Ordering components - Moving elements between components.

[rmkolaks]

I'm recreating my recent design and testing out a top-down design methodology,  As a first step I am declaring all of the component groups up front.  Being a maladroit, I forgot to define one of the component groups in its proper location in the list.  Dragging and dropping within the browser doesn't appear work.  Is there a way to reorder the browser list or must I rename the component at the proper location and rename the eleven component groups following.

Part the second:  It is not clear to me when I may, or may not, move things between components.  It seemed that I could drag and drop something into a component if it was the active component.  Sometimes this is true, sometimes this is false.  Sometimes I can drag and drop something from a child component into the super adult parent and then drag it to a different child.  Sometimes I cannot.  Usually I can drag and drop bodies within a component to reorder them. Often when I return to the component the order has been lost.  Sometimes when creating components from bodies the components are created in their list order, sometimes they are not.

Can someone explain the rule for moving components and bodies about and within each other?  Or at least point me to the definition in the online documents?

   ..rmk

[psych_uk]

As for the first, I can confirm I cannot reorder component elements either, I tried to do this yesterday. It would seem the 'tree' on the left generates its elements on a 'first come first served' basis. Would be handy to be able to reorder these, maybe a feature requests, wouldn't be that hard to implement.

As for the second, I am confused as to what constitutes 'things', each component has its own origin and co-ordinate system so how would one copy a sketch, for example, from one component to another component? In saying that however, I have never tried or had the need to attempt it. Unless of course you want to copy entire components into another components object tree, in which case you could save the body as it's own file and import it as required.

[davebYYPCU]

We will need the context defined.

With the Timeline marker at right hand end position, generally, things can be rearranged if there are no conflicting dependencies.  (Can and can’t sometimes.)

[rmkolaks]

Timeline marker at the end!!  I think that's the clue I needed.  At least for many cases.  If I recall correctly, the failures have happened when I was ditzing around up-time.

I noticed a bit ago, that F360 seems to reorganize bodies alphabetically.  I split a body into three components. I labeled them [fwd, mid, aft], in that order.  When I invoked _BodiesToComponents_ they became [aft, fwd, mid].

[rmkolaks]

As you said,  builds components like a stack not a list.  You can't stick things into the middle of a stack.  You can only attach them at the end.

   ..rmk

[jeff_strater]

@rmkolaks - regarding browser order, this is a popular request:  reorder-components-in-browser, though the idea does not have a lot of votes.  Regarding "wouldn't be that hard to implement" ( @psych_uk ), unfortunately, it is not quite as easy as it might seem, unfortunately.  You are correct - today, components appear in the browser in the order they are created.  You can, however, reorder components to some extent by rolling back the timeline and inserting a new component there.  However, that will not change the default component numbering (Component1, Component2, etc).  So, if you are up to Component10, and roll back between Component2 and Component3, you will get Component11 in between those two.

Regarding moving things from one component to another in the browser (by "things" here, I mean:  bodies, sketches, work geometry, etc).  The rules are a little hard to list out, and I'm pretty sure I've forgotten most of them.  The main one is dependencies, and this is often why this operation is blocked.  If you create "things" which have references to geometry or other "things", you may be limited in the kinds of restructuring you can do.  If you keep the references clean (local to the owning component), you are more likely to be able to restructure.  It does not really have to do with the active component, except in the sense that the active component determines ownership in the first place.  You can also not restructure if the timeline is rolled back at all.

[psych_uk · Accepted solution]

That's not true for the timeline, you can insert features and sketches anywhere there by dragging the timeline marker back to the point you want to insert.

You just have to make sure what you do doesn't affect subsequent features.

If it does, they will highlight in yellow.

I'm not sure if we are talking about the timeline or the component tree.

Anyway, I am glad you have a better understanding.

[rmkolaks]

Thanks again, Jeff.  You've made it reasonably clear.  🤓

  ..rmk

[CaseyJScalf]

Jumping in to say two things:

A) This is wild how it is not a feature. Especially when you can click, drag, see a little blue line, yet no actual reorganization.

B) I turned off the capture design history and I was able to re-order some but not all. Might be worth exploring or understanding further?

Thanks!

[rodamyot]

I Have the same problem.

Reordering component in the tree section is not working and I can't find any info on this.

Is the order of the component in the tree have a relation to the timeline history ???

[agustin.sidaras]

i know this is old, but in case anyone gets here like i did the problem is the timeline select the top component of the project and go to the  end of the timeline, you'll see that it's not at the end completely         that's the problem 

[g-andresen]

Hi,

Please open a new thread, share the file and name the features involved.

File < Export > save as f3d on the local drive > attach to the next post.

günther