One of the highest-rated users requests on the Fusion 360 Idea Station is Keyboard Shortcuts. We also see a number of related requests for more contextual and customizable access to commands & tools that you use most. Based on these requests, we have evaluated access to commands as a whole, and we would like to get your feedback on two prospective enhancements.

Command Search

Command Search is designed to place access to every Fusion command at your cursor. Simply key in a character, or a series of characters, and choose from a list of matching results using your mouse or keyboard.

For example, typing “c” will present the following list near the cursor:

Typing a subsequent “h” will narrow the results:

Then pressing Spacebar/Enter (or selecting from the list with your mouse) will invoke the tool:

But what if you’d like “c” to always invoke the Chamfer tool? We’re building in the ability to customize this list and streamline access to tools that are most valuable to you.

Key in a character, then select the “Promote” button next to a resulting command in the Command Search list.

The tool will then appear at the top of the list each time the character is keyed in. In this case, pressing “c” followed by Spacebar/Enter will now invoke the Chamfer command.

Why Command Search instead of traditional, single-key keyboard shortcuts? Command Search provides access to every command, not just a subset of commands. It also allows you find commands with less concern for where they reside in the application. That said, we’re also considering a subsequent project to provide an option for single-key keyboard shortcuts, pending user demand.

Toolboxes

In addition to Command Search, we’ve also been working on a customizable, on-demand command palette that we call the “Toolbox”. The Toolbox, invoked by pressing a single key, will present a palette of tools near the cursor for quick command access. An independent Toolbox will be presented for each workspace (Model, Sculpt, etc), as well as for Sketch.

Customized Sketch toolbox

The toolbox will allow immediate access to contextual commands of your choice, and will be as easy to customize as it is to use.

As always, we would love to hear your feedback. Please let us know what you think.