How to see what changes were made to profile?

[thewilli]

Hi!

I'm new to 3d printing and got my first 3d printer, MonoPrice Select Mini, just a few weeks ago. Currently I'm on my way to find the perfect slicer settings for different prints, as the results of the Simplify3D stock profile needed improvement.

My current workflow looks like this: I play around with the settings and print different models from either Thingiverse or self-made using Fusion 360 - all sliced with Simplify3D. After a few things were improved with different models I printed, I would want these settings to go into my profile. In the process settings (FFF Settings, whatever 'FFF' stands for) I could press 'Update Profile' to apply these. But I don't want to apply all of them, as e.g. the current infill percentage or raft settings could be related to the currently printed model, and should not go there. Another setting might be mistakenly changed.

So how do I check what settings were changed before updating the profile? How does your "trial and error" workflow for improving the slicer settings look like?

Thanks in advance!

[brian442]

I would start by watching this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ7HFPY1wog

[thewilli]

I would start by watching this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZ7HFPY1wog

Thanks for the link. Unfortunately it doesn't answer my most import question: How do I see what settings were changed (and if possible what the previous value was)?

This is, for example, how Cura handles it. You can see that the Infill values are of a normal font - I didn't change anything. The "Printing Temperature" is bold and italic, which means I changed the value, and can revert this single value by clicking on the arrow.



Isn't there any related function in Simplify3D? Do I really have to create a new profile, export it and do a file-based diff in order to see what I've changed?

Thanks in advance

[patniemeyer]

This does seem like a long overdue feature. And managing profiles in general is not very intuitive.

More generally - Is Simplify3D still alive? I haven't seen an update since I bought it about a year ago... (I'm on 4.0.1)

[airscapes]

This does seem like a long overdue feature. And managing profiles in general is not very intuitive.

More generally - Is Simplify3D still alive? I haven't seen an update since I bought it about a year ago... (I'm on 4.0.1)

That is a very good question.. seems like a lot of things don't work like they say they do because of bugs.. and it would seem to me there should be patches release when bugs are found and fixed if the software is actively being developed..

[DarthRevan]

I've a longstanding habit of saving my profiles externally. You can do this too with File > Export FFF Profile. If you have two profiles for the same printer, the export date is included at the top and when you diff them with a decent text editor (insert shameless sublime plug) you can see what changes there are between the two.

It would of course be nice if there was more done to make this visually apparent in Simplify3D, but I definitely get by quite easily with my external saving setup.