Beginner ~7 min read

Scenario Branching

Scenarios let you explore design alternatives without losing your original work. Branch off, try something different, compare the results, and keep the version you like best.

1

What Are Scenarios?

A scenario is a complete version of your site design. Every site starts with one scenario, but you can branch off as many alternatives as you need. Each scenario has its own entities, terrain, and properties — changing one doesn't affect the others.

Branching

Create a copy of your current design as a starting point for a new direction. The original stays untouched.

Comparing

See exactly what changed between two scenarios — entities added, removed, or modified — in a side-by-side diff view.

Actualizing

Mark a scenario as "actualized" to lock it as the built reality. Actualized scenarios become read-only to protect historical records.

Think of it like version control for your design

If you've used Git branches for code, scenarios work the same way for site designs. Branch to experiment, compare to evaluate, merge changes you like, and keep a clean history of what was actually built.

2

Create a Branch

Branching creates a complete copy of an existing scenario. You can then make changes freely in the new branch without affecting the original.

  1. Open the site selector dropdown in the top-left corner. You'll see your site name and the current scenario listed below it.
  2. Hover over the scenario you want to branch from. Click the branch icon (it looks like a fork) that appears.
  3. In the dialog, enter a name for the new scenario — something like "Alternative Layout" or "Phase 2 Grading."
  4. Optionally add a description explaining the purpose of this branch.
  5. Click Create. SiteCAD copies all data from the parent scenario and switches you to the new branch automatically.
Each scenario is independent

After branching, the two scenarios are fully independent. Edits in one don't appear in the other. You can branch from a branch too — there's no limit to how deep you go.

3

Switch Between Scenarios

Jumping between scenarios is instant. The editor reloads with the selected scenario's entities, terrain, and properties.

  1. Open the site selector dropdown.
  2. Click the name of the scenario you want to switch to.
  3. The viewport, scene graph, and inspector all update to show the new scenario's data. Your camera position stays the same so you can see the differences in context.
Tip

Give your scenarios descriptive names like "Original Design," "Wider Driveway," or "Budget Option." When you have several branches, clear names save you from guessing which is which.

4

Compare Scenarios

The comparison tool shows a detailed diff between your active scenario and any other scenario in the same site. It highlights exactly what's different — entity by entity, property by property.

  1. Open the site selector and find the scenario you want to compare against (not the one you're currently in).
  2. Click the compare icon next to that scenario's name.
  3. The Scenario Comparison panel opens at the bottom of the editor.

Reading the Comparison

Added

Entities or properties present in the comparison scenario but not in yours

Removed

Entities or properties in your scenario but missing from the comparison

Modified

Entities that exist in both but with different property values

You can filter the view to show only additions, only removals, or all changes. Expand any entity to see the exact column-level differences. And if you see a change you like, you can apply individual changes — or all of them — from the comparison scenario into your active one.

View modes

The comparison panel offers two views: Entity view groups changes by entity type, while Table view groups by database table. Entity view is usually more intuitive for design review.

5

Workflow Ideas

Scenarios are flexible — here are some common ways to use them.

Client presentations

Create 2-3 design alternatives, each in its own scenario. Walk the client through each one, switching live in the editor. The comparison view helps you articulate exactly what's different.

Phased construction

Use scenarios for construction phases. "Phase 1" has the initial site work, "Phase 2" branches from it and adds buildings, "Phase 3" adds landscaping. Each phase preserves a snapshot of the plan at that stage.

What-if analysis

Branch before trying something risky — a major regrading, a different building placement, or a new road alignment. If it doesn't work out, just switch back. No undo-chain to unravel.

As-built records

Once construction is complete, actualize the scenario to lock it as the historical record of what was built. Future design work happens in a new branch.

6

Practice Exercise

Try this exercise to get comfortable with the branch-compare-apply workflow.

Compare Two Layouts

  1. Start in your current scenario. Make sure you have at least one or two entities (a boundary, a solid, a trace — anything).
  2. Open the site selector and branch the current scenario. Name it "Layout B."
  3. You're now in "Layout B." Make a visible change: move an entity, add a new one, or delete something.
  4. Switch back to your original scenario. Notice it still has the old layout.
  5. Click the compare icon next to "Layout B."
  6. Review the comparison panel. You should see your changes highlighted as additions, removals, or modifications.
  7. Try applying one change from "Layout B" into your original scenario.

Next Steps