PDF User Manual for Fusion 360 [Ultimate]

[Anonymous]

Is there, or could I suggest, a PDF User Manual for Fusion360. The easiest way to learn is to have a printed document by ones side, so that you can read and type at the same time. The video instructions provided are first class but it can be very distracting if you are flitting between the two continuously and makes for slow progress.

Thank You.

LJ

[Anonymous]

Hey Autodesk Community, I’m a little confused by the email. I looked
through everything I posted and the only thing I can figure is this is in
response to the comment I left for the CAM How-To Lessons

, Introduction To 2D Milling

, Chamfer The Bottom Holes
.
If so, does this PDF discuss tool selection, speeds and feeds, and
proper/efficient machining practices? Obviously there are good, better,
and best CNC machining practices. These are the areas I would like to
further investigate to become a much more versed 3 D CAD/CAM Designer.

[Anonymous]

I think he is referencing #1 on your list to download a zip file.  If you click on the link, you receive this banner.

[Anonymous]

The link provided states that I do not have the permissions to go to it, even after double checking that I am logged in.

[Anonymous]

 Doug,

Sounds like you have a real users manual blossoming.

[Anonymous]

The unique value of a PDF Users Manual is that it allows you to search for a particular topic and drill down on it without sitting through hours of videos that are not searchable for the topic of interest. The videos are very valuable as an adjunct to a manual but are not a substitute for it. Fusion 360 is clearly a work in progress and the Users Manual will be improved upon as the product matures.

[Anonymous]

That’s by far the biggest advantage. Plus I can print out my own copy so I can study it when I’m away from my computer. I have printed out Users Manuals of 500 pages or more because the time savings are HUGE compared to going through tutorial videos that cover topics and tools in bits and pieces.

[daniel_lyall]

One problem the section on the hole tool and tread tool is out of date.

[Anonymous]

We agree on the value of a User's Manual. In the absence of such a manual, there are several third party books that address this unmet need:

1).  Autodesk Fusion 360 Black Book

2). Autodesk® Fusion 360™ Introduction to Sculpting with T-Spline Surfaces

3).  Autodesk® Fusion 360™ Introduction to Parametric Modeling

Not a complete solution but these can help until Autodesk fills the need.

[Anonymous]

Two of those books require internet connections to access tutorial video
lessons. This is exactly what I'm trying to avoid for the reasons
previously mentioned. Reviews of the third book speak for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Hi, I am unable to access the first link of sample modules associated with it, it shows the message that you are unauthorized for this link. please give solution.

Regards 

Mahesh adak

[Anonymous]

These books are an example of what's out there. I'm not recommending them. In any case, they are not a substitute for a proper user's manual but they address the issue. The user will have to pass judgement.

[Anonymous]

I am not associated with AutoDesk. I have no solutions for access denial.

[gaurvr]

Updated the Autodesk Fusion 360 Black Book to version 2.0.4116 which is April 2018 release. I have also uploaded the ebook version of books on Kindle, iBookstore, Playster, Kobo and many other platforms. Links are as follows:

Paperback:

Colored:  https://www.amazon.com/Autodesk-Fusion-360-Black-Book/dp/1988722357

B/W:  https://www.amazon.com/Autodesk-Fusion-360-Black-Book/dp/1988722349

Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D4N8B57

Other Ebook Platforms : https://www.books2read.com/u/4DloaP (Part 1) and https://www.books2read.com/u/bwYWEy (Part 2)  

I have attached a free big sample pdf of the book. I hope it is helpful to Autodesk Fusion users.

Regards, Gaurav 

[aayushg416]

same problem

[Inspections_JCH]

I would like to add my thoughts to this topic even though it was started in 2014 it will not die. And, we should all work to keep this issue alive and squarely in front of the support staff at Autodesk and specifically, @len_whitehead.

From my point of view, this issue is one of definition of terms. (But there is much more.)

What is being titled User Manual in this topic thread is NOT a user manual. But I am not the first one to point this out. Almost a year ago @Anonymous said it first and said it best. The document that we are discussing IS NOT A USER MANUAL. It is NOT A USERS MANUAL. I is NOT A USER'S MANUAL. (I doubt that my three variants of this statement will be searchable but I had to try!)

If I knew how to link to the past comments written by @Anonymous from May of 2017, I would do it here. But, I will copy/paste what was written:

"I'd love to see a Fusion 360 printable User Guide in pdf format. It would be a lot faster way for me to learn more about the software while I'm away from my computer, rather than slugging my way through tutorials, videos, and doing constant searches and scrolling through little snippets of online information to learn how to use the software in little bits and pieces. I've done that with other complex software programs with User Guides of up to 600 pages, and it works GREAT! Flipping pages is much faster than Searching and Scrolling."

