What does "Slider bar cannot be rolled before the active compnonent" mean?

[itchytoes]

Hi -

I was going along on my design and at some point I created a new component, and then I moved my bodies into said component and did some more stuff.   However,  when I tried to move the timeline marker to a spot before the creation of the new component, I got this error message.   What does that mean?

If I join bodies and create a new component that way, I have not problem moving the slider to before the new component.  What is different about creating a new component myself?

Thanks

Betty

[jeff_strater]

@itchytoes,

The key word in this error is "active".  If you have a component active, that means that any new stuff you create (like sketches, work planes, bodies) will go into that active component.  But, if you roll back before the feature that created that component, there is no component into which to put the new stuff.  That is what the error is trying tell you.

An analogy would be if you were buying furniture for your house, then time-traveled back to before that house was built, you cannot continue to buy furniture for that house - there's nowhere to put it.  OK, the analogy is weak, but you get the idea...

Jeff

[itchytoes · Accepted solution]

Hi 

Thanks for the reply.   I understand your explanation, but I guess I've never really figured out what an "active component" is or means.   So, when I join two bodies, I will often create a new component with the join, and that new component never seems to be an "active" one and I can move the slider anywhere I like.  What's the difference between an "active component" that seems to happen when I ask it to create a new component by itself vs. a new component created with a join?

Thanks

Betty

[laughingcreek · Accepted solution]

You can tell which component is active by the radial dot in the browser (see pic).  you can also make a component active by clicking this dot.  Fusion assumes that if you "create new component", you will want to edit/add to it right away, so it automatically makes it active.  For commands that create new components as a by product (like combine), it doesn't know if you want to keep editing the original, or edit the new component, so it just keeps the current component active.