Resolve a save conflict
When someone saves a circuit after you opened it, CircuitSim asks whether to take their version, overwrite it, or keep both.
Britt Espinosa
Last Update 15 days ago
Two people can have the same circuit open at once, and two browser tabs can do it as easily. When the version on the server has moved on since you opened yours, saving stops and asks you what to do.
The dialog
The dialog is titled Circuit changed since you opened it:
Someone saved changes to this circuit after you opened it. Choose how to resolve the conflict before continuing.
You get three buttons, and each one has a different outcome.
Discard your changes and load theirs
Your edits since opening the circuit are dropped, and the newer version is loaded into your editor. The confirmation reads Loaded the latest circuit changes.
Pick this when you know your changes were exploratory, or when you would rather rebase your work on top of what the other person did. There is no undo across this step, so copy anything you want to keep before choosing it.
Overwrite
Your version is written over theirs. You get Circuit saved successfully, and their work is gone from the circuit.
Pick this when you are certain the other save was a mistake, or when the other save was your own from another tab and you know which one is current. Check with the other person first when you are not sure.
Save as a copy
Both versions survive. Theirs stays as the original circuit, and yours is written to a new circuit you own, confirmed by Saved changes as a new circuit.
This is the safe choice when you do not know what the other save contained. You lose nothing, you can compare the two circuits side by side afterward, and you can delete whichever one loses.
Bear in mind the new circuit counts against your plan's circuit limit, so a Basic account already holding 5 circuits will hit the upgrade dialog here.
Why it happens
The two usual causes:
- A group share with contributor access. Members with Modify and save rights can save the circuit, and if one of them saves while you have it open, your next save conflicts. See share-a-circuit-with-a-group.
- The same circuit open in two tabs or two devices. Save in one, keep working in the other, and the second save conflicts with the first.
Avoiding it
CircuitSim does not autosave, so a circuit stays exactly as you last saved it and long editing sessions are the risk. A few habits help:
- Save often with Ctrl+S. Short gaps between saves mean less to lose in a conflict.
- Reload a group circuit before starting a big change, so you begin from the current version.
- Close spare editor tabs on the same circuit.
- On shared work, say who is editing what. A conflict dialog cannot merge two schematics, and the resolution is always a choice between versions.
If a conflict is a possibility and you have unsaved work you value, export the circuit to a .csim file from Properties, then Advanced, before resolving. That gives you a copy on disk regardless of which button you press.