Stop emailing final_v3.dwg
Emailing drawing files around is how revisions get lost and the wrong version ends up on the shop floor. There's a calmer way to keep a team on the same drawing.
- #collaboration
- #workflow
Every team that shares CAD files eventually invents the same broken system: a
drawing gets emailed out, three people edit their own copy, and someone has to
reconcile final.dwg, final_v2.dwg, and final_v3_REAL.dwg by hand. Usually
the day before it's due.
The attachments aren't the problem. The problem is that a file has no memory. Once it leaves your outbox it forks into copies that drift apart, and nothing records which one is true.
What "the same drawing" should mean
A drawing should be a single, living thing your whole team opens, not a file that multiplies every time you hit send. With BranchCAD that's the default:
- Everyone works on one drawing in the browser, in real time, with live cursors and comments.
- Want to try a change without disturbing the others? Branch it, then merge it back when it's right.
- Need last week's version? Restore it. The history is right there.
No attachments. No "which copy is current?" No version lost because two people saved over each other.
A shared link beats an email thread every time: there's exactly one drawing, and it's always the current one.
Make the switch in one step
Open the editor, start a drawing, and send teammates the link instead of a file. That's the whole migration.
Start designing free, no credit card. Or read what version control for CAD actually means if you want the longer version of the story.