How do you deactivate a component?

[lukepighetti]

I can 'activate' it, which I have no idea what the point is honestly... but I cannot deactivate it. Sooo if I want to see what this thing actually looks like I have to go into render. I'm confused. How can I deactivate it?

[jeff_strater · Accepted solution]

You have to active the root component of the design (the top node in the browser):

that will de-activate the lower level component

Jeff Strater (Fusion development)

[Oceanconcepts]

Activating components is a very useful function in Fusion, and I find it fundamental to the logic of the program interface. When you activate a component, any additional bodies, sketches, construction features, etc. you create will be placed within the component. That can be a big help when organizing a complex drawing.

Since many actions in fusion have the option of applying to either Components or to Bodies, keeping all their construction lines, sketches and so forth sorted can help accomplish your design goals.

It does seem as if the Activate button, since it looks like a radio button, might reasonably be expected by new users to toggle and activate the Root component (or the next level up if nested) when you click it again. Is there a reason it doesn’t work that way?

[deyop]

If the activate button became a toggle the logic behind whether the next level of hierarchy or root component were selected might be confusing.  There may be a different UI element than the button and blue highlighting but the explicit selection seems to the most straight-forward.  I do think that the active component concept is still escaping new users. Especially those coming from a background that doesn't utilize hierarchical browsers.  Always interested in suggestions.

Thanks

[kb9ydn]

It needs to be much more obvious in the browser tree that a component is active.  When a component is made active, how about automatically opening the tree for that component if it isn't already?  Also, all of the items in the tree for that componenent should be highlighted in a different color instead of just the root.  Another nice idea would be to allow deactivation of a component, and have the focus return to wherever it was before (or to the top level).

C|

[Oceanconcepts]

I agree that some more obvious highlighting in the browser would improve the UI.  It should ideally be very clear when a component is activated. This would particularly help those just coming to Fusion. I think the basic problem is that the radio button is not visible unless you have moused over the component in the browser- if that, or a check mark, were located to the left of the component name, and always visible if active, it would save confusion. Visual cues are missing for an important status. 

I’m less sure about automatically expanding components- sometimes they can be quite large, and browser navigation is one of the challenges in the Fusion UI. 

Paul, I understand the logic with toggling off activation could get thorny if you have nested components- what level do you activate, particularly if there are multiple components at the same level? But I think that making the activation status more obvious- since some component is always activated- would solve 90% of the issue. 

I will post this in the Idea Station.

[herzinj]

You just beat me to the punch line of suggesting the IdeaStation, Ron!  I think this is the perfect place for this suggestion, and I would be shocked if it didn't get a lot of support.  The need to hover over components to see the radio button to activate/deactivate has caused trouble for a lot of users, and I actually hit the same snag when I was learning Fusion!  

Once I see the idea on IdeaStation, it will be getting a vote from me!

Please keep the suggestions coming.  We are always trying to improve the software, especially with ease of use. 

James

[kb9ydn]

As far as expanding the active component, you wouldn't want to completely expand everything, maybe just the first level items like origin and bodies.

This also stumped me when I started with Fusion.  Definitely will be voting for this one.

C|

[TrippyLighting]

Please use the "Accept solution" button unless you feel that this topic still needs input.

[TitaniumBlue]

I have a problem de-activating  the component. It is the first component created amongst the multiple bodies.

Since I couldnt create a component from other bodies, I found a work around. Not the best, but at least I can create the components needed for the animation to present the product.

What I did: while the first component is active, right click to create a new component. 

Select the body that I need to turn into a component, and paste it into the newly created component.

Now the problem in doing so is that the new component is under the first component.

I am a new user, and still figuring out how to best use Fusion. 

As I observed with many bugs reported in the community pages, there is no follow-up to state clearly wether or not the issue has been resolved with new releases etc...

Or link to a full detailed tutorial related to the issue. It is nice to find pointers in these community comments, however a more decisive pathway to the best solution would be appreciated.

