Editable vs Read Only in Fusion 360 | 10 Active Documents

What are Editable documents in Fusion 360? What are Read-Only files in Fusion 360? Learn about this limitation to the Free Personal Use (Hobbyist) license, including tips and tricks.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00 - 10 Active Documents in Fusion 360 Explained
01:00 - What counts as a Fusion 360 Document?
01:32 - How many Documents are Active in Fusion 360
02:03 - Projects vs Folders vs Documents in Fusion 360
02:34 - Read-Only Documents in Fusion 360 Explained
02:57 - How to make file Editable in Fusion 360
04:43 - What happens when you reach the 10 doc limit?
05:17 - Inserting Read-Only Documents into Assemblies
06:30 - What happens to Documents in offline mode?
06:46 - Recap of 10 Active Documents in Fusion 360
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Disclaimer:
This video description may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you.
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#Fusion360 #ProductDesignOnline

[@ProductDesignOnline]

How do you feel about the 10 Document limit?

[@gabedarrett1301]

It's actually pretty okay. Initially, the process for changing editable/read-only files used to be complicated. Also, can I print drawing files for the personal license?

[@joeblow2456]

It's not an issue for me. The fact is that it is a fantastic piece of software and to be able to have a hobby licence type is amazing. I cannot understand people who bitch about this limitation.

[@uzkanda]

It's a shame, how companies can get away with bait and switch. It looks now like f360 is going in all the wrong directions.

[@joeblow2456]

@@uzkanda So Fusion 360 should give you a full commercial product for nothing?

[@PierreMilcent]

@@joeblow2456 Totally agree with Joe, F360 is an amazing piece of software, having current capabilities is enough for most of hobbyist. If people need to be more comfortable and not annoyed by edit/read move then they should buy a full licence.

[@billcampbell6857]

A good descriptive video of just how little the 10 document 'limit' really affects a hobby user. Negligible effect for me, with well thought out control mechanisms.

[@brimsonterry1293]

The video regarding the ten limit was really informative and easy to follow. Thanks

[@jimberry7865]

This is great! I was hesitant to start learning Fusion 360 but this eased my concern.

[@ExcitingCreations]

Hey dude, I love your videos! You've taught me most of the things I know about Fusion and always suggest watching your tutorials when someone asks me about it. I think it would be cool to make a tutorial on how to make these geometric/ twisted/low poly vases and stuff that's quite popular on thingiverse. Thanks and keep it up!

[@unknown_matter7818]

This answered the question I googled, perfectly, and easy to understand. Cheers!

[@bikepacker9850]

Kev saves the day again.... Thank you.

[@mookyzook]

Thank you this is one thing that has been puzzling me as a newbie

[@fusion-ux1zz]

I have been learning fusion 360 since 12 days oe so , i have sure learned also feom your videos , next video please do tips and tricks with trim function

[@soggynode]

Glad you're the one having to say editable and not me :) I was worried it was going to be cumbersome when I first heard about the limit but it's executed well and doesn't slow down my work flow.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Certainly! The only 'Annoyance' I've experienced is if you decide to make many files read-only at once, you have to go through the pop-up dialog each time. I've suggested they consider giving the user the option to remove that after first use (like many of the Fusion dialogs)

[@ericcsuf]

@@ProductDesignOnline I also suggested it. It was very annoying from the beginning. The concept itself was very well implemented by the F360 group. My projects have a lot of files, but it's rare that I actually need more than 3 or 4 active at a time. It hasn't been a burden for me at all. I sure miss Edit in Place, though. I started using it right away and got addicted. Oh well, beggars can't expect to be choosers.

[@eugenenalpin6058]

This is a fantastic video! Just got my first 3D printer a couple days ago, but decided to tinker with Fusion before it arrived. The whole Projects thing was confusing to me, but you laid it out very clearly how this file system works! Now I've got everything organised before it gets out of hand, thank you!

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Glad to hear that! What 3D printer did you get?

[@eugenenalpin6058]

@@ProductDesignOnline I've got an Ender 3 S1! It was on sale for 280€ from typical 390€, which seemed like a fantastic opportunity given the built-in addons such as extruder, runout detection sensor and ABL. Really enjoying it so far! After proper setup and bed leveling it prints really well with PLA and standard 0.4 nozzle, fine-tuning Cura is quite fun, and Thingiverse is absolutely lovely to browse!

[@yusufkucuk1678]

Bro keep up the good and Vera helpfull work !!

[@joshadsett4835]

Thanks, another good one

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Thanks for watching, Josh!

[@helios_ja]

I saw the change and thought it was something always a part of fusion 360 as a new user. I'm on day 10 with the iPhone Case, and also coming off my very first independent design using what i have learned so far. Hope to register my startup to remove the limit for a little while if possible.

