Need a way to prune snapshot tree

[TomB]

Note: This is not another complaint about "Delete Snapshot". I propose a new feature, regardless of what the snapshot operations are named.

When I have a tree of snapshots, I sometimes want to remove a branch, abandoning the snapshot states, deleting their differencing images and other new disks. I just want part of the machine's state zapped, just as if I had never created it in first place.

Other than hacking XML files, the only way to do this is documented here: ​Convoluted Pruning Method (Warning: contains an irrelevant gripe about the name of "Delete Snapshot".)

There are some design issues that I've thought of:

• Should the operation be on the parent snapshot (i.e, prune all children)? Or, should it be on the topmost snapshot to be removed?

• What if Current State is one of the decendents? Disallow or offer to restore to one of the snapshots that will remaing?

• There can be only one root snapshot. It necessarily has Current State as a decendent. And with all the snapshots being removed, it would seem appropriate to make the Current State the same as the the root snapshot and then remove all the snapshot. Again, just as if I had never created the root snapshot.

• I'm not looking for a one-click "nuke it" operation. As with the other snapshot operations, careful, informative UI design will help users be sure that they are doing the right thing and offer appropriate options or followup actions (e.g., delete disks or keep).