[markusbarnes]

I found this thread after experiencing the same issue.  I accidentally clicked the activate component button and couldn't deactivate it.  This is a serious UI problem.  Normally, radio buttons are an exclusive operation where the user is presented with a list of items to choose from.  In the case of Fusion 360, the radio button is only displayed for the active component and you must hover over other components to see or turn off activation.  This is classic mystery meat UI design. All activation radios should appear next to each component showing its state at all times.  Alternatively, you can show the radio list only when a component is hovered in the browser, but it is inconsistent the way visibility works which is always displayed.

[TrippyLighting]

You can activate the root of the browser.

There is really no UI mystery here.

[lindsay.fowler]

Any time you have an element in a UI that can be clicked on, but cannot be clicked off (in the same way that it was clicked on) you are going to have a frustrating mystery for new users. Imagine you move into a new apartment, press the light switch and then find that turning the light off requires you to use another switch located elsewhere -hmmm. There may well be valid reasons for doing it this way, but there may also be ways that are more intuitive.

[brutschy]

I think what confused me the most is that the term "activate" brings to mind a one-time act.  I "activate" a new credit card only once, and it stays that way.  Perhaps, "make active" would be a better term for something which is clearly a termporary action.

[markusbarnes]

It's more like turning off the light switch and trying to turn it back on in the dark.  It isn't until you patted down he entire wall from ceiling to the baseboard that you realize the switch disappeared from the wall. .  You stumble your way down into the basement and flick the root switch which turns all the lights back on and the switch reappears. The next morning your neighbor tells you that a light switch mysteriously appeared on his wall around the time you switched your light off and fears his house is possessed. After calming him down, you call the electrician who installed the light switch and he tells you that nothing's wrong and you should get used to mystery light switches because their cool.

[samakar]

I have the same issue with "Activate" button. It's completely counter intuitive that I have to press the button at the root. I suggest the solution be adding a deactivate item to the menu list when you click on component

[bstott2002]

The 'activate' command radio button is mysterious and s/b a check box - On/Off.

I found how to de-activate the component group without activating another is to use the 'Undo' command on the toolbar. The drop down will allow a historic view  of commands/actions and you can select the instance you used the 'activate' feature.  - Note: I am very new to Fusion 360. Thus, I don't know if my method will create any future problems within the design.

[Oceanconcepts]

You won't create problems doing this, but I want to clarify that in Fusion, some component is always activated. It may be that the active component is the "root" component at the very top of the list, but you are always working within some component. If you are done working in a particular component, the easiest thing is to use the radio button to activate the root component. Everything in Fusion is contained within a component structure, so deactivating must necessarily imply activating something else. I do agree that this could be made more intuitive in graphic/ user interface terms. We are all used to using radio button lists that require an option to be selected, the fact that the buttons in Fusion disappear entirely when not active makes their function less clear. 

Working within components, and keeping their sketches and subcomponents organized within them is key to being able to use Fusion effectively. 

[chrisplyler]

I've never encountered ANY radio button in ANY software that acts like a toggle. Why would you think it's reasonable to assume that they would do so in Fusion 360?

[chrisplyler]

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@markusbarnes wrote:

It's more like turning off the light switch and trying to turn it back on in the dark.  It isn't until you patted down he entire wall from ceiling to the baseboard that you realize the switch disappeared from the wall. .  You stumble your way down into the basement and flick the root switch which turns all the lights back on and the switch reappears. The next morning your neighbor tells you that a light switch mysteriously appeared on his wall around the time you switched your light off and fears his house is possessed. After calming him down, you call the electrician who installed the light switch and he tells you that nothing's wrong and you should get used to mystery light switches because their cool.

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No it isn't like that. It's like the first light switch disappears but as soon as you hover your hand over another part of the wall another switch appears there. The only thing it takes to discover other activation radio buttons is to move your mouse around over the Project Browser.

I'll agree that perhaps the interface could use a tweak in this regard, but don't make out like it's some nightmare scenario that nobody can figure out. I figured it out pretty quickly, and I'm a freakin' idiot.