[@GOATaro_]

Congrats on 100k subscribers

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Thanks! I really appreciate it :)

[@anthonydendle4768]

Hope you dont mind but I shared the link to this very very usefull video as lots dont want to try Fusion 360 cause of what they are hearing on FB and other social media forms , cheers and thanks heaps for this video 👍😊 awesome

[@ProductDesignOnline]

The more sharing the better! Thanks 😊 And I agree... I've seen a lot of misinformation out there about the process.

[@KonradSarnowski]

IMO this is very reasonable solution

[@musoangelo]

Thanks Kevin for the update.

[@helicopterjohns]

I know this is not the question at hand but would appreciate any clarification your can offer. I am a 74 year old hobbyist that owns a HAAS TM-1P with a 10 tool changer. I thought in the latest offering by Autodesk on this project there was some restrictions on the amount of tools you could use in cam which could restrict or prohibit the use of a tool changer. Any information you could offer on this would be greatly appreciated. John

[@jamescullins2709]

I found you can convert to DXF with the non-commercial version. Granted, it is not needed very often but...

[@satyamlodhiya9736]

Can you please make video on simple conveyor and shaft and how to make a working animation. Please

[@geoffbuss3699]

Thank you. I spent a huge amount of time trying to find these answers - the editable/not editable thing had me tearing my hair out after years of being used to Inventor. Basically, no change really except that you have to keep switching the editability on and off. Is that right? It seems like a pain up the hole, but not really restrictive, I think.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

That's correct! It's really just to add friction to prevent businesses (commercial users) from using the free license.

[@tenehaglendening9246]

So basically I can design and cut as many designs as I want. On my langmuur systems pro cnc plasma table just cant have more then 10 active editable files at a time?

[@MollarCZ]

Is there any "limitation" while working with function like this at all? I am working with my files as usually and if there is no editable documents slots free, I simply make those I don't use currently as non-editable. I would compare it to "Check-in" / "Check-out" routine in PDM systems, which is pretty usual all over CAD workflow in big companies. So what is the deal?

[@ProductDesignOnline]

There's no limitation... This limit was mainly to slow down or create enough friction for commercial users who were abusing the free licenses. they found that a lot of folks working in the commercial environment often had several tabs open working on various files and/or external components. Generally, I don't expect this to really affect hobbyist in any manner other than it being a small inconvenience having to switch on and off.

[@par4par72]

I was wondering about that...

[@gothmaniow]

im having a problem in my data panel not responding to any of my clicks ,i want to make a few of my projects read only so i can work on others .. i cant do this since the update to the personal version its such an pita that autodesk has done this !!! and the support from autodesk has been zero on this issue ... not happy :( one bit

[@davidbutcher6637]

Can you delete any of these files in the editable section

[@IceCreams62]

Ten documents are fine for me (but 15 would be better :-) ). The major limitation for me is not to have the possibility to use the 4th axis for rotary equipment. I think that a control on which CNC you are using to limit this possibility is a good way to manage it. If i'm using a Workbee 90% i'm an hobbyist , if i use an Haas or a DMG MORI 99% i'm a professional. F360 should check the post processor you are using and give or not the possibility to use the 4th axis.

[@michaels3003]

A couple of years ago, I used F360 to learn 3D design with zero issues. Now, I am "back" and I am using it again (for the same reason) and I've run into weird issues of delays, and recently into incorrect multiple sessions warning. The export option (which I don't understand) took several minutes to save to STL, as if my simple design was being processed in another country. Thanks to some YT videos, I 've discovered I don't need to use the export option, but I don't appreciate the other random issues.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Hi Michael. That's correct - the best way to is to 'Save as STL' instead of Export. I explain the difference here: bit.ly/saveAsSTL How many computers are you signing into Fusion 360 on? Do you sign out before going to the other computer?

[@sylvainforget2174]

Also got a warning about multiple sessions. I only have one computer at home.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

@@sylvainforget2174 that's strange. Sounds like there must have been something going on. If it keeps happening try signing out, restarting Fusion 360, and sign back in.

[@michaels3003]

@@ProductDesignOnline , we only have the 360 version, not the 369 one 😉. I exited it a few times and it finally stopped... Today, it was not switching modes promptly (e.g., add-sketch-element to idle state in the edit-sketch mode). I was only running two applications at that time (and the other one was idle).

[@michaels3003]

@@ProductDesignOnline , thank you for the link.

[@stevegroen8036]

I have a new Free Personal license how do I set myself as Administrator or is that not necessary ?

[@AmelAmel-lk1vt]

hello, thank you for this generous sharing, I am interested in purchasing your course on cookie cutters, my use of the latter will be different, so I have a question .. how can I contact you. thanks in advance

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Hi Amel. You can contact me through the form on my website productdesignonline.com/contact/

[@AmelAmel-lk1vt]

@@ProductDesignOnline I will do it, thank you

[@stevegroen8036]

I have a new Free Personal license with 3/10 Editable documents. I created a new Project yesterday with just one simple Component and saved the Project. Today day I can't turn the Read-Only to Editable? Can you help?

