Edit Fillet

[Anonymous]

While using the fillet tool in the modeling environment, if you select multiple edges to fillet while the fillet size is left at 0.00 you can add and remove edges from the selection set at will.  Once you type a value in the fillet size window you can no longer add or remove edges from the selection set, even if you "X" out the selection set in the dialogue window.  However, if you return the fillet size to 0.00 you can once again edit the selection set.  This behavior is also observed if you open an existing fillet for editing.  Not sure if this is the intended behavior but I find it counter-intuitive.  I have opened numerous fillets in the time line to edit the selection set not understanding that this is the behavior only to ultimately delete the fillet feature and create new one to accommodate the intended change.

[masa.minohara · Accepted solution]

Hi @Anonymous,

Thank you for posting! I understand this is confusing... but after entering a value for fillet radius, you can still add edges by holding the "Ctrl" key and selecting edges. This way, you can also add edges when editing fillet features. Please let me know if this works!

[xander.luciano]

Just want to add on to what @masa.minohara said,

The "CTRL" key works that way universally throughout the program for selection multiple features (much like how you would use ctrl to select multiple files).

For example if you want to extrude more than one sketch profile, you can hold down ctrl and select multiple profiles, or if you'd like to select more entities for an operation and find you are unable to, if you hold ctrl you will be able to select more. This is also the case for chamfer.

Bonus pro-tip: You can double click a line in a sketch to chain select all entities that are connected (try it on a rectangle sometime). This is super useful if you are trying to do an offset and would like to offset an entire profile and don't want to click every single line.

Hope that helps!
Best,

[PhilProcarioJr]

@xander.luciano @masa.minohara

Although I know how it works.

Having to hit "Ctrl" for fillets and chamfers is different then all other CAD apps I have used and is very confusing to new users. Personally I think this should be changed for fillets and chamfers as it's very counter productive and unnecessary. 

Just my 2 cents.

[TrippyLighting]

The OP is not a new user and this has been posted and properly replied to many times.

1. Many things are confusing to new users. However, with prolonged use one will find that one can get used to many things rather quickly.

2. It would be even more confusing to users if this behavior would be changed only for fillet and chamfer, but left for other operations.

However, this is also somewhat inconsistend in other parts of the software, where you need to use the shift key to add. E.g in the T-Spline environment, if you use the brus selection and hold the CTRL key it de-selects selected elements, while holding the shift key adds to the selection. Now THAT inconsistency is confusing. see point #2.

[PhilProcarioJr]

@TrippyLighting

If it is intended that the user needs to hold the"Ctrl" key down to do multiple selections then why does the tool allow you to do it "without" the "Ctrl" key held before a size is declared?

This makes no sense and although I understand anyone "can" get used to it, it doesn't mean we should just accept it when it means more key depressions and takes more time and effort.

Also given the fact that it works one way before a value is entered and completely different after a value is entered is very counter intuitive.

Anyone that has worked on really complex models with hundreds of fillets can understand why this is such a pain. I understand it is a personal preference and everyone has a different one, but more actions for the same end result can't be viewed as efficient. Lets be honest the more efficient a CAD app is the better, especially for those of us that spend 14+ hours a day doing CAD.

[HughesTooling]

Part of the problem for fusion now is once the fillet preview is applied there would be no way to unselect an edge, pressing Ctrl suppresses the preview so you can add or remove.

Here's Fusion with a few fillets added, you could argue that there's no problem picking more edges but there's no way to unpick.

And here's another CAD system. As you can see, the original framework is still visible.

I think it would probably be a lot of work to change Fusion now to leave the framework visible so we might be stuck with how it is for a while. Personally I didn't find it that difficult to figure out, Ctrl is used to add to selections in most programs from file manager to Excel.

