Feature request: restructure order of components in browser

[ea425019]

Currently the browser does not allow moving components for order, logical, alphabetical, whatever we choose.  This is simple, make it available please.

[ImDaveM]

ABSOLUTELY!

The one trick pony Browser we have doesn't help with complex designs,.

I would like to see a choice of different views

1) Standard view ( the one we have now)

2) Tree view ( which shows all the components in joint order)

3) To be able to show and edit part number, or description and a revision directly

4) Free form view , show all the components in any order you like, i.e move them freely.

5) Right click on any component to show or create a drawing, and that drawing file is part of the browser tree, i.e not a separate document in the data panel, that way when you move a component to another assembly, the drawing moves with it!

6) For PCB's show a proper hierarchy of the board and components, the silk layers and canvases are in the one level.

7) everytime you expand the width of the browser, that the width is remembered/saved.

😎 Right click on PCB to edit pcb in a new window.

and the MAIN ONE TO FIX - When you edit a component that was created back in time, that ALL THE OTHER COMPONENTS added after that, WILL still stay in the browser and will be displayed on the screen. this one is a big fundamental flaw ( i believe)

regards

dave M

[jeff_strater]

the "MAIN ONE TO FIX" here is fundamental to the way Fusion works.  I feel confident in saying this will never be changed, at least in a Parametric/history-based design.  You can get something similar to that behavior if you are building your design in a purely bottom-up way, and your assembly is created as a Direct Modeling design - implying no history at all.  But, you lose a lot of power if you choose to use that workflow.

[ImDaveM]

Hi Jeff,

Thanks for replying, 

The other day I had to make changes to an existing design ( which is about 3 years old now) 

I added a new component, no issues, BUT i also need to change some older components features to make way for the new component. ( eg move some screw holes) 

When I went to modify the SKETCH for the older component, the new component was not visible to be able to align up or reference my changes in the old component! which meant i had to fly blind!

I don't believe this needs to be this way, The new component exists, so why can't it be displayed? 

I understand if I was to DIRECTLY REFERENCE the new component that would break the history. But I think those projections / reference could still be created, but the references/projects are STORED in the older component as a COPY and with no links to the newer component.

This problem happens all the time. I think it's a flaw of the history model or the strict adherence that fusion takes.

Dave M

[ImDaveM]

HI Jeff,

Seeing that your are the fusion 360 software architect, Could you tell me why ( as the original poster has suggested) that we could have ALTERNATIVE BROWSER VIEWS?

It's just a list of object, the order its viewed in does NOT have to be in CREATION order. 

Allow the user to freely move COMPONENTS in any order or grouping they like. 

Create an option in the browser bar, to choose 

1) Default Order

2) One or more CUSTOM orders/views

Also Please allow for FOLDERS to be created in the Browser, currently you have to create an empty component, and then move other components into that, but the Bill of material sees those empty components as real components.

Also,

PLease allow DRAWINGS to be kept in the BROWSER tree. So the when you move or copy a component to another assembly /design the drawing moves with it.

Thanks

Dave M

[daniel_lyall]

If you add a copy/pasta, past new, or insert into current model move it to before the part you want to edite as if it has no attachments or dependences it can be moved, if its at the end and the part you want to edite was done before the part was added you will never be able to use it as a references as its not there at that point of time.

If you are doing a DM it makes no differences as there is no timeline, also if you are doctor who it could work.

[jeff_strater]

yes, you are right here:  "I understand if I was to DIRECTLY REFERENCE the new component that would break the history.".  That is the main reason this is prevented.

However, your solution:  "but the references/projects are STORED in the older component as a COPY and with no links to the newer component." would not, I believe, really solve the problem.  Yes, something like that could be done, but you would lose any associativity.  And, you could make those copies yourself, if you wanted to.

"I think it's a flaw of the history model".  It is an attribute of the history system, definitely.  "Flaw" is subjective.  There are advantages and disadvantages of having history-based assembly modeling.  There are lots of things you can do because of history (position-based modeling, direct component/component references), which are extremely difficult to do in a traditional non-history system.  Is history better?  Also subjective.  And, with no clear conclusion, IMO.

[jeff_strater]

no one ever said we could not have different browser representations of the design.  It's been suggested in the past.  Right just now, though, this is not a high priority for us.  There are just too many higher priority deficiencies in Fusion that need addressed.  It could happen someday, definitely.