Duplicate sheet in drawing workspace

[Hunterstubbs]

I've made a drawing and want to use it several time while only modifying each slightly. I can copy the entire drawing file in my project folder, but I can't find a way to duplicate a sheet in my multi-sheet drawing.

I've seen posts online about "exporting template", but I don't see that as an option either.

[ClintBrown3D]

Hi @Hunterstubbs 

It's not currently possible to duplicate a sheet in Fusion 360. We are however monitoring requests for this functionality and if we see a lot of interest from users, it is something that I will add to the roadmap.

[moriarty.chch]

this functionality is really important for complicated or large assembly drawings

- being able to duplicate sheets,  cut and paste tables, text, anything on a sheet and between sheets

is a massive time saver

this is especially so with Fusions slow redraw - another area requiring improvement

however what Fusion really lacks is MBD, PMI, DPD  - ALL the drawing features need to be applied in modelling space and there needs to be an automated method of generating a paper drawing from this

is there anything happening on this front?

[CKarpy-MetalSupply]

I definitely agree with the need for this feature.

When creating multi-page drawings for a single component or assembly, the amount of time wasted re-creating views and notations is very high.  Also, if a drawing is detailed out and a change is needed that requires splitting the page contents onto two pages, there is no way to move objects, views, tables, etc from page to page.

[shawn.parella]

Can you please direct us to the proper place to post our interest in the duplicate drawing feature? Since the discontinuation of the Ideastation, I'm not sure where to turn.

[ClintBrown3D]

Hi @shawn.parella 

You've done it! Every customer request related to drawings that we get, from meetings, emails, forum posts etc. gets collected and categorised in our feature request database. This information is used to prioritise the features that we build next. I've added your request to our database.

I'd like to dive a bit deeper and fully understand your use case for duplicate sheet. If you're up for it, here is a link to my calendar, please book a Zoom session with me, we can discuss this feature, and I can show you some brand-new features that the team is busy working on.

[sarah.hall65WMH]

I work at an engineering product development company and I have come up against this issue several times (and I know several of my teammates have also come up against this since they've asked about it). Please fix this! It would be so nice to duplicate sheets, tables, etc.

Thanks

[shawn.parella]

I'm not really sure why a deep dive is necessary. Its a request for copy / paste. Surely your team already knows why copy / paste is useful.

[ClintBrown3D]

Hi @sarah.hall65WMH and @shawn.parella 

Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.

The reason for speaking to multiple customers, is because we can build smarter tools if we understand your specific use cases and expectations. We often uncover specific pain points and workarounds from our customers when we discuss new features and workflows, the best way to do this is face to face or over Zoom.

Here's a long form answer, that may explain some of my comments above & in previous posts;

This is a new feature, not a fix. We've already gathered a nice set of requirements from customers, and we now have a design and specification for the development team. Going into this feature, we had 3 scenarios mapped out, one simple, two rather complex (from a development point of view). Talking to customers, we learned that a simple Copy/Paste is not good enough. Customers have told us that the underlying 'view' and 'table' information needs to be unique to the new sheet (i.e just like a duplicate slide in PowerPoint). This means that the most complex scenario of the 3 scenarios needs to be built. The feature itself will be simple to use (right-click on a sheet > "Duplicate Sheet"). I highlight this, to explain why talking to customers is so important to the drawings team. We want to make sure that when we introduce a new feature, that we've considered all aspects and use cases. Often the development effort behind a seemingly simple feature can be significant. We want to get things right, so that you are happy, and so that we don't have to go back and re-work the feature later!

That being said, I respect that a lot of people are busy and don't have the time, or desire to talk to us, that's OK! The customers that do talk to us, make an impact on the direction of the software and on the features that we build.

[shawn.parella]

Thank you for your thorough explanation. I envision a version of copy / paste similar to 'duplicate' in Power Point, as you mentioned. Another example would be a text editor, where pasting a text paragraph creates a new paragraph that can be completely independently manipulated.

[moriarty.chch]

One of the critical elements that's required for creating assembly drawings is how part visibility is handled - there needs to be some options, do you want

- all parts visible

- part visibility as in the duplicated drawing

- part visibility as in the model assembly

Currently when you create a new drawing you have three visibility options

- full assembly

- visible only (model visibility)

- selected

Then if you add a new base view

- full assembly

- an existing linked base view 

There is no option for visible only(model visibility) -  this option needs to be added otherwise you have to figure out what was/wasnt visible in a model with potentially hundreds of parts and bodies. Another big time waster.

Editing visibilities its another pain point. There needs to be an option to turn off automatic re-draw so you can set multiple visibilities, then manually force a re-drawer.

The underlying issue is re-draw speed, especially so for large assemblies or complex models - this needs to be addressed.

[ClintBrown3D]

Hi @shawn.parella and @moriarty.chch 

I agree that there is more we can do around discoverability, some of what you're looking for is available, but not obvious to find.

Shawn, If I've understood you correctly, your request is already possible. Currently, you can right-click on any text on a drawing and paste it to the same sheet, to a different sheet, or an entirely new/different drawing. If I've misunderstood your request, you may see why I like connecting in person/zoom.

@moriarty.chch have a look at this video, it might explain some visibility options that could make life easier for you. The trick is in understanding which reference you want to use. With regard to performance, we are always working on improving in this area. Would you be willing to share an F3Z of a drawing where you are seeing performance issues?

You can attach the F3Z file here, or if it is sensitive, feel free to send it directly to me Clint. Brown {a} Autodesk.com

https://youtu.be/Hx8ACWIhjvo

[shawn.parella]

If I've misunderstood your request, you may see why I like connecting in person/zoom.

---

Ha! Well spoken! I was intending the analogy of how, when pasting text, the assumption is that the new text can be freely manipulated and it will not affect the passage from which it was copied. The two are independent, and I think a typical user would expect a pasted sheet to be similarly independent.

[moriarty.chch]

OK  thanks for explaining where the missing functionality hides,  I don't think I would have ever found that

... maybe this should be put into the drawing workflow

I no longer have the assembly models that were slow - they were simplified to get the drawings done - they had around 10,000 bodies - 2000 bodies is more manageable [component .count]

[maarten.nijhuis]

I really miss this functionality as well. I would like to duplicate a sheet to make changes and have a reference to which version to use or to split several parts on one sheet and distribute more detailed drawings to other sheets. 

A simple copy/paste would have endless usecases. 

[francois.kessler]

Hi,
I too would love to this feature in a future release ! 
Keep up the good work.

[zacharyWSHDX]

Me too! I just searched how to duplicate a sheet and this thread is the number one google hit!  I really just want a straight up "Create a New Sheet Exactly Like this One" feature - exactly like the duplicate feature in power point.

[christianHHCMC]

Please add this functionality,
would be a great benefit and not sure why it is not a standard function of fusion?

[ClintBrown3D]

Hi All

Good news! The team is busy working on this new feature. You can follow our progress on the public roadmap: https://bit.ly/2DRoadMapFusion

Have a look under “Usability”, there is a bubble called “Copy/Duplicate Sheet”, which is currently blue. Blue indicates that the feature is currently Work-in-Progress. As it progresses along, the bubble will change colour. Once the feature is ready, we will announce it on the fusion blog.

[ETAdesign32]

Definitely see a big need for this in my work and would love to see this ability added. Thanks!