How do I move a component from one place in the browser list into another place?

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys,

I am just trying to organize my browser.  I want to move a component from the highest level into another component which is labeled "components."  I want all my components to be in that component so it is all organized.  When I right click on a body (not a component) I get the option "move to group" which lets me move it where I want in the browser.  But I don't get the same option when I right click on a component.  How do I move it?

Thanks in advance.

Vincent

[James.Youmatz]

Hi @Anonymous,

So this is a tricky one to answer. Sometimes this isn't possible as it depends on the timeline. For instance if you have the timeline enabled, and you try to nest a component into a different one, thus changing where it "lives", it is possible that you are changing dependencies in the timeline - therefore Fusion will not let you rearrange the component structures. There are best practices for component structure which is highlighted in this blog post here (although it is a bit outdated so the UI may look a bit different).

You can try however, to drag and drop the component into one another. Again, if it will not let you, then this is because there is a timeline dependency. You can quickly test this by turning off the timeline and then drag and dropping the component. If it works with the timeline off, then we know that this was the issue. 

In the video below I demonstrate it working and not working:

[Anonymous]

Hi James,

Thanks for your response.  I had a little trouble following your video because there was a popup menu blocking some of the view.  But I think I get the idea. 

I did read the post you referred me to titled Five Things You Should Know About Components and Bodies.  They refer to Assemblies.  I don't know anything about them.  Are they automatically created when one joins components with joints?  Or is that something that was deleted from Fusion 360?  I don't know how to create assemblies. 

Also, the article advises us to use components from the beginning when possible, as opposed to using bodies and then converting them to components later.  I have been trying to do that.

I did shut off the timeline and then I did find that I could move the components and other things around in the browser, as you said I would be able to do.  I come from Creo Elements / Direct Modeling Express.  That program doesn't have a timeline.  A timeline is mainly or entirely just so you can go back and access earlier versions of one's work, isn't it?  If so, I think I may just work without it, with it off.  When I make significant changes to the drawing I can just save the whole drawing and then work on a new revision of the drawing.  That way the older parts are saved in the older drawing and if need be I could just get them out of the older drawing, right?  Also, when I am going to make significant changes to a complex body I can just make a copy of it first and set it aside in the current drawing.  That way, I can just access the copy of the body if I want to revert to the older version of it, right?  I am just thinking in these ways because I think it might be easier for me to use and get used to Fusion 360 if I used it with the timeline shut off.

Do you think these thoughts make sense?

Best regards,

Vincent

[James.Youmatz · Accepted solution]

HI @Anonymous,

Correct - joints limit degrees of freedom based on geometric relationships. For instance - a rigid joint limits the two components (picture two plates even being joined on one face) in all 6 degrees of freedom, hence why it cannot move after (assuming one component is grounded).

And yes - I cannot stress enough about creating components from the get go if you plan on having a multiple component model. For instance, if it is just one component, a screw for instance, this would live under the top level component so there would be no need to create another one. 

Regarding the timeline - It really depends on your workflow. If you come from a direct modeling background, then you may find that operations and modeling are easier for you if you disable the timeline. I find the timeline useful if I need to make parametric changes and have it update my entire model. For instance - lets picture a cube right. You'd start with a 3x3 square, then extrude it 3 inches. In DM - if you wanted to change the shape, you would either offset the faces, or cut away to change it to be 2x2x2. In parametric, I realistically would have created parameters for length, width, and height of the cube, and all I would have to do is go into the Parameter table from the Modify menu and then update the length, width, and height values and have the cube update automatically. In a more complex example, the parameters could save me from having to redo an entire model based on slight geometry changes. 

You may want to even explore doing a hybrid blend of DM and parametric depending on your use case. For instance, we can temporarily turn the timeline off by using Base Features. If you go into  the create menu you will see Create Base Feature. If you click this, the timeline will be turned off and you can DM until you hit Finish Base Feature. At which point your timeline will reappear and you will have only a single entity in the timeline for all the modeling you did in the base feature. 

Thanks,

[Anonymous]

Hi James,

Thanks for your response.  The things you say make sense.  I understand that the ability to change the parameters of a body could save a lot of work in updating a complex body.  That is a good reason to maybe keep the timeline.

I had never heard of a "base feature" before I read your suggestion that I use those.  That is an interesting idea.  Maybe I can use that to work with both a timeline and direct modeling without a timeline, just as you said. 

Also, I learned that one can right click on an item in the timeline and then use the "Convert to DM Feature" command to delete all of the timeline entries to the left of that item to collapse into one item and it becomes a base feature, if I understand correctly.  I was able to do this once or twice but I still don't fully understand how this works and how to use this command.  It does not appear as an option when I right click on many of the items in the timeline, only with some of them.  Anyway, if I can learn a little more about this command maybe I could use this along with the Create Base Feature command so that I can work with a timeline and also limit the mess in that timeline.

Best regards,

Vincent Gillespie

[tmyron]

I'm using TimeLine to re-order components..... but beware that you may need to shift all it features as well, can be messy!

Good luck

[Anonymous]

Hi Tmyron,

I am not sure how I can use the timeline to move components in the browser.  I have many entries in my timeline.  I click on a component in the window and then select "find in browser" and then in the browser I right click on the highlighted item and then select "find in timeline."  But many entries are then highlighted in the timeline for the given component.  I selected one and dragged it around in the timeline but it did not seem to move the item in the browser.  But maybe I was dragging around the wrong object.  I was dragging around the entry indicating when I copied the component into its current place in the browser.  Are you able to freely move components around in the browser by moving them in the timeline?

Regards,

Vincent

[tmyron]

G'day Vincent,

It's no ideal but it works for me.

If you want to move a component early in the timeline select the component itself  (its 1st instance) then its dependencies

If you want to move the component later in the timeline then you have to move the last dependency of that component first before moving the component itself. The more dependencies the more to shift before the component...

Fusion won't let you move pass certain points, like if you have two components with a joint, then you will need to shift that joint first or the component will be placed before that instance.

It can be tricky and time consuming.

i have used this to re-arrange components in my browser so they are listed in the order that I want.

Cheers

Thierry

[William_Dec_45]

I'm calling out John Hackney. Come on John, if you can't fix this no one can. And if "can't be done" comes from you, I know not to waste any time asking around. And-- if it can't be done, I'm not going to criticize the software that I am so fortunate to have free access to. I can live with a few quirks. They owe me nothing.

[etfrench]

There's nothing to fix😂 @James.Youmatz explains it quite well.