How to clean up the timeline or how does one really delete stuff ?

[TrippyLighting]

I've created a base design and then added two variants to it. The third variant required too many changes to the base structure, so I decided to save the file and delete the components not needed. Of course that does not delet these components from the timeline but rather adds a "delete" item to the timeline.

However, I'd like to clean up the timeline and really remove stuff from the timeline to make it easier to navigate. What is the best approach to do so ?

It seems to me the fact that the timeline records everything can be a blessing and a curse! Perhaps we need some tools to be able to better manage the timeline.

[jeff_strater]

"Blessing and a curse" is certainly true. 🙂

To really clean things up, you need to delete the features (timeline entries) that created that geometry or component.

Just for background: the "soft delete" (delete as a timeline feature) is definitely controversial. Some like it. You can roll back to a time when that component existed. It allows you to create components or bodies that are used as tools for the design, but later are not needed. We keep those around for being able to edit the history and get the same results.

We have talked about making the delete ("hard" delete vs "soft" delete) more explicit (let you "hard" delete from the browser, for instance).

Any guidance? If you have some ideas, let us know

thanks,

Jeff Strater (Fusion development)

[TrippyLighting]

As I design more components - and for my designs that is an experimental and iterative process - I leave behind a path of creation and destrucion , so to speak 😉

As such, the timeline becomes cluttered with items that are not needed anymore. I have started  doing what you suggested a while ago but the results are not always what's desired.

For example I downloaed a hinge in SolidWorks format and inserted it into my design but much later decided I don't need it anymore, the only efficient way to find it is to select the component in the browser, right click on it and select "find in timeline" and then delete "New-Hinge:1". Then you can right click on hte timeline and select delete. However in my current design that does not seem to work as it creates yet another "delete" item at the end of the timeline. I need to experiment with it a littel more.

Either way, that only selects the hinge but not any other operations that are done with the hinge. One has to track those down one by one. F360 does not provide anything to help organizing and tidying up things.

The timeline is utterly needed for parametric design which I rely on heavily. 

[quentin]

i think that a "cleanup timeline" command would help. this would go through the timeline, make the soft deletes complete, recalcule the whole timeline possibly highlighting errors, and have an undo option if there are errors.i like the soft delete because you might have used a feature for alignment, dleted it and then realize you need it back.

[TrippyLighting]

Yes! And while they're at it they should add a " generate awesome design" and "render phenomenal photorealistic image" button.
But honestly I believe cleaning up the timeline would require some user interaction. We just need some tools, for example that help visualize the dependencies between the items in the timeline, or perhaps to combine and maybe group some of the the items.

For example when you move a part several times to fine-tune its position and then apply a ridid joint to lock it in place you would not need the moves anymore.

Or, as in my case you started a design, added variants and then decide to split the design and continue one variant in another file. You want to permanently delete the unneeded parts and eveything associated with them without blowing up your timeline even more. It would be nice, for example to apply a permanent highlight to all dependent elements in the timeline and resolve conflicts one by one, before deleting the parts in question.

The "Compute All" command in the "Modify" menu already diese what you described. It rcalcualtes the complete timeline and hilights problem elements in the timeline.

[cekuhnen]

I very much love soft delete because this way I can clear the design from any unwanted components and depopulate the browser.

This also very much helps to get STEP exports with the data you only want! Otherwise Fusion brutally exports everything.

In Timeline mode, I am not sure if I want a hard delete in the browser because that would contradict the idea of the timeline.

No other application sofar offered a time based delete command and I think this is a fantastic idea.

But I can see the usefulness to permanently remove data from a design without having an entry in the timeline.

So maybe when deleting you should have two option:
1. Time line entry
2. Permanent (with an additional warning to lose data)

[TrippyLighting]

I definitely would want to keep the "soft" delete. The idea of the timeline is great! However, given some better tools to inspect data and visualize dpendencies it can be made more powerful. That is a general concept that also applies to the browser.

The browser and the timeline, present different views onto the same set of data, but the connection is not always obvious. For example a sketch can be referenced in several ways, but there is no way to see what the sketch is referenced by. Instead, when trying to edit items in the sketch that have been referenced unintelligable error messages leave it to guesswork what might really be the rootcause for this.

It would be nice to inspect these dependencis as they populate the browser and timeline. Then one can remove unneeded data. If a user does not know what yhey are doing, no tool, is going to prevent them from being foolish. But not providing the ability is limiting for the users that do know what they are doing.

[cekuhnen]

I am not sure if it might make sense to have a delete folder in the browser or hide deleted parts in there. Giving you the option to see them when selecting something like shoe deleted

It is a tricks thing to mix timeline and browser. Those are two very different views of data

[kb9ydn]

In Solidworks deletes are always hard deletes unless you use the "delete body" command.  This way you can create temporary bodies for construction and what not.  This only works for part files though and not assemblies.  So far I've never run into a situation where a soft delete was needed at the assembly level so the scheme works.

For Fusion, how about leaving the "delete" command as a soft delete that puts an entry in the timeline?  Then add a "remove" command that does a hard delete, with appropriate warning?  The "remove" command should have an option to list all child entities and remove those as well, or to only remove the selected entities and leave any references dangling.  This way you can go back and fix any broken references manually.

C|

[albertson.chris]

THis is an old thread but I was wondering too.  How to delete the entire history of the design and the parametrics and "bake in" the final design.

Export to a .STEP file then re-import to Fusion 360.   I think doing this trashes all the crud you don't need

[laughingcreek]

It would be better to just turn the time line off and create a DM model.  anytime you export to a different format, you run the risk of actually changing the underlying geometry, because the conversion process is never perfect.  then bringing it back in creates another conversion, giving rise to the possibility of more geometry issues.

[albertson.chris]

Sorry, have to ask what is "DM"?

[TheCADWhisperer]

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@albertson.chris wrote:
Sorry, have to ask what is "DM"?

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DM=Direct Modeling

[mrboppoxbox]

The best way to delete or start from scratch is to remove the timeline or press in the timeline's setting icon and click, "Do not capture history." Usually you will be left over with a bunch of direct modeling edits from your old timeline in each component. In order to remove those edits or features you need to dissolve them by right-clicking the component they are within and selecting dissolve features or you can simply highlight the ones you want to dissolve then right-click and hit dissolve. You can now delete any sketches you do not want anymore too. After that is complete, turn on the "capture history" in the parent component.

[stiller.design]

honestly that is the worst way to do it, you will loose all the parametric capabilities.

IMO if the timeline gets too overwhelming and complex, start from scratch and try to improve it. also name your sketches and keep the timeline clean. not moving geometry around/ avoid thicken / ect

[TrippyLighting]

@mrboppoxbox this thread is ancient. There is only one situation to delete a timeline and that is to preserve the current state of the geometry of a design that is otherwise corrupt.

this is fine for a game asset or for a design used for visual representation only.

For a mechanical design for manufacturing I would not recommend deleting the timeline.

[GRSnyder]

Still, it's nice to see @TrippyLighting asking questions in the wayback machine for once instead of answering them. I'm starting to suspect that he was once mortal. 🙂