Insert into current design question

[buckeyestargazer]

I'm very new to Fusion 360 as a home user/hobbyist.  If I "Insert into Current Design" (move one design into another design), do changes made to the inserted design affect the original project?  Or do changes to the inserted design only save with the new design/project?  I hope that makes sense...

[jeff_strater · Accepted solution]

"Insert into current design" creates a linked reference to the design.  Any changes made to that linked design will be reflected in the "current design".  However, you can execute "Break Link" on that reference, which will copy the design into the "current design", after which you can make changes to that component (it is no longer a separate design) that will not affect the original.  Hopefully that is clear and answers your question...

[buckeyestargazer]

Thank you for the quick reply, that does answer my original question.

But I have another question.  I noticed when inserting a design into another design/project that I can't edit anything in that design prior to insertion.  Is there a way to insert a design and keep the history with it, so that I can delete components from it?

[jeff_strater · Accepted solution]

yes, external designs (linked designs, sometimes call "XRef" designs - using an old AutoCAD term) cannot be edited/modified in the parent design (there is a new feature here, described below that helps).  However, if you do Insert, followed by Break Link, will copy the features from the referenced design into the active design, so they can be fully edited, without affecting the original.  I think this is probably what you are after.

The new feature is called "Edit in Place" - it is described here:  Edit in Place .  It is currently a Preview feature, but it works pretty well.  This feature allows you to edit the external design in the context of the parent design, and reference geometry from the parent, as well.  However, be aware that this does modify that external design, so all instances of that design will get those edits as well.  If you want a fully independent copy, then use Break Link.

[buckeyestargazer]

What I want is break link.  

However that doesn't fully solve my question.  Example, I have modeled a large diameter threaded part using a sketch/extrude/coil.  There are other parts to the design.  What I would like to be able to do is insert the design into a new project, but edit the coil to change the threading.  I don't see a way to do that, whether I break the link or not.  

In any event, it's not a big deal really.  There are other ways of doing what I'm asking. 

[jeff_strater]

I didn't want to over-complicate the solution if you didn't need it, but knowing this requirement there is another tool to consider:  Derive:  Derived Component   You can start out with your source design, create a Derived design that brings in just the components that you want to re-use.  You can modify that derived design independently of the source design, and then Insert it into another design.  So, the Derived design can contain geometry not in the original, so it is somewhat like Break Link, but it does maintain associativity to the original, so if you do make changes, those changes can be propagated to the Derived design (which will then re-apply any changes made to it), and the referencing design can be updated with the new version.  There are two levels of indirection, so it can be a bit complex to navigate the dependency, but this may get you what you need.  Worth looking into.

[mtemen]

I work on a MacBook Pro.  I had the same problem meaning sometimes I was able to right click to open the dropdown showing the choices to "Insert into current file" and sometimes it didn't work.  All I got was the choice to "Open" or "Create milestone".   Then I found this YouTube video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QF3WoTzmCo. Very helpful.  

Solution is that you can only "Insert into current file" at the TOP LEVEL of the saved file.  You cannot "Insert into current file" at the individual version level.   

Hope this helps!!

M