Mark

[PhilProcarioJr]

@HughesTooling

My problem is say I have 50 edges to pick but I don't know what the largest fillet size I can use, so I hold Ctrl down and start selecting now I'm done but when I release the "Ctrl" key the fillet fails and I have no idea which edge caused the failure. Now if I want to check each edge for the failure I have to hold "Ctrl" select the edge and release the "Ctrl" key for each edge I want to check so for 50 edges that's 50 key presses and 50 releases...now the real nightmare is when you accidentally click before pressing "Ctrl" and lose all selections. When doing complex fillets hitting the "Ctrl" key causes fusion to freeze in time for a while adding to the tediousness of the operation. This is one area Solidworks shines...In Solidworks it says ok your in the fillet tool select away and if you want to deselect a line THEN you hit the "Ctrl" key.....much more efficient.

Just look at my Texas Star model and you will understand...but again this was just my opinion.

[HughesTooling]

I guess rather than leaving the framework behind the fillets associated with the feature you're editing should be highlighted so clicking them would unselect and you'd be free to select more edges, no need to suppress at all. Is there anything for this on the Ideastation?

Mark

[PhilProcarioJr]

@HughesTooling

" Is there anything for this on the Ideastation?"

Not sure if there is...I'll check

[Anonymous]

I was not my intention to flag this condition as a bug, rather an observation about functionality.  The feedback is appreciated. I understood that the CTRL key could be used to edit the edge selection set but I have found that when editing existing fillets (deeper in the time line) this does not always work and holding the CTRL key causes sluggish behavior.  As has already been pointed out other tools (i.e. Solid Works) handle this differently.  If I have activated the chamfer or fillet tool and I click on an edge I have not selected, add it to the selection set; if I click on an edge that is in the selection set, remove it.  Very straight forward.  As for deselecting what is previewed, leave a ghost of the original edge for deselection.

[Scoox]

New-ish user here. This feature IS slightly inconsistent, and the fact that people (myself included) come here for an answer is irrefutable proof. I understand that the Ctrl key revelas the fillet source edges, however edges that are not yet part of the selection should be selectable without the Ctrl key, again that's just my opinion. This wouldn't in anyway conflict with how it works now, since seasoned users can continue to choose to hold down Ctrl directly.

We still would need control to deselect edges once the radius value is non-zero though. Now that I know how this works, thanks to this forum thread, I'm sure I will have no trouble getting used to it, and will regard the fact that some times I'm not required to hold down Ctrl as a nice little workflow touch.

The implementation used in other competing products, such as that kindly posted above by a fellow user, is quite interesting as the source edges are always visible while the fillet feature is being edited, which eliminates the need for modifier keys. I don't know whether this approach would have some drawbacks in practice, as I've only ever used Fusion 360.

[gjemmott]

The non-intuitive part, in my opinion, is that, usually, when the Control (or Command on a Mac) key is used to select an additional item, *the items already selected are highlighted on the screen.*.

The fact that those already-highlighted items are already highlighted is the cue for someone to know that they can use Control/Command to select additional things.

Even if these fillet-edges appeared as highlighted *behind* or *from within* the fillet, it would help this be a more intuitive interface.

[chmed]

I was just experimenting with this on Mac and it doesn't appear that I, control/command or not, can deselect edges this way.  Perhaps it is as the previous poster said, and it just doesn't look like I should be able to select or deselect.  Instead I went for the very unintuitive approach of setting the fillet radius to 0 and then adjusting my selections and then setting the radius value back to where it should be.  This really should be on the list of things to improve.  

[Catrik]

I just wanted to add my experience that this was very confusing to me as well. Pressing Ctrl is not needed when initally selecting multiple areas to fillet, and also, when using some other features where pressing ctrl is required, the already selected features are usually highlighted by default. So it didn't come to my mind that in this specific scenario it would be needed.

It would be helpful to atleast have this told in the "i" tooltip menu.

[HughesTooling]

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@Catrik wrote:

I just wanted to add my experience that this was very confusing to me as well. Pressing Ctrl is not needed when initally selecting multiple areas to fillet,

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The reason you don't need the Ctrl key to start with is because the fillet rad is set to zero, as soon as you set a radius you have to use the Ctrl key. In effect pressing Ctrl temporarily sets the fillet rad to zero.