Please make sketch palette SMALLER - only icons

[poplawa]

Here's an idea:

I'm using the sketch palette a lot but it just doesn't fit on my screen:

It always appears like that or even lower, and every time I want to use a constraint, it is just out of reach. 

Could there be an option to show only icons an in a more compact way? I already know their function, I don't need the descriptions. 

Besides, it just takes A LOT of space on my screen. 

[Anonymous]

I agree, maybe they could implement the palette into it's own bar underneath the current ribbon set out? Then again you could just collapse some segments for more visibility.

[t_lamourine]

I agree it could be a boat load thinner at the very least so it doesn't take up the whole screen. 

[Anonymous]

I agree also. It would be nice to have a thin strip of icons with hover-over bubble names. Then have it be able to be snaped to any of the sides or top/bottom.

Thanks

[cekuhnen]

to be honest this sketch palette I find the most wasteful screen space UI problems in Fusion.

Some of the functions are features that could be added into the main menu.

the constraints do not show up in the main menu as well as "S" toolshelf menu.

IT seems that it was once thought of a nice addition and then never ever was anything further revised and evaluated.

the ability to hide it would be fantastic!

[FusionChris]

I don't agree with you at all. You are right, the palette could be a bit smaller (the right side could be cut for example) but it is important to let the text where it is because there are a lot of Fusion User that are not that skilled in CAD. You already have the option to fix it as a small button on the right edge of your workspace and it will appear if you hover over it.

Best

Chris

[JFKANSAS]

Or even allowing the vertical palette to be rearranged into a smaller square palette.

Chris, there could be an expert mode for palettes for those users that don't need lengthy descriptions.

[Anonymous]

Easy fix.... scroll bar and make the window fit onscreen...

[todd_sandercock]

Having an "Expert mode" as @JFKANSAS suggested where it removes the descriptions of the constraints would be awesome.

Solidworks has a great solution to the problem. After clicking two or more items with a control click, a popup comes up near the cursor contextually showing what constraints are useful. This saves heaps of time (Seconds always count) and it does not use up any valuable screen space.

 Todd

[jkelindberg]

It would be GREAT if we could get rid of them constraint buttons all together by incorporating them in the dimension tool. After all, dimensions are nothing else than offset constraint.

For example in a manner similar as; 1 - select a line, 2 - right-click and get a list of constraints (such as vertical, fix, ...).

Or; 1 - select a line, 2 - select circle, 3 - right-click and select tangent.

Or; 1 - select two lines, 2 - right-click and select parallel constraint.

There really isn't any need for the constraint buttons.

(This is, by the way, exactly the way CATIA v5 works.)

[Scoox]

+1. On smaller displays like MS Surface Pro I often need to scroll up and down the constraints window to get to the constraint I need. Now that I'm familiar with the icons I wouldn't mind something a bit more 'two-dimensional' thus eliminating the need to scroll.

IMO the sketch palette is always in the way when you are using a small display like, say, a Microsoft Surface Pro. The browser, which has a transparent background, is 'less' in the way.

Regarding the comment about whether the constraint buttons are needed or not, I think there is a need for constrain buttons once you know how to use them. But I"ll admit it was confusing at first, i.e., when I first started Fusion 360 I was never sure whether I was supposed to first click the button and then the geometry, or the other way round. As it turns out, both are valid workflows that behave slightly differently: If you click the button first and then select your target geometry, the button remains engaged which enables you to continue to apply the constraint to subsequent geometry without having to click it again; if, on the other hand, you select the geometry first and then click the button, the constraint is only applied once and the button is automatically disengaged. At least that's how it seems to work on my system. I think it must have been this 'sticky constraint commands' business that caused the confusion, because all commands in the toolbar at the top are only applied once and Fusion 360 automatically returns to Select once the command has been executed, regardless of when the command button was clicked (before or after selecting target features).

It would certainly be nice to have a mini pop-up-at-mouse-cursor, buttons-only constraints toolbar with tool tip descriptions, and the ability to completely hide the Sketch Palette. Something like the S menu.

Unfortunately the S menu is a bit chaotic at the moment, since users cannot organize it into logical sections. I would like to replicate the main toolbar as an S menu, but in a more two-dimensional fashion, with logical groups. Currently it's there's no grouping in the S menu, so it's hard to visually locate commands quickly.

Another thing I don't understand is why the current Sketch Palette needs to be resizable: unlike the browser, which contains user-defined names of variable character count, all items in the Sketch Palette are pre-defined and therefore of known length. The ability to resize this window serves no other purpose than to waste screen real estate:

[poplawa]

Hey, Autodesk! Any progress?

[JamieGilchrist]

@poplawa, et. al.,

while we haven't specifically implemented this feature, the work happening around the tabbed toolbar  is forcing us to rethink this palette.

• the tabbed toolbar has brought all the sketch constraints up to heir own panel in the sketch toolset
• some of the secondary functions of sketch options, contextual options like curvature combs, or feature options like sketch feature type i.e. 2-point, 3-point and center point rectangles still have value while in the context of sketching, however the need to have the palette tied to finishing/exiting the sketch and therefore always visible is becoming less imperative in the world of the new tabbed toolbar where the exit point is much clearer than it is currently
• Our thinking is that the sketch palette, should be renamed to sketch options and give you the choice to close it if it's not a critical part of your workflow or you're in need of screen real estate.
• We're working out some of the details of how this options experience should behave and will share them shortly.
• In the context of the current shipping (the non-tabbed toolbar) ui don't expect to see any change to the palette 

[FrodoLoggins]

And the option to use smaller icons/text in the ribbon bar up top.