Problems with the built-in step-by-step tutorials

[robduarte]

The new step-by-step tutorials are great! I've found some issues with them - maybe this list can be used by Autodesk to update the tutorials or for people who are having problems with one of the steps...

GENERAL COMMENTS
breadcrumbs or some way to jump to a specific step would be nice
why does the order of tutorials differ when clicking "next" at the end of each, versus the icons/menu that's presented from the tutorials menu?

BASIC DESIGN TUTORIAL
step 6-10 of 30 - no explanation as to why we are using the Project tool (clues as to the goal that is trying to be accomplished would be nice)

FREEFORM DESIGN TUTORIAL
15 of 20 - the screenshot is very close-up. either an animation showing where the timeline is located, or a separate image showing the timeline on the larger screen
18 of 20 - "hold the ALT key and drag to add faces" is not clear unless you scrutinize the video to notice that a new part of the interface is being used. holding ALT and continuing as we were previously makes a mess

LASER CUT TUTORIAL
step 21 of 26 says to make an arc at each curved edge. (it actually means: all of them except the lower left one, since that's done in step 22)
step 25 of 26 - the sketch that we need will not always be named "Sketch 15". Maybe this is an opportunity to show (beforehand) how to rename sketches in the browser with useful names

CORD TUTORIAL
Step 15 of 19 - says "Finish Sketch" but should be "Stop Sketch"
Steps 7 and 8 are the same (8 has a better animation)
Final step should probably turn the cord body back on to see why we offset the holes

TOP DOWN DESIGN
maybe explain in a sentence or so what "top down design" is - how it differs from what we've done so far
10 of 27 - it says to select the neck and the switch for the joint, but apparently the SWITCH must be clicked FIRST, then the Neck - otherwise, the neck moves instead of the switch (even though the neck is grounded?)
14 of 27 - impossible to click and drag the switch as described. googling reveals that Contact Sets has to be disabled before this will work. This needs to be reflected in the tutorial.
26 of 27 - selecting one edge does not do it. the additional edge needs to be selected for the whole slot to be chamfered.

ASSEMBLY
1 of 13 - there are no bodies in browser (steps 1-4 seem to have already been done)
6 of 13 - have to change type of joint to Rigid
10 of 13 - says to hide joints but they appear to be hidden by default. Step 13 shows the joint in the animation, so maybe step 10 should be to UNhide the joints.

MACHINING
Step 16 of 66 - there is no #11 25mm diameter tool in Windows
Step 27 of 66 - there is no such tool in Windows. I spent a good amount of time on 27 looking for the answer that is in step 28.
Step 44 of 66 - there is no such tool in Windows. Also, I assume "0-" is a typo (for the diameter symbol)
Step 52 of 66 - Drill number is wrong in Windows. Same typo as above?
The finished result is not correct. Maybe I mistyped something, but the tutorial is too long to go through again.
The slots are not cut through and the chamfer is wrong.
Also, I'm assuming the idea is that one would have to flip the stock and mill the other side to get the finished part? Maybe that's worth explaining.

[bespenship]

Thank you very much Rob - you rock!

We really appreciate the time you took to provide this detailed feedback, and we are definately looking the feedback to incorporate and make the tutorials better.  Please keep it coming if you find anything else.

[robduarte]

Great, thanks! I do think, in general, the tutorials could be just a little more verbose - ie: starting with the goal for the tutorial and explaining (very briefly) what the step is that we're doing at the moment. I do think there's some virtue to just following the instructions by rote and having to figure out why you were asked to choose that tool or menu item, but there are parts (especially in the machining tutorial) that would do better with some explanation. 

Rob

[herzinj]

To echo Brent's statements, thank you very much for this great feedback.  I know that I ran into some of these issues as well, and am aware that the team is working on getting them addressed in one of the up coming releases.  I will make sure to get this (great) list in front of them so that they are aware of not only where issues exist, but also where there is confusion in the instructions and places we can provide more detail.  Thanks again, and keep up the great work!

James

[maritza.ga]

Hi Rob,

I want to thank you again for the amazing feedback you have provided. The team and I have already begun making some improvements to the Tutorials. I will persoanally make sure your feedback is implemented in the Tutorials.

Thanks again!

Maritza (Fusion UX Designer)

[O.Tan]

Don't forget, if you guys decide to use shortcut keys, please make it appear on the screen. So you guys don't necessarily have to repeat it verbally each time 🙂

[cekuhnen]

Good tutorials need to explain WHY more than click this for that.

[mbostonsprint]

I would also like to say thanks for the issues reported by Rob Duarte. I have just purchased a subscription to 360 (just before end of Oct.), and am currently trying to slog through the tutorials. I have essentially zero real experience in 3D modeling and CAM (last CAM work was with SmartCam in mid 90's), and very little of this is intuitive to a new user, even a user with intermediate 2D Autocad skillset and a fairly extensive conventional machining and mfg. background. I ran across several of the issues in the list of problems for sure, and very likely a number of others without recognizing them as bugs or function issues. It is clear to me that this will take some dedicated effort to learn the ins and outs of this package, and I'm fine with that, it goes with the territory. The comments, however, about having more background info about the reason behind a particular command usage, and how it fits into the overall modeling process context, are critical to new users' success. The human brain needs to find patterns for complex behaviors such as operation of a software package, and the tutorials are very light on this type of structural aid.

I'm not sure if Rob addressed this specifically, but it seemed to me that the presentation of the CAM programming had a significant divergence in the visual appearance of the screens in the tutorial window vs. what was actually presented to the user. I will note, though, that the CAM program activity seemed more intuitive to me than much of the modeling did. Good show on that, if it stays like that.