Step 3: Save a snapshot
Freeze a named version of your timeline to use as a stable source for bookings and call sheets.
A snapshot is a saved, named version of your timeline at a moment in time — items, streams, and their links to crew, frozen together. Snapshots do two jobs: they're bookmarks you can return to, and they can serve as a stable source for building bookings and call sheets — a version that won't shift while you keep tinkering with the live plan.
If your timeline has a shoot day laid out (from Step 2, or your own work), you're ready to save one.
How the plan reaches people
Open the snapshots panel
On the timeline, open the Snapshots panel from the top bar.
Name and save
Enter a name that will mean something later — "Client-approved v2", or for this tutorial something like "First plan". Add optional notes, then save. CrewGrid freezes the current timeline under that name.
Crucially, saving a snapshot doesn't send anything to anyone — no bookings change, no emails go out. It only records a version.
📷 Screenshot:
/images/docs/tutorial-producer/timeline-snapshots.pngThe timeline snapshots panel with a freshly saved version. Alt: A snapshots panel listing saved timeline versions.
Skip the propagate prompt — for now
After saving, CrewGrid offers a Propagate shortcut — a quick way to push your latest plan out to everything it affects. There's nothing downstream yet, so you can ignore it. It's there for later, when a snapshot marks a decision you want your crew to see.
Why this matters for the next step
When you book someone (next step) or build a call sheet, you choose whether to base it on the live timeline — your current draft — or a snapshot. Pinning a booking to a snapshot means it holds steady on the version you chose, such as the schedule a client signed off on, until you decide otherwise.
One safety note: you can delete a snapshot you no longer need, but not while a booking or call sheet still depends on it — CrewGrid blocks the deletion so active work never loses its source.
Where to go next
- Next: Step 4: Book your crew
- Go deeper: Snapshots