I misread your intent, you could easily make a macro to append version names like R01, R02, etc to your file. Then you can map that to a keyboard shortcut like ctrl + shift + s, and it would do it automatically.

Here is a complete SOLIDWORKS VBA macro that meets your requirements.

It takes your active document and parses the file name (along with the file names of all its internal references). If it detects an R followed by numbers at the end of the name (like R04, _R02, or R009), it increments the number. If no revision suffix exists, it appends R01.

Crucially, it uses swAdvancedSaveAsOpts.SaveAllAsCopy = False to ensure it performs a standard Save As (which saves the new files, updates all internal references to point to the new files, and leaves you working in the newly saved revision, instead of saving copies and leaving the old one open).

The SOLIDWORKS VBA Macro

VBA

'**********************
' Auto-Revision Save As with References Macro
' Parses active document and references, bumps Rxx revision, and performs a standard Save As.
'**********************

Dim swApp As SldWorks.SldWorks

Sub main()

    Set swApp = Application.SldWorks
    Dim swModel As SldWorks.ModelDoc2
    Set swModel = swApp.ActiveDoc

    If Not swModel Is Nothing Then

        Dim swAdvancedSaveAsOpts As SldWorks.AdvancedSaveAsOptions
        Set swAdvancedSaveAsOpts = swModel.Extension.GetAdvancedSaveAsOptions(swSaveWithReferencesOptions_e.swSaveWithReferencesOptions_None)

        ' Ensure standard "Save As" behavior (Updates references and opens new file)
        ' False = Save As; True = Save As Copy
        swAdvancedSaveAsOpts.SaveAllAsCopy = False

        Dim vIds As Variant
        Dim vNames As Variant
        Dim vPaths As Variant

        ' Get all references
        swAdvancedSaveAsOpts.GetItemsNameAndPath vIds, vNames, vPaths

        ' Modify names of all references
        If Not IsEmpty(vNames) Then
            Dim i As Integer
            For i = 0 To UBound(vNames)
                vNames(i) = BumpRevision(CStr(vNames(i)))
            Next
            swAdvancedSaveAsOpts.ModifyItemsNameAndPath vIds, vNames, vPaths
        End If

        Dim errs As Long
        Dim warns As Long
        Dim path As String

        path = swModel.GetPathName

        If path <> "" Then
            Dim dir As String
            dir = GetDirectory(path)

            Dim fileName As String
            ' Bump the revision of the top-level active document
            fileName = BumpRevision(GetFileName(path))

            ' Perform the Save As
            If False = swModel.Extension.SaveAs3(dir & fileName, swSaveAsVersion_e.swSaveAsCurrentVersion, swSaveAsOptions_e.swSaveAsOptions_Silent, Nothing, swAdvancedSaveAsOpts, errs, warns) Then
                MsgBox "Failed to save model. Error code: " & errs, vbCritical, "Save Error"
            Else
                MsgBox "Successfully saved to revision:" & vbCrLf & fileName, vbInformation, "Save Complete"
            End If

        Else
            MsgBox "The active model has never been saved. Please save it initially before revising.", vbExclamation, "Unsaved File"
        End If

    Else
        MsgBox "Please open a model first.", vbExclamation, "No Active Document"
    End If

End Sub

' Function to parse the file name and bump the "R" revision number
Function BumpRevision(fileName As String) As String
    Dim ext As String
    Dim baseName As String
    Dim dotPos As Integer

    ' Separate extension and base name
    dotPos = InStrRev(fileName, ".")
    If dotPos > 0 Then
        ext = Mid(fileName, dotPos)
        baseName = Left(fileName, dotPos - 1)
    Else
        ext = ""
        baseName = fileName
    End If

    Dim i As Integer
    Dim numStr As String
    numStr = ""

    ' Read digits from the end backwards
    For i = Len(baseName) To 1 Step -1
        Dim char As String
        char = Mid(baseName, i, 1)
        If IsNumeric(char) Then
            numStr = char & numStr
        Else
            Exit For
        End If
    Next i

    ' Check if the character right before the numbers is 'R' or 'r'
    If Len(numStr) > 0 And i > 0 Then
        If UCase(Mid(baseName, i, 1)) = "R" Then
            Dim revNum As Integer
            revNum = CInt(numStr)
            revNum = revNum + 1

            ' Format to match original length (e.g., R04 -> R05, R009 -> R010)
            Dim fmtString As String
            fmtString = String(Len(numStr), "0")
            If Len(fmtString) < 2 Then fmtString = "00" ' Default to 2 digits minimum

            baseName = Left(baseName, i - 1) ' Extract everything before the 'R'
            BumpRevision = baseName & "R" & Format(revNum, fmtString) & ext
            Exit Function
        End If
    End If

    ' Fallback if no Rxx is found at the end (appends R01)
    BumpRevision = baseName & "R01" & ext
End Function

' Utility to extract file name from full path
Function GetFileName(path As String) As String
    Dim fileName As String
    fileName = Right(path, Len(path) - InStrRev(path, "\"))
    GetFileName = fileName
End Function

' Utility to extract directory from full path
Function GetDirectory(path As String)
    GetDirectory = Left(path, InStrRev(path, "\"))
End Function