Where to find a list of unconstrained sketch elements

[rickseiden]

Hello,

I've seen this question asked before, but everyone gets into the specifics of the sketch in question.  I'd like to ask it at a generic level.

If Fusion 360 is telling me my sketch is not fully constrained, is there anyplace I can go to get an idea of what isn't constrained?

I don't have a specific sketch in mind, or a specific issue.  It's just that in the past I've had a sketch show that it's not fully constrained when all of the normal attempts at figuring out why have failed.

I know that black means constrained and blue means unconstrained and sometimes it can be tricky things like the endpoints that are the issue.  I'm hoping that someone can say, "Click on this menu, select this option, and a list comes up of what isn't constrained."

Thanks

[g-andresen]

Hi,

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@rickseiden wrote:

I'm hoping that someone can say, "Click on this menu, select this option, and a list comes up of what isn't constrained."

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I'm afraid you will have to bury that hope.

günther

[TrippyLighting]

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@jjharbaughx wrote:

...

all I had to do was "fix" one point and then the entire sketch was constrained (I know, rookie error)...

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If that means you used the "fix" constraint, thane that is likely another rookie error.

If you want to attach the design with that sketch I'd be happy to look at it and provide feedback.

[Drewpan]

Hi,

I was wondering how long it would take for this text command to be mentioned. It is very useful and saves

much time and effort.

From a developer point of view, if text commands are "dangerous" then why not put the more benign ones

into the UI? If I say left click the Sketch and you give me a list of things to do with it including

Sketch.ShowUnderconstrained, then I don't have to use the text command box. Similarly if it was a default

icon on the Sketch toolbar - I click it and up come the highlighted unconstrained parts.

The biggest issue I have with using the command is remembering what it is when I haven't used it in a while.

Cheers

Andrew

[TrippyLighting]

I've never needed a text command to find what is unconstrained.

The moment a user needs that command I am convinced the sketch is too complicated. 

[steveEQC6U]

Nice flex that you're so much smarter than all of us; I'm grateful to Autodesk for providing a facility for us lesser mortals who design things more complicated than featureless cubes.

[TrippyLighting]

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a@steveEQC6U wrote:
Nice flex that you're so much smarter than all of us; I'm grateful to Autodesk for providing a facility for us lesser mortals who design things more complicated than featureless cubes.

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I bet if I look at one of your designs we can simplify your sketches to a level where such a command might be unnecessary. I believe a lot of users misunderstand the purpose of a sketch!

The purpose of a sketch is NOT to draw a complete outline of a piece of hardware. It is to create base geometry for an extrusion, revolution etc. That bit of geometry is then going to be refined with solid modeling features, perhaps created with more simple sketches.

Here are two more considerations:

1. The Sketch engine in Fusion 360 still has quite a few problems in recognizing if a sketch is constrained. Some sketches are constrained but don't show it. Some sketches are not constrained but show as constrained. This isn't even that rare of an occurrence. 
2. I would assume that the code for the text command, which shows what is not constrained, was created by the same mere mortals that wrote the sketch code. Chances are that it works as reliable as the other sketch code. My trust in it is not very high!

[steveEQC6U]

No, you're wrong. I know how sketches work.

Almost 100% of my unconstrained sketches are due to my drawing a line from A to B, and due to maybe me mis-clicking or some other related thing, that A-to-B line actually has a hidden midpoint, so it's A-to-C-to-B. This hidden midpoint is invisible by all viewing methods, there's no circle there to see it, and I have never figure out how they happen. If feels like a switch debouncing issue.

Maybe it's on me and I have Parkinson's but don't know it, but they have been *maddening* for years, and this  command has saved me hours of effort.

Surely others treat sketches sub-optimally as you suggest, but this kind of condescending talk is not helpful.

[TrippyLighting]

I have no intention or need for "flexing" or to be condescending. My sketches for the most part don't behave like this, so it would be interesting to see why other users sketches do.

I might add that I have literally looked a thousands of other users Fusion 360 designs. I've learned from that. I might be wrong, but that would take some convincing, best with an example.

[pgramseyK693J]

I know full well what sketches are for, what constrained means, etc., etc. Rarely are my sketches more complicated than a couple of rectangles. But sometimes the geometry on the screen doesn't match my best intentions. Sometimes the end of a line doesn't quite get coincidented like you think it's going to. Or points get created unexpectedly. Or a constraint gets lost while you're doing something else. Lines get hidden behind other lines. Sometimes it's a rule that the user doesn't know about. I used to get tripped up on construction lines that weren't fully constrained. (Why? If I'm just using a construction line to set that something else is parallel to it, who cares how long it is?) Or for a million other reasons a sketch isn't fully constrained, even though everything you can see looks like it should be. I suppose a master savant you can perceive what the problem is and fix it. Maybe by doing a Vulcan mind-meld with the constraint engine. Whatever, it's way beyond my psychic ability to determine the defect that the constraint engine perceives is wrong with my sketch. Rather than just saying "FAIL" some simple tools that let the constraint engine communicate what the problem is, down here on the plane of us mortals would help the us imperfect meatbags figure out what is upsetting the constraint engine.

Showunconstrained is really nice. I've beaten my head against unconstrained sketches for hours, but once i discovered that it was a few clicks to clear the problem. It should be a button on the sketch menu.

Something else that might be a good idea is to be able to hide constrained geometry. Press the button and all that's left on the screen is what's unconstrained, making the problems much easier to find.