As a point of clarification, The document that is being discussed here IS NOT A USER GUIDE. It is a PDF of the various video tutorials that are intended to "teach" new users how to use many (but not all) of the features in Fusion 360. At issue here is the fact that Autodesk has not published what I will call a "Comprehensive Reference Manual for Fusion 360". That is what we are asking for and based on this topic thread, it has been heavily discussed since late 2014.

My assessment of this situation boils down to this: The effort of the Autodesk Support Team is to support the sales and marketing department in its effort to get new users on board and trained in the use of Fusion 360. In this effort, they are assigning resources to creating and promoting Video Tutorials and Training Documents and neglecting the need for a "Comprehensive Reference Manual for Fusion 360".
While tutorials may benefit new users and students while they learn the fundamentals of F360, Autodesk needs to return to class and learn a little about YouTube. The Tutorials that are offered by Autodesk via YouTube could be indexed but they are not. All users including new students and seasoned veterans would benefit greatly from finding an index to the Training Videos in the description. An example would be: Fusion 360: Sketch Constraints. There are 12 sketch constraints that span 8:45 minutes. An index that allowed users to jump to any specific constraint would save on average 4:15 minutes just in finding one specific sketch constraint. You could easily jump to the very useful Smooth Constraint at 5:36 by having it indexed in the tutorial description.

[Anonymous]

Thank you! You have summed it up very well. Frankly, I have given up on
bringing this topic to Autodesk's attention. They keep referencing their
online tutorial videos. Other people mention reference books that also
rely heavily upon online tutorial videos, which defeats the purpose of
having the books. They obviously still don't get it.

By the way, Cloud Software, no matter who makes it, is terrible for
those of us who live in low density population areas that have crappy
internet service that's beyond our control. Sincerely, Creativetype.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for providing this!  It's a good start.

A technical writer whose work I admire once told me that the difference between a "reference" and a "narrative work" is a carefully sculpted index that is based on many users' (or student's) questions, and that for a good textbook or manual, as much work needs to go into the index as went into the writing of the raw text.  When the person who isn't the author is charged with making the index, they will of need to do the equivalent of reading the book ten, maybe twenty times

She further pointed out that looking through the index of a textbook is a good predictor of how much knowledge you'll get for the effort of reading it,  and for a product, reading the index of its manual is a good predictor of how much the product will contribute to productivity. 

... and that's not a coincidence: in both cases it says that a Herculean effort went into making sure that when the reader or user wants to know about some feature of the product, they can look it up within a minute rather than potentially spending an hour, a day, or worse as they scrub the internet and message boards for something relevant.

And however long they take looking things up is negative productivity that subtracts from any productivity gains that product features provide.

In light of that I both laugh a little and cry a little when I enter a term (try "axes") in the help lookup of a product - which has no actual manual - and the result is a 20 minute video.  To put that in perspective, just imagine you're in a building you haven't visited before, you need to find where the bathroom is, and when you ask you're presented with a 20 minute video - being able to scroll through it to search will not make the experience much less irritating.

The pdfs you provided are much better than paging through a video, so kudos.  Please keep up the good work, but please give your product the manual and the index it deserves!

B

PS - I think I'll skip making a screencast about this 🙂  ...

[HughesTooling]

@Anonymous I do wish there was a way to restrict the help search to just the online manual. So if you type axes it would suggest this page or the other pages in the manual covering creating axis. I'm not one for reading manuals unless I'm really stuck but I've always found what I want in what AutoDesk hide under see all learning, if there was a way to restrict a search to just that area it would make life easier.

Another example @Inspections_JCH constraints example has a page here with a video and a transcript for quick look up.

Mark

[Inspections_JCH]

@AnonymousThe issue is that the OP was about a PDF that would be used as a reference. This topic has not been properly addressed. @TimeraAutodesk can always start a new discussion topic to promoter her work, but what she has provided is not what many or most of the users are asking for.

We need a shift in the Fusion 360 team's strategy of making noise and calling it music. It just isn't so.

We need a "Comprehensive Fusion 360 Users Manual"

We do not need more videos.

We do not need  a PDF that is not indexed that relies on embedded videos that are not indexed.

We do not need a Good Start.... We need a finished product.

[Anonymous]

This puts it about as well as it is possible to do so. Thank you for your cogent thoughts.

Rauckr