No Opacity Control for Imported Components

[Careless_]

I don't see the opacity control context/right click menu for imported components in an assembly.

It doesn't make sense to have the user go to the respective file and edit the body opacity and save it, just to change the opacity in the main assembly. This would cause an unnecessary update every time it needs to be changed. 

Am I missing something?

[jeff_strater]

when you refer to "imported" components, do you mean "inserted" components (external to the active document)?  Just making sure you are not referring to designs translated from, say, STEP, which is usually what we mean by "imported".  Anyway, external (inserted) components do not have opacity control because that is considered a change to the component itself, and you will need to edit that design to change the opacity (as well as some other component attributes such as body visibility, etc).  You can use Edit in Place to make this easier, but it will require a change to the referenced external component.

[Careless_]

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@jeff_strater wrote:

when you refer to "imported" components, do you mean "inserted" components (external to the active document)?  Just making sure you are not referring to designs translated from, say, STEP, which is usually what we mean by "imported".  Anyway, external (inserted) components do not have opacity control because that is considered a change to the component itself, and you will need to edit that design to change the opacity (as well as some other component attributes such as body visibility, etc).  You can use Edit in Place to make this easier, but it will require a change to the referenced external component.

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yes, I meant externally inserted. thanks for informing me of the distinction.

I don't understand why you guys decide that component opacity needs to be reflected upon the component file itself, and not in the viewing settings of the document within which it's inserted into?

this seems like quite an oversight- as stated in the original post; changing something like the opacity would require a save revision for that object, and would cause all drawings and files utilizing this file as an inserted component to be updated down the chain.

If I want it to be transparent in one assembly- that property should not need to be reflected in every assembly.

how does this make sense? why is this the design decision for this type of practice? I can't be the only person that thinks this is cumbersome at best. It should be treated like component colour cycling within the current document.

[g-andresen]

Hi,

Just remove the link of the inserted component if it is only about opacity.

günther

[Careless_]

what? no one said it was just about opacity.

I need the links in all my files. 

I also need the ability to adjust opacity of objects without resaving them.

how is that a solution? that creates more problems.

[wmhazzard]

I agree, I see no reason why opacity or toggling visibility changes the model where it would need to be saved. 

[g-andresen]

Hi,

Just to understand:
Are you saying that the opacity should not be linked?

günther

[wmhazzard]

Yes.

[Careless_]

why do you think it should, guenther?

if I simply inserted the model into an assembly, and I want to move/adjust/align or look at something a little easier within the assembly and not the original item file itself; why should I not be able to adjust the opacity on the fly... assess for any changes, and put the opacity back without having to save the original file and cause a whole backlog of unnecessary updates to this file that may be linked elsewhere.

this is wholly unnecessary.

[stevePPAJF]

I agree with this request- it's totally reasonable to want to change the rendered opacity of a part that I have inserted without having to open that part and change the opacity of specific bodies, then save that part, then update the reference in the part that I was working on. Not to mention that I may not want that to be a permanent change for all other parts that insert that part. This is an incredibly common and straightforward feature, and it should be a view-level option for the inserted part within the context of the part that I am editing. 

[P.IM]

I can't believe this is even a discussion. We absolutely need UNLINKED opacity control. It's kinda ridiculous. There is zero benefit to the way it's currently set up and much benefit to what's being discussed. I'm quite surprised at how few people are complaining about this...

I've yet to see an Autodesk rep explain the rationale. If you guys and gals have one, maybe you could share it and we'll be a bit more understanding? This is very powerful software and I'm grateful to have access to it for free (and for everyone's hard work in making that happen), but there are some very silly things about it that, frankly, I'd be embarrassed to release, if it was me. I just don't get it.

[tthornberry6FUXF]

I agree this should be a feature. The work around that semi works is make the appearance clear acrylic and adjust the settings of that material. It will not adjust the physical material but gives you some transparency control. Than make an animation state and import view in a drawing if needs be.

[ltek_rnd]

I agree that unlinked opacity control should be possible. Opacity is a viewing tool and not a model change.

Currently a workaround is possible - if you create a component that contains the external components, you can change their opacity by changing opacity of the container component, as described in another thread: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/fusion-360-design-validate/opacity-of-referenced-components/m-p/84431...

[raven.zino]

It is year 2024, and this is still not addressed... Unlinked opacity control is very much needed. And the workaround of using an envelope component isn't the solution as it doesn't provide detailed level of control for a complicated assembly that involves linked items, and therefore I can't choose to opaque subcomponents A and B to capture one view and then C and D for another screen capture or render. If your work happens to involve switching back and forth, it could easily be quite frustrating. And this is just one of many practical limitations due to the lack of unlinked opacity control.

[CamLostine]

I also need to be able to change the Opacity of linked objects in an assembly file. Opacity change should just be a viewing tool in the current file not a permanent change to the original component.

It looks like my two options are:

1 - Unlink the component in my assembly to edit the opacity

2 - Change the opacity in the original file and save/update to view it in my current assembly.

Option 1 is bad because I need to keep things linked.

Option 2 is also tedious and will make me update the linked file in any assembly that has that part.

[Shawn_Gilroy]

Like every single other thread full of replies that find a flaw in the way a feature is setup, Autodesk does not care and will not reply with WHY it is this way and will not change it or make it an option to be changed...

[bbtfabrications]

I agree with the request.

Can something PLEASE be done about this?!?!?!

[mark.hancockFNT8J]

I agree.  I have this situation where I have an OEM/library component (this thus linked) that is shared with other assemblies (some of which might not be mine) bit I need to reduce the opacity so you can see the DIN rail below that it is mounted to.

[Tlancasteryocom]

I have ran into this problem a lot. There are times where it is crucial to both maintain the linked external component (sub-assembly) AND be able to adjust opacity in the current design (upper assembly). 

Here are some photos that might help illustrate this situation: 

In the first photo, note that the "Power inlet plug" is a linked item. I need to have control over opacity of this component. I cannot unlink it due to losing revision history, if the "Power inlet plug" file changes. 

Even if I tried to break that link, all the projections and other corresponding geometry goes away, and now the design is completely broken. 

So, obviously breaking the link is not an option. Hopefully this will help those who think unlinking is a good idea.

 

[jlarsonLP454]

I'll add my vote - this functionality needs to be changed. I use opacity to look through parts while designing - it's a view tool not a parametric characteristic of the part that needs to be preserved in the original file. 

@jeff_strater please bump this up the priority list - I'm no software guy but it seems like this would be an easy thing to implement, and as others have said, I can't envision any harm that it would cause to be able to adjust opacity on linked parts in an assembly.