How does Processing save sketches?

Question

I just started to learn Processing and I see that any time I save a sketch it creates a new folder. I tried to Save As the sketch with a different name in the folder, but that's not allowed. I got this error message: "You cannot save the sketch into a folder inside itself. This would go on forever." Can you explain the logic of saving sketches in Processing?

Answer 1

Typically a Processing sketch consists of a .pde file within a folder with the same name as the sketch. This makes it easier for the Processing IDE to handle tasks as handling assets(data folder), compiling the sketch, exporting, etc.

If you want to keep your sketches organized into groups, you can create a new folder for each group then save the sketch you need there. The sketch itself with create its own folder, so you won't need to.

If you want to save another version of an existing sketch, choose a different sketch name, but choose the sketch folder to be a sibling(on the same level/next) to the older/existing sketch.