Community Redesign – Modernizing the Autodesk Forums - Feedback

[CGBenner]

[06/26/2025]

Post to the latest blog on the release this week

[06/11/2025]

Post to the latest blog on the release this week

[05/30/2025]

Post to the latest shareout of the listing of elements found / solved

Blog post to the latest announcement of the final migration round on the community

[5/15/2025]

The latest blog post is live and covers everything on the behind-the-scenes updates that are happening.

[5/7/2025]

The April Release Blog post is now live with updates on the Industry Hubs and more.
________________________________________________________________________________________

[Blog link in original post updated 3/6/2025]

Clarification as requested - 2/14/2025:  Any feedback in this forum thread that does not directly say that a feedback form has been submitted, and even some that does, is being captured and logged for the team to look into.  We may not respond directly to each post but we will add a "Like" to the post to indicate that we have seen and logged it.  If we have anything meaningful that we can add at the moment, we will reply with that.  If we do not reply, it means that we simply don't have anything to add to that request at the time.  We are adding links to the posts that we submit, and giving details on which individual post the team should look at, as well as including any images you share.  We do not have a way to add videos to the feedback form, but these are still welcome and appreciated, and we make a note of it on the form when we submit it so the team knows to look for the video.  Thank you!

Hello Community! 
 
As you can see from this recent blog post on our Autodesk Community Blog, the Autodesk Community Forums will soon be getting a new look and feel.  This new look is part of our efforts to modernize the community and place key resources where you can more easily find them. 
 
Some of you have had an early look at these updates during our recent A/B testing across the community. We extend our sincere thanks to everyone who shared their feedback during this phase. Your insights and comments have been instrumental in refining this design.  Here are some of the changes you will see: 

• Updated Forums experience: Enhanced navigation, optimized mobile experience, new threaded posts and the ability to upvote content. 

• Recommended content: Explore new content sections featuring suggested blog posts, events, and additional resources tailored to your interests.  

• Recognition for top contributors: Visual recognition to help you get to know the most active members in the community. 

• Changes based on your A/B test feedback: We’ve made several updates based on your valuable feedback detailed in the Product News posts on our Autodesk Community Blog.  

We would love to continue to hear your feedback on this redesign, so we have created a feedback form, which you can bookmark for future use, to report any issues or suggestions that you have. 
 
For more details on this release, I invite you to read the full blog post on our Community Blog. 

Thank you all for being a part of this Community! 

[Curtis_Waguespack]

When browsing through search results, and using the back button it returns to the top of the list every time, resulting in excessive scrolling and the user loosing track of which search result they have already looked at and which they intended to look at next.

[kerry_w_brown]

@Curtis_Waguespack Et Al

@CGBenner Et Al

Yes, the Initial search target "Location" will be sorely missed. 

Changing the Search Location and posts per page on the results page for each search is a pain in the finger.

When iterating Search results or Forum posts I've developed the habit of RtClick-OpenInNewTab rather than clicking the post reference.
. . Though not convenient on less than a desktop browser I s'pose.

@CGBenner Et Al

I note that "Jump to first unread post in a topic" in preferences is still not honoured !!

Nor is the posts per page preferences

Regards,

[ChrisRS]

A form has been submitted referring to this post.

The comment text in the Community Blog area is wonky. then becomes steady. 

[ChrisRS]

A form has been submitted referring to this post.

The headers in the Autodesk Forum page and Community Blog page do not include the bread crumb navigation.

Please ley me know if this shouldhave been submitted on two forms. 

[ChrisRS]

PUBLIC  SERVICE  ANNOUNCEMENT!

I am shouting because it is tough to stand out with 16 pages of comments.

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I have just made a couple of posts with New UX feedback. Links are below.

@CGBenner has suggested that the preferred location for feedback is the original Community Announcements feedback thread and that we also submit a Feedback Form.*

I am adopting the methodology that @Curtis_Waguespack suggested.
I suggest you all do the same.

• Describe the issue in a new post
  I start with a large bold   "A form has been submitted referring to this post."
  
  
• lick on the "link" icon at the bottom of your post to copy a link to your post. 
  

  You may need to refresh before you can see the icon. << This does not work. it is a reported issue.
  Click on the options menu at eh upper right of your post.
  Select the Permalink option. 
  The link at the top of your browser will change, It may take a couple of seconds.

  Select and copy that link.
  
• Create and submit a form using the link above.
  I use a brief summary and then say "Please see the following Post:" and paste the link.
  The link will be long and ugly.

This method:

• Lets me see what I have submitted.
• Lets other user see what has been submitted.
  • Allows other users to add comments, concur, or disagree.
  • Saves other users the time of submitting a duplicate.
• Allows whoever processes the form to process other comments at one pass. 

