AseptSoft Core Documentation
AseptSoft Core Documentation
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Commits and Branches

AseptSoft uses a branching model for parallel collaboration. Each user works on their own branch, where they can have multiple modules, and every module carries its own real commit timeline — a complete, browsable history of checkpoints, independent of other collaborators.

Related: 🗂️ Version Control · 🕑 Version History & Comparison · 🔀 Merging · 📁 File System

🌲 Branches

A branch is a parallel thread of work within a project. Branches are organized as follows:

Branch Type

Description

Main

Automatically created in every project. Used as the shared integration branch for merging all collaborators' work.

User branches

Automatically created for each user with their name. Each user works independently on their branch.

Custom branches

Additional branches you create manually for specialized workflows.

🛠️ Managing Branches

Action

How

Create

Use the Create button in the Home Ribbon → Folders panel

Rename

Close AutoCAD, navigate to the project location, and rename the branch folder

Delete

Close AutoCAD, navigate to the project location, and remove the branch folder

📦 Modules

Each branch contains one or more modules — independent units of process design work.

🛠️ Managing Modules

Action

How

Create

Use the module management window (accessible from the Home Ribbon)

Rename

Right-click the module in the Modules window

Delete

Right-click the module in the Modules window

📌 Commits

A commit is a real checkpoint of a module at a meaningful point in time. Every commit records who made it, when, a description you write, and a summary of what changed compared to the previous commit. Commits accumulate into the module's version history — a timeline you can browse, compare, and restore from at any time.

Commits let you:

  • Preserve the state of your work at meaningful milestones, with author, timestamp and description.

  • See exactly what changed in any checkpoint, and compare any two points in the module's life.

  • Restore an earlier state safely (as a new module — your current work is never overwritten).

  • Produce a traceable audit trail for design reviews and regulatory documentation.

💡 All the places that save a checkpoint feed the same history. Whether you create a commit from the module gallery, or AseptSoft records a checkpoint automatically when you raise a version number during export, the result is one commit in the one timeline — there is no separate "loose copy" of a module anymore.

🛠️ Creating a Commit

  1. Right-click the module in the Modules window and choose Create Commit…

  2. Type a clear description of the milestone (for example "Reduced water consumption v2 — final").

  3. Confirm. The commit is added to the module's history with your name, the current time, and a count of what changed.

🏷️ Version Checkpoints from Export

When you bump a module's version number in an export window (PDF, Word, or Processes export), AseptSoft treats that as a milestone and records a matching checkpoint commit automatically.

What you do

What happens

Raise the version (e.g. 1.1 → 1.2) and export

You're asked for a short checkpoint description; a commit tagged "Checkpoint v1.2 — …" is added to the history.

Re-export the same version, or correct it downward

No commit is recorded — only a genuine version increase is a milestone.

Decline the description prompt

The export still completes; the checkpoint is simply skipped.

🕑 Viewing, Comparing, and Restoring Commits

https://downloads.aseptsoft.ch/documentation/images/Version-Control/version-control-history.png

To browse a module's full history — read every commit, see what each one changed, compare any two versions, edit a description, or restore an earlier state — open the Version Control browser:

  • From the module gallery: right-click the module → Version History…

  • From the module ribbon: open the Data split button → Version Control

See Version History & Comparison for the full walkthrough of viewing changes, comparing versions, filtering large diffs, and restoring.

📄 Templates

You can save a module as a template for reuse across projects:

  1. Right-click the module in the Modules window → Save as Template

  2. Enter a name for the template

Templates are stored in the templates root folder (see File System). See also Import/Export Templates for details on template management.

🏭 Pharma Example: Creating a "CIP Optimization" Branch

Your team is working on a CIP (Clean-in-Place) skid design. The lead engineer has established the baseline process on the main branch with standard wash, rinse, and drain sequences. A process optimization engineer wants to experiment with reduced water consumption without affecting the approved baseline.

📖 How To: Create and Work on a Feature Branch

  1. Create a new branch — In the Home Ribbon → Folders panel, click Create and name it "CIP Optimization"

  2. Design your changes — Modify chemical dosing concentrations, adjust rinse cycle durations, and reconfigure valve sequences for water recovery

  3. Commit your milestone — Right-click the module → Create Commit… and name it "Reduced Water Consumption v1"

  4. Iterate and commit again — After further refinement, create another commit: "Reduced Water Consumption v2 — Final"

  5. Check the history — Open Version History… to see both checkpoints on the timeline and compare them to confirm exactly what the second iteration changed

  6. Request review — Share the branch with your team lead for a Review Session

  7. Merge into main — Once approved, use Merging to bring the optimized process into the main branch

This workflow keeps the approved baseline safe while allowing experimentation — critical in regulated pharma environments where changes must be controlled and traceable.