Hi ๐
I'm new to Cura slicer, so please correct me, if I'm understanding things wrong here regarding how cura project files work.
A classic usecase of opening old project files in cura imho is to print them on the printer currently configured, with the material currently configured (as this is what is available at the moment in your workshop). Nevertheless, one would want to load the print settings that were once saved to that cura project file to continue, where you left off. At the same time one would likely want to compare these old print settings to the current profile.
In contrast to that usecase, at the moment cura either loads everything or nothing from the old cura project file while only providing the option to overwrite current setups or create new setups. This either leads to months-old configurations having your current setup overwritten (who would want that?) or it leads to a mess of profiles, printers and materials. I think, opening an old project file should focus more on the classic usecase described before.
Short | The Goal / Request: Assume you want to open an old .3mf Cura project to your current Cura setup. It should be possible to load the print settings profile contained in this old .3mf-file while neither overwriting the current profile nor creating a new profile or changing the current printer and material setup.
After the old project file was loaded, its stored old print settings should be shown as temporary changes from the current profile without acually changing the current profile. It should further be selectable to use the current printer and material setup instead of the setup of the old file. Adding one option each in the drop down menu appearing when opening a file should allow this selection and solve the problem. (See details below)
If desired, the print settings can still be saved as new profile afterwards. In Detail | My problem broken down to a minimum example and a possivle solution:
I have initially created let's say
one profile containing print settings
one printer preset
one custom material
I loaded a .stl-file and sliced it with these settings
I saved the GCode file and the .3mf cura project file
In the following days or weeks I update the print settings profile, the printer preset with improved Start- and End-GCode and the custom material to further improve my cura setup and print, print, print...
Weeks or months later, I open my old .3mf cura project file in order to print it (again) with improved settings.
Cura gives me the option to either load the model or the project file. (Ok, so far so good.)
If I load the model, I can use the current printer and material setup, but I can't use the print settings profile contained in the file. (Ok, so far so good.)
If I load the project file, Cura only lets me choose to have the current printer-, profile- and material settings either updated or created new based on the old file.
Thus, Cura forces me, to create a new profile, printer and material setup for every file I load in order to not compromise my current setup. This leads to a huge mess.
It would be much cleaner imho to add the following options to the dropdown menu (see attatched sceenshot):
Printer settings: Use current printer settings
Profile settings: Add print settings from .3mf file as changes from the currently active profile (Keep existing profiles unchanged)
Material settings: Use current material settings
I would really appreciate if it would be considered to facilitate project file handling in the described way or if someone could explain to me, what I'm doing wrong.
Thank you very much in advance :-)