How to save a new version of a plan mid-change in X17?

[hyldahldesign]

Hey all, I'm working in Chief Architect x17 on a Mac and one feature is really driving me crazy. I like everything about managed projects in x17 except for the fact that I can't "Save As" a project. I know that there is the "Make a Copy" feature now to create new versions of my plan as I iterate, but sometimes I'm working on a plan and I start making a bunch of changes and realize that I've changed the plan pretty significantly and I should create a new version. When I try to make a copy of the plan in that current state (without saving because I want to retain how the plan used to be before I just made all these changes) I get this error (attached image).

 

The only way around this appears to be to save "v1" at the point where I decide to make a new version, use the "Make a Copy" command to create a "v2", and then undo all of the changes I made in "v1" until I get back to its original state and then save again. This is such a pain. Am I missing something here? There's gotta be a more intuitive, simpler way to quickly iterate and version a plan.

 

Any help?

 

[JacobCarter]

Hello!

Sorry you are encountering this frustration!   The error here either means there is an issue in the program or there might be a problem with the plan itself.  I would suggest reaching out to support so we can make sure to fix the problem.

As for "Make a Copy", here is an explanation about the current design intention:

The difference between "make a copy" and legacy "save as" is all about which plan is open and which plan actually saves the changes.  

 

Say I have "original plan" with unsaved changes and I make a copy of "original plan" and call it "changed plan".

Which plan stays open?  "Original plan", with its unsaved changes exactly how it was.

Which plan actually saves the changes?  "Changed plan", which will be closed and not open.  

Legacy save as worked differently.  Say I have "original plan" with unsaved changes and I do a legacy save as of "original plan" and call it "changed plan".

Which plan stays open?  "Changed plan" does.

Which plan actually saves the changes?  "Changed plan", which will be open.  "Original plan" will be closed.  

We have stepped away from legacy save as because of the confusion it causes in regards to linked layouts.  Say you have "original plan" that is linked to a layout with live views.  Doing a legacy save as of "original plan" would result in "changed plan" being open and "original plan" being closed.  The confusion comes from the fact that the layout is still linked to the "original plan", which is now closed.  Additional edits to the open plan ("changed plan" in this case) will not be reflected in the layout. 

[hyldahldesign]

On 4/15/2026 at 12:07 PM, JacobCarter said:

Hello!

Sorry you are encountering this frustration!   The error here either means there is an issue in the program or there might be a problem with the plan itself.  I would suggest reaching out to support so we can make sure to fix the problem.

As for "Make a Copy", here is an explanation about the current design intention:

The difference between "make a copy" and legacy "save as" is all about which plan is open and which plan actually saves the changes.  

 

Say I have "original plan" with unsaved changes and I make a copy of "original plan" and call it "changed plan".

Which plan stays open?  "Original plan", with its unsaved changes exactly how it was.

Which plan actually saves the changes?  "Changed plan", which will be closed and not open.  

Legacy save as worked differently.  Say I have "original plan" with unsaved changes and I do a legacy save as of "original plan" and call it "changed plan".

Which plan stays open?  "Changed plan" does.

Which plan actually saves the changes?  "Changed plan", which will be open.  "Original plan" will be closed.  

We have stepped away from legacy save as because of the confusion it causes in regards to linked layouts.  Say you have "original plan" that is linked to a layout with live views.  Doing a legacy save as of "original plan" would result in "changed plan" being open and "original plan" being closed.  The confusion comes from the fact that the layout is still linked to the "original plan", which is now closed.  Additional edits to the open plan ("changed plan" in this case) will not be reflected in the layout. 

Thank you so much for this reply. It helps to hear the thinking behind this change. And honestly, it wouldn't be nearly as frustrating if I could make copies without getting this error. I've tried this in several different plans, projects and files, and I get the same results. I don't think it's a file corruption issue. What's the best way to get in contact with support to try and get this resolved?

[Michael_Gia]

On 4/14/2026 at 6:06 PM, hyldahldesign said:

Any help?

That error on a Mac is usually because you are doing a "save as" while a layout file is open and already referring to that file. close any layouts first so that only that plan file is open and then do a, "save as"