Function Place Component - why is the description and scale missing?

[michal.horacek]

Hello,

why is the Place Component function (window) missing such important things as component description and scale? After all, this is quite important information. Or is it like having to call the Add function via the command line and linger? At our high school, we have been using the Eagle program for years, which was quite intuitive (and in the Add function, the description and scale of the components are) and now there is a problem with any basic function (for example, even exporting an image is terrible), or it is necessary to run it using the command line , which doesn't seem very professional for today's time - even more so when, as a teacher, I have to teach students this kind of software. The Eagle program is due to end soon, but Electronic is not yet an adequate replacement. Should we, as a school, look for another product that will not constantly introduce pointless innovations and will be fully usable?

I find that the vast majority of the "innovations" that are new to Fusion 360 Electronics are pointless and delay work. And seeing it as a teacher, how annoying must it be for the designers who make a living from it? I do not get it.

Any chance this will be fixed? What I would like most is to see the Add function still remain, or to add an Add icon to the top function menu instead of the tragic Place Component and the user could choose.

Thanks in advance for your answer.

[jorge_garcia]

Hi @michal.horacek,

I hope you're doing well. The bottom window in Fusion scrolls down so you'll be able to see the same description there. I know it's not easy to tell because there's no scrollbar to indicate that you can scroll down but the description information is there.

I do agree the scale preview is not there and I'll report that to the developers. The ADD command is still available through CLI while we perfect the place parts panel.

Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you.

Best Regards,

[michal.horacek]

Hello,

thanks for the quick response, but I have to say that the description isn't really there - not always.

I really found a description for e.g. NE555, but unfortunately there is no description in the libraries "rcl", "TinkerCad" and many others. Scrolling down doesn't help. So is this a bug? Above all, the mentioned "rcl" library is very important for us.

Yes, I know about the ability to run the "add" function using the CLI, but why is it not possible to have an icon for this function in the control panel? It just seems clearer and more intuitive to me. How is the new function "place component" supposed to be better than "add"? The "add" tree structure is simply faster and clearer. On the contrary, when I choose between component variants in the "place component" function, I always have to click on the menu (variant) again, it takes a while to load and I have to go through it again and again from top to bottom, which is insanely inefficient until I find the one that matches.

One more question about the "add" function, but also, for example, about the "export" function - will these functions continue to be preserved and usable via the CLI, or will the developers remove them completely over time?

Thanks.

[Taylor.Chris]

Hi @michal.horacek ,
You bring up a good point about the descriptions.  The old dialog shows the component, footprint, and package descriptions of a selected variant, where the new panel only shows the component description.  The new panel should be showing all the information as well- I have created a ticket, and it should be resolved shortly.  We are also working on the panel remembering your previous selections which should help with your workflow as well.  Thank you for your feedback.

Chris

[michal.horacek]

Hello,

thank you, it's just a shame that you didn't answer all my questions. Anyway, I really hope that the mentioned features will improve soon and the workflow will be as smooth as before.

[Taylor.Chris · Accepted solution]

Our goal is for the new UI to eventually replace the old UI, and be configurable to be a dialog or panel, tree-view vs flat-view etc., but until it has everything users need, the old one will still be accessible through CLI.  I'm not sure about export, probably that functionality should be available through Fusions export UI.  There is no plan to remove the old commands, we will leave those in place and continue to work toward making all functionality accessible through Fusion's UI systems.  

[michal.horacek]

Hello,

after more than a month and a half I am reminding you about solving the problem with the Place component function. You wrote that you will create a ticket to resolve this issue. There have been several updates to the program since our last communication, but none have brought a fix. Can you let us know when this issue will be fixed?

Thanks.

[Taylor.Chris · Accepted solution]

Hey Michal.
We have spent a lot of time tracking down issues, crashes have to take priority, but this ticket has not left my mind (or our board).  Our release schedule has a large amount of time between when work ends and when you see the release because we are really trying to make sure we release without bugs.  The complete description in the panel will be in the May release, I'm sorry that we can't get it to you sooner.
Chris 

[michal.horacek]

Hello,

thanks for the reply. I understand that the repair work will take some time, but it is good to know when as a user I can expect repairs. Fortunately, May is not that far away.

I hope that your work is going well. 🙂 Thanks.

[michal.horacek · Accepted solution]

Hi, I'm seriously disappointed with the May update. Have we waited so long for it to solve the mentioned problem with me only in part?

Yes, resistors, capacitors or diodes finally have a description with sizes. But what about relays, buzzers or perhaps switches? If I don't have a part with the exact same name, or I don't know the exact name of the case, I'm in trouble and have no chance to know which part is which and I'll have to try one by one. April is long gone, but tell me this is just a lame prank and you're making fun of the users.

Also, as I mentioned earlier, in our high school, my colleagues and our students now use Eagle for PCB designs, where adding components using the Add part function works, the descriptions include dimensions and even a scale under the preview. If I forget that the "new" Place component function (in the Fusion electronic program) is totally confusing and non-ergonomic, is it such a problem to keep the scale (ruler)? Or another way - wouldn't it be better to keep the RELIABLE Add part function and not change something that works?

[AlinaPeng]

Hi @michal.horacek 

Apologies for any inconvenience!

Could you kindly confirm if the descriptions, including sizes, for the libraries 'relays', 'buzzers', and 'switches' are displayed in the old Add dialog? When I checked 'relays' on my end, I also didn't observe any size details in the description in the old Add dialog. This could be because the size information is not included in this library. It's worth noting that some of the public managed libraries are supplied by vendors, and we don't have the permissions to modify these libraries. My recommendation for you is to use the public managed libraries located in the "Fusion Electronics" folder, as we ensure the quality of libraries in that folder.

As for the missing scale (ruler) issue in the place component panel, we have already logged this in our system.

Best regards,

[michal.horacek]

Hi and thanks for the quick reply.

Apparently I described the problem inaccurately. Yes, you are right that some libraries/components do not contain a description of the dimensions, but there the scale (ruler) helps us to identify the correct component.

I was just looking at the libraries from the Fusion electronics folder and it's nice that the components have a link to the datasheet in the description, but it would be faster if the dimensions were directly in the description. In addition, the selection of components in the libraries from this folder is quite limited (for example, relays, but also different pitches of resistors, but also others).

When you know about the problem with the missing scale (ruler), is there any assumption when it should be added?

Thanks.

[AlinaPeng]

Hi @michal.horacek 

I am unable to provide a definitive date as to when the scale(ruler) will be enabled in the place part panel, as it depends on the team's capacity and priorities. However, I understand the importance of this feature to you and will ensure your request is escalated to the team for consideration. We will strive to assess the required efforts and prioritize them accordingly. I will keep you updated as soon as we have a resolution in place.

Best regards,