Here are links to my recent posts:

Community Blog text box 
and 
Forums List and Community Blog - header - missing navigation breadcrumbs 

---

* This form allows attached files but no direct images.

I agree that it could be better. It is what it is. I'm just going to make use of it. 

[RDAOU]

PRINTER FRIENDLY MODE

What is the point of this exactly?

If I switch to the Printer Friendly Page mode, it defaults to the Oldest Replies (Page 1)...

• I can not navigate to a specific page!!
• there are no Next or Previous page buttons,
• there are no sorting options,
• not even a link to go back to the normal browser format (exit that mode)

Image 01: Top of the Printer friendly page defaulting to oldest replies first - page 1  (Typically where one would also expect to find the sorting options and/or an option to exit the printer friendly mode)

Image 02: Bottom of the printer friendly page! where one would expect to find the Next/Previous pages or at least a Back to Top button

[ChrisRS]

A form has been submitted referring to this post.

Hey, folks, I would like some feedback on this!

This may be just me.

Issue 1 - Color scheme
I find the mostly light gray color scheme understated and soothing to the point that I am not sure it is even there. I think this adds to the perceived white space issue. I have no expertise in the is area, so I will not propose any remedies. I also acknowledge that this may not be a widespread observation.

I am a one-man shop, so I do not have a lot of viewing options. I find this difficult to see on my older 17" laptop, my brand new 16" laptop, and the 49" 4K TV I use as an external monitor. I readily agree that a tv is not an ideal monitor. That is why I am asking for feedback. I have 20-20 corrected vision and even cleaned my glasses. Things are best on my new laptop, but even there the only gray I can easily make out is the now dearly departed "All community" and the associated search bar field. I can also see the tag bubbles, but I currently ignore them. If I get within four inches of the screen, it is better. I use MS Office, Outlook, Edge, and Civil 3D with no visual difficulty. Regarding Civil 3D there is an element of visual muscle memory in that very small icons can be recognized without being truly clear.

At high zoom (300%) I can see the carefully crafted header. At anything near 100% it might as well be all black. 

None of this comes close to making the site unusable. It is uncomfortable.

The nearly invisible horizontal rules make the vertical topic spacing look even looser that it is.
 I am concerned that when threading is implemented, it will just look like text floating randomly.  

Issue 2 - Typography (Fonts)
I know that typography readability and eye strain issues are complicated.

I also know that Autodesk branding uses the Artifakt font families. To my eye, the glyphs are a little wider than Arial or Helvetica, but the strokes are lighter. I find the smaller sizes difficult to read but that can be addressed with zoom. I do think the reversed text, light text on dark background, should be reviewed. 

The navigation breadcrumbs are the most difficult for me. Reversed medium gray on dark gray. It might be better on a black field. (I can work with them as is.)

Almost all of the text in the Peer Support areas are HTML Small or Smaller. I do not know if it is different in the other areas.

With accessibility as one of the project goals, I am sure the team and vendors have access to people with the applicable skills.  

Feel free to comment

[ChrisRS]

Hi, @RDAOU 

Where are you finding a printer friendly "button?"

Did you submit a form? 😁

If you are using the print selection on the options menu, I would expect what you are seeing. I am not an Autodesk apologist.

The header and sidebars are not shown. That removal of unnecessary clutter is what I think of as printer friendly.

There is an options menu for each post. I am not surprised that it only prints that one post.

I might hope that the 'parent' topic at top would print all of the 'children' posts below on multiple pages.

You can come close to that by printing from the browser.

Truley printing the whole thread would be 16 web pages each taking several paper pages.

There is a printer friendly option on the Community blog pages, but that omits the introduction and title picture.

I hope this is of some help.

[RDAOU]

@ChrisRS 

Thanks for your reply but I wasn't here seeking help. And a Next/Previous button in the footer or an Exit Friendly Mode button in the header is not unnecessary clutter; those are basic and essential navigation options on any web forum/site. If the browser's print option you suggested is the solution or apology, then they should remove the redundant Printer Mode under options. As simple as that 

"Have I submitted a form!" - This discussion is titled Community Redesign – Modernizing the Autodesk Forums - Feedback. I'm pretty sure they can capture user feedback from here. Or are you suggesting that everything posted here is also just unnecessary clutter? 🙂

[pendean]

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@RDAOU wrote:

@ChrisRS 

...Or are you suggesting that everything posted here is also just unnecessary clutter? 🙂

---

Yes it is.

[CGBenner]

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@ChrisRS wrote:

The headers in the Autodesk Forum page and Community Blog page do not include the bread crumb navigation.

---

Chris, this may simply be because those pages are the first in their respective path... there is nothing to navigate backward to.  Does that make sense?

[CGBenner]

---

@RDAOU wrote:

PRINTER FRIENDLY MODE

What is the point of this exactly?

