change the project at the same moment, the first save wins. The other browser loads the saved version, its status says **newer values loaded**, and its own change is dropped. Make it again if you still want it. Undo and redo only cover the changes made in your own tab. To go back to an earlier state, whoever made it, use History. ## History The **History** card, near the bottom of the right sidebar, lists the project's saved revisions, newest first. Rack Maker keeps them all. The card shows the latest 25, and **Refresh** reloads the list. Your edits don't make a revision each. Changes from the same browser within five minutes are folded into one revision, so History reads as sessions of work rather than single clicks. Each row shows: - the revision's number, such as **#42** - when it was last saved - how many values were [measured](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/editor/inspector#measurements) at that point - how many edits were folded into it, if more than one - its note, if it has one, such as "created", "duplicated from another project" or "restored from #40" The current revision is marked **CURRENT**. ![The History card: revisions newest first, each with its number, when it was saved, how many values were measured and its note, such as measured the handle gap, a Restore button on each, and the snapshot box at the bottom](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/shots/editor/history-light.webp) *History, with a snapshot noted “measured the handle gap”.* ### Snapshots To mark a point you might want to come back to, type a note in the box at the bottom of the card, such as "measured the switch shell", and press **Save snapshot**. It saves a new revision with that note, even within five minutes of the last one. Without a note, it's called "snapshot". Notes can be up to 200 characters. ### Restoring a revision Press **Restore** on any revision to go back to it. Restoring doesn't delete anything: it saves a copy of that revision as a new one, noted "restored from" and its number, and every open browser picks it up. If you change your mind, restore the revision you were on before. The project's history stays with the project. It isn't part of an exported project file or a duplicate.