How to get thumbnail previews in Windows 10 File Explorer

[randallberkeley]

I would like to save my files locally on my PC, however, I cannot see a preview image of my drawings in Windows File Explorer.   What is required to get the thumbnail preview functionality?

Thanks

[Anonymous]

I would like to save my files locally on my PC, however, I cannot see a preview image of my drawings in Windows File Explorer.   What is required to get the thumbnail preview functionality?

You cannot locally save your file into your PC because Fusion 360 is a cloud based software all the files that you save in Fusion will be on cloud service, & the only solution to this is that you can export the file into your PC. And lastly when you export the file into your PC you cannot see the thumbnail of the file you have exported. All you can do is that once you have done with the designing in Fusion, just take the screen shot of the file and then you see the thumbnail of it.

[chrisplyler]

In order for this to happen, Autodesk would have to include Windows File Type Handlers with the Fusion installation. I don't think that they do.

[randallberkeley]

You are correct, there is no preview functionality installed by default, but perhaps it is available in some other form.  I used to have this problem with .STL files and the .123dx files, but I found a utility that renders the preview for those files.  I am hoping to find the same for .f3d files.

[miguel.palma82 · Accepted solution]

There Is not possible yet! I already
proposed this topic in "idea Station" take a look this thread

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-ideastation/file-preview/idc-p/7706998#M30137

[chrisplyler]

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@randallberkeley wrote:

You are correct, there is no preview functionality installed by default, but perhaps it is available in some other form.  I used to have this problem with .STL files and the .123dx files, but I found a utility that renders the preview for those files.  I am hoping to find the same for .f3d files.

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STL files are an open standard and, quite frankly, a very simple format. It is also over thirty years old. I'm not surprised someone came up with file handlers for it somewhere along the line.

I don't know anything about 123dx files.

I have to assume that f3d files are much more complex, and of course they are proprietary. Autodesk obviously has some file handler functionality written for them, because otherwise Fusion's data panel couldn't work the way it does. But whether they are WINDOWS file handlers, I don't know.

[randallberkeley]

Thanks for the confirmation.  I've added my vote.

[melvinbrian3d]

thanks for posting this idea, i've vote.

[HughesTooling]

f3d files are just ZIP files with a different extension. The thumb nails are in the file as shown in the image below where I've opened temp.f3d using 7ZIP. I'm not sure AutoDesk will write the handlers though as they don't seem very interested in you using the local file system.

Mark

[chrisplyler]

Okay, cool. Then I'm sure someone smarter than me can write a Preview Handler and/or an Icon Handler for f3d files.

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/shell/preview-handlers

https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/shell/thumbnail-providers

[kerger.marc]

HI I am also looking for either a way to make a preview icon for STP files or even a complete software 3d STEP file browser to look through 1000s of files with out opening each one.. or some batch script somehow. 

[kerger.marc]

hi 

I found a much simpler app that does just this: 

F3D.app

automatically makes thumbnails of all kinds of 3d files, also Step