User Interface
Timeline
The Timeline provides a dynamic, interactive history of the operations and assembly of objects performed in the current design, presented in a chronological sequence in the order in which they were performed. This is referred to as Design History.
The Timeline is seated at the base of the editor and appears automatically when the Design History option is activated in Preferences.
Design History
When activated in PreferencesProfile Preferences at the top right of the editor. > General > Design > Design History > Capture Design History (Parametric Modeling), a sequential recording is made of features and operations in the Timeline.
Activities in the Timeline can be moved to change the order of creation or assembly.
Individual parts created in the design can be updated by right-clicking onto the activity and selecting Edit Feature from the context menu.
When the Timeline is in use, the design process is referred to as Parametric Modeling.
When the Timeline is not in use, the design process is referred to as Direct Modeling.
The Timeline is activated or deactivated by clicking onto the Settings icon at the right end of the Timeline.
NOTE : Design History is activated in PreferencesProfile Preferences at the top right of the editor. > General > Design > Design History > Capture Design History (Parametric Modeling)
Timeline Settings
To deactivate the creating of a Timeline for the current design, select the Settings icon on the right of the Timeline menu and select Do Not Capture Design History from the context menu.
NOTE : If the Timeline is deactivated during the design process, all previous activities in the Timeline will be removed, and no further activity will be captured.
The SettingsGear icon at the right edge of the Timeline. option in the Timeline allows for :
- Component Color Swatches to be enabled to correspond to the items in the Browser.
- Hides all inactive features.
Below is an example of the Color Swatches enabled, allowing items in the Timeline to correspond to items in the Browser.
Timeline Features
Activity in the Timeline can be customized for each design. Some of the customizable features for Timeline Activity are :
Create Group
A group of activities can be grouped together, usually to correspond to the Parts or Components in the Browser.
This allows the Timeline to be collapsed or expanded which is useful when the Timeline is length.
To create a Group in a Timeline, do the following :
- Use the Browser or Timeline to select activities which can be formatted into a group. In the example below, the activities of Part 1 are selected.
Creating a Group in the Timeline
- This creates a grouping of the activities related to Part 1 which can be collapsed or expanded using the + or - icon shown underneath the group, shown below.
Collapsing or Expanding a 'Group'
Find in Browser
This allows an activity in the Timeline to locate the associated feature in the Browser. Right-click on the activity in the Timeline and select Find in Browser from the context menu. The part will be identified in both the design in the canvas and the Browser.
Suppress Feature
This allows a feature to be suppressed without removing the feature from the design. Right-click on the feature in the Timeline and select Suppress Feature from the context menu. The feature is restored by right-clicking onto the feature and selecting Unsuppress Feature from the context menu.
Roll History Marker
This moves the history marker to a specified position in the Timeline, allowing the replay of the features to stop at the point of the history marker.
In the example below, the history marker is shown at the indicated position, with the remaining activity grayed out. When clicking onto the Play button in the Timeline, the activity rolls only to the position of the history marker.
Using the History Marker
To restore the history marker to the end of the design history, drag the marker to the end point of the Timeline.
Edit Feature
The geometry of a part can be modified in the Timeline by right-clicking onto the activity and selecting Edit Feature from the context menu.
In the example below, the Extrusion feature is selected for modification.
In the image below, the colors at the top of the Timeline activities relate to the color assigned to Components in the Browser. Navigate here for more information on Component Color Swatches.
Timeline
The part is extracted from the model, allowing multiple features to be modified. The length of the part can be updated in the floating data field shown below.
Updating a feature in the Timeline
Play Controls
These arrows at the left in the Timeline create a real-time movie replay of the design and assembly sequence of all sketches, bodies and parts in the Timeline.
- The Play/Stop button replays activity
- The Next Step/Previous Step button plays the increments of the replay, using each feature in the Timeline as a 'pause' feature.
- Use the Escape keyboard key to abort the replay sequence at any stage.
- See also : Roll History Marker
Related Topics