If I switch to the Printer Friendly Page mode, it defaults to the Oldest Replies (Page 1)...

• I can not navigate to a specific page!!
• there are no Next or Previous page buttons,
• there are no sorting options,
• not even a link to go back to the normal browser format (exit that mode)

---

To the best of my knowledge a Printer Friendly view of any page will strip out buttons and navigation and make the page as simple as possible for printing.  The view is not intended for navigating or regular viewing, but as the name suggests, is designed for printing.  I will try to get this verified by the team, but this is my current understanding.  I notice that it is also difficult to return to the standard view once clicking on Printer Friendly.

[CGBenner]

---

@ChrisRS wrote:

I find the mostly light gray color scheme understated and soothing to the point that I am not sure it is even there. I think this adds to the perceived white space issue. I have no expertise in the is area, so I will not propose any remedies. I also acknowledge that this may not be a widespread observation.

---

I know this has been logged at least once (by me), and possibly several times (by you for sure).  I'm not sure what the reasoning was behind this, or if it will be changed... but I know you're not alone in your opinion.  Some folks love it, others... not so much.

[CGBenner]

Just to clarify:  All feedback posted here that does not say a form has been submitted (and even some that does) is being captured and a form submitted.  All users on this thread are welcome to use the form, and yes.... it is very much appreciated... but if not, I am capturing and submitting each report even if I don't comment on each one individually.  

Thank you all for the feedback, good and bad!

[Curtis_Waguespack]

@CGBenner Thanks for clarifying this, again. It's difficult for users to "know" that this is happening/still happening from the tools and experience itself, so I would expect you will need to communicate this point often. Maybe some clarification in the opening post that this is how it is working would be helpful?

@ChrisRS, a quick note on the link button that is next to the like button:

As best as I can tell the link obtained from that button, does not link to the reply post that it was created from. You can test this by clicking the link button and pasting it into a new browser page address bar. The results redirect to the top of the page. This link button did work early on, but it seems not to work now. I have logged this as a defect. 

So with that in mind, logically using the obtained link in a form submittal will not redirect to the correct posted reply. So I have had to resort to using the Permalink option to get a valid link for the form submittals. It's a lot of extra clicks but it is what seems to actually work at this point.

If I am mistaken about this, I hope someone will respond and correct me on this, but it does not seem to work for me. Maybe CGBenner can check and see if the links being submitted via the form using the link button are providing a path back to the correct posted reply?

[Curtis_Waguespack]

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@pendean wrote:

---

@RDAOU wrote:

...Or are you suggesting that everything posted here is also just unnecessary clutter? 🙂

---

Yes it is.

---

Agree to disagree.

Without the posts here, there is no transparency or visibility concerning issues logged via the form. And therefore the "clutter" is providing a purpose.

Secondly, editing, or adding supporting information, further findings, and clarification, is not possible when submitting via the form.  I have recently had to refer back to the "clutter" from past posts, in order to provide additional details and recall what I originally submitted, when those doing the work behind the scenes reached out for more information.

[Curtis_Waguespack]

---

@CGBenner wrote:

---

@ChrisRS wrote:

The headers in the Autodesk Forum page and Community Blog page do not include the bread crumb navigation.

---

Chris, this may simply be because those pages are the first in their respective path... there is nothing to navigate backward to.  Does that make sense?

---

Currently, I often get lost when trying to navigate all things blog related. So there is probably some room for improvement on this, I don't have any suggestions, but I have noticed the difficulty.  Example: I found Tiffany's excellent article yesterday via another site, but had a really hard time finding it again on here later, when trying to point someone else to it.

[ChrisRS]

---

@CGBenner wrote:

---

@ChrisRS wrote:

The headers in the Autodesk Forum page and Community Blog page do not include the bread crumb navigation.

---

Chris, this may simply be because those pages are the first in their respective path... there is nothing to navigate backward to.  Does that make sense?

---

I should have been more clear.

This is not a problem, but an inconsistency that I thought the team might want to address.

As you note the Autodesk Forum page is at the top of the path. Apparently, it is called the "Forums Home.".

The Blog post is actually at the third level.

The Forum Activity Notification and Private message pages also do not have breadcrumb navigation.

The Community blog was updated several months ago (as an early part of the new UX?) so it may not be due for an update.

I do not think Forums Home, Notification or PM pages need ot be updated. but the breasdcrumb navigateion be in teh UX project scope.
I will leave revising teh form, if desired, to you.

Thank you!

[Curtis_Waguespack]

Widget not widgeting:

Not sure what this is, but I have seen it 2x this morning.

I don't recall what page I was on earlier, but just now it was here: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/community-topics/ct-p/3013

[ChrisRS]

The Community Blog is offering to translate from Spanish today. (The page is in English.)

OK, who's next?