A shout-out for Autodesk’s user forums and “IdeaStation”

Well, I’ve been offline for a while, tinkering, but thought I’d slip in a quick post in praise of the exemplary Fusion 360 user forums maintained in Autodesk’s Web site. I’m still an F360 newbie, but already my experience of the forums’ usefulness has vastly exceeded my expectations. I’ve found that within a day or two of posting a question, some expert user responds with an often exceedingly thorough explanation. For example, I recently posted a query in which I asked about the relationship of “models” and “forms” (t-splines) when they occur in the same design project. I received several very useful comments, including a long one that includes animation. Find that post in this thread. Very often, its an Autodesk employee who provides the answer.

Even more impressive is the degree to which the F360 group encourages ideas for future updates. The interface, shown here , presents a forum-like design, but cleverly asks other users to comment on each idea, and to vote on it also. Over time, Autodesk staff updates the status of the idea based on user interest, the product road map, etc. New entries are given a GATHERING SUPPORT status. As votes and comments are processed, an idea’s status can be updated to UNDER REVIEW, ACCEPTED, IMPLEMENTED, FUTURE CONSIDERATION, etc. If an idea is implemented, the contributing user is emailed a notification. How cool is that!?

Speaking of road maps, Fusion 360’s is shared, and commentable! Here’s their May 2016 roadmap update.

Even if your new to Fusion 360, the forums will serve you well!