Documents and files
Keep many designs in your browser, start new ones, open samples and tutorials, and save a .schoolcad file to take your work to another computer.
- Save file Ctrl+STop bar: Save file
- Open fileTop bar: Open file
- DocumentsTop bar: the folder button
| SchoolCAD | Onshape | Fusion | SOLIDWORKS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Documents | Documents | – | – |
SchoolCAD keeps your designs in your web browser, on the computer you are using, as you work. There is no account and nothing is uploaded. Documents is where you find your designs. To take a design to another computer, or to keep a safe copy, save it as a SchoolCAD file.
Documents#
Click Documents in the top bar.
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| + New design | Starts an empty design. |
| Open file… | Opens a SchoolCAD file from your computer (see below). |
| My designs | Every design kept in this browser, the newest first, each with a small picture. Open it, Copy it (the copy's name ends in (copy)), or Delete it. |
| Sample designs | Finished, fully defined designs to explore: a display bookcase, a two-step stool and a laser-cut box. Open a copy gives you your own copy to change. |
| Tutorials | Step-by-step projects. Start makes a new design with the tutorial steps on the right. See Learning resources. |
The first time you open SchoolCAD, this window says Welcome to SchoolCAD. After that, SchoolCAD carries on with your last design. To see your documents first instead, choose Show my documents in Settings → General.
Naming a design#
Click the design's name in the top bar (a new one is called Untitled design), type a name such as Phone stand and press Enter. Type your name and class in the Your name and Class boxes at the top too: they go into your file names.
Save file#
Click Save file, or press Ctrl+S. Your browser downloads the design as a .schoolcad file, usually into your Downloads folder. Move it somewhere safe, such as your school drive or a USB stick. If you are in the middle of a sketch or a feature, Save file finishes it first.
Open file#
Click Open file and choose a .schoolcad file, or drag the file onto the SchoolCAD window. It always opens as a new document, so it never replaces a design you already have. Older SchoolCAD files (.tasm) open too.
File names#
Saved and exported files are named from your design's name and your name. With the usual setting, Phone stand by Sam Lee is saved as phone-stand-sam-lee.schoolcad. In Settings → General → File names you can choose:
| Choice | Example |
|---|---|
| Design | phone-stand.schoolcad |
| Design and my name | phone-stand-sam-lee.schoolcad |
| Class, my name, design | 8t-sam-lee-phone-stand.schoolcad |
The same names are used for STL, STEP, PDF and the other exports.
Tips#
- Save a file at the end of every lesson. A design kept in the browser stays on that computer only, and it is lost if the browser's data is cleared.
- In a private (incognito) window, the browser forgets your designs when you close it. Save a file before you close the window.
- To send a design to your teacher, use Share as a link, or send the
.schoolcadfile. - Save versions to keep checkpoints of one design as it develops.
- If your school has its own SchoolCAD address, designs made there are kept separately from designs made at the main address.
If it does not work#
- That file is not a SchoolCAD model. It is another kind of file. To bring in a STEP file, such as a hinge or a motor from a supplier, use Import.
- That is a Quick design file. Open it in Quick design. Click Quick design at the top of the screen, then Open.
- Could not read that file. The file is damaged, or it did not finish downloading. Try another copy.
- My design is not in My designs. It may have been made on another computer, in another browser, at another SchoolCAD address or in a private window. Open your saved file with Open file.