[@stevegroen8036]

After further searching on Autodesk's website, it appears this was a bug that has just been fixed with an update; I restarted Fusion 360 and now I can set Editable.

[@priyan776]

How long does the education license last?

[@blueprint7000]

1 year . And you can update it every year !

[@priyan776]

Thank you.

[@SaltCityFab]

I designed a simple bracket and saved it as an STL. When I loaded it into Cura it AutoScaled to 100000% and is un-printable. Did this 10 document limit affect the STL saving feature? Has this happened to anyone else?

[@ProductDesignOnline]

STL files are unitless. The 10 document feature doesn't affect this at all. Check your Cura to make sure that your units and/or scale are set as expected. You may have to change unit type in Cura

[@SaltCityFab]

@@ProductDesignOnline thank you for your reply. I realized my mistake. I designed in 360 using inches and tried printing in mm. I re-saved as mm and was able to slice the design

[@scottkenny8203]

Can someone help? Ive reached the limit now my editable documents wont refresh and the switchers wont allow me to switch to read only

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Hi Scott. A few others have reported issues. What happens when you sign out > restart Fusion 360 > sign back in. Let me know if that takes care of it.

[@scottkenny8203]

@@ProductDesignOnline solved!! had to restart like 4 times but now it loads up properly and the read only switches actually work. thank you kindly!

[@homeinspectingwithjohnhans4250]

The Ten Editable Document limitation is not an issue. However, I find the overall company approach to their documentation a serious limitation. Autodesk has essentially off-loaded most of their support to the community. They seem to be treating their user base as though videos and the community forum are the only product documentation they can afford to provide. This video by Product Design Online is indexed rather well with all 10 key locations is the video easy to access. But the Autodesk videos are linear and are nearly impossible to use as a reference tool. And their search engine returns 100s to 1,000s of items for any word we are trying to find. When searching for any tool, other than the 'Tool Tips', there is really no expanded explanation for most tools that have not been found on their community forum. I grow weary of the scrolling to find a useful item among all the chaff. A search of their system is littered with low value items.

[@defyent]

I don't get the read-only/editable switcher. I logged into fusion360 on my new macbook and now all my files are read-only and fusion says i only have "Basic Access" to them all. I'm locked out of ALL my files on both computers. Why is fusion either free with stupid restrictions are insanely expensive? I'd rather pay a reasonable fee and get reasonable software for personal use.

[@ProductDesignOnline]

It sounds like your free license expired. Nothing to worry about, you simply need to renew it for another year. You will have to review every year. Follow these steps: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jn_LZJd7m752jpY

[@NickBR57]

I have no "state switcher" so having reached the limit there appears to be no way to reduce the number. Obviously they have changed it - how do you reduce the number now?

[@ProductDesignOnline]

I don't believe it has changed. If you restart Fusion 360 are you seeing the same thing? It may be worth a clean uninstall/reinstall.

[@NickBR57]

@@ProductDesignOnline Yes I have logged out, clear sed,brestarted and logged in. No change. The installation is a couple of months old - reinstalling every couple of months would be ridiculous. Perhaps I stall on another OC and see what happens...

[@ProductDesignOnline]

@@NickBR57 yea, you shouldn't have to reinstall frequently. I've just seen that fix weird issues in the past that few people were reporting.Let me take a look at some things on my end. Can you go to ? > About > and see what version yours says?

[@ProductDesignOnline]

The other thing I thought of... is your free Personal Use license up for renewal? Does it say renew now or 'expired' anywhere in toolbar/upper right? @@NickBR57 whenever it's in the renewal or expired phase it treats the files as read-only.

[@NickBR57]

@ProductDesignOnline I downloaded it at the beginning of last week or maybe the week before. It auto- updated when I installed it so it should be right up to date (not near the PC at the moment). That should also mean nothing is up for renewal and I certainly have not had any notification of licence renewals or version updates.

[@davidschlabach4106]

I haven't been able to access any of my "Editable Files" even though it says I've used all 10 of them. There's simply a blank gray color in the left panel where files are usually displayed. Does anyone else have a similar issue? 🤔 Thank you. 😊

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Sounds like a bug. Have you tried restarting Fusion 360/sign out and back in?

[@davidschlabach4106]

@@ProductDesignOnline Thank you for the response. I had tried that with no result. However, somewhere I saw to go to settings and clear the cache - and that worked. 👍

[@yutub561]

My read only files are missing all of a sudden. know where i can find them? No they are not in my admin projects or anywhere else. Not online...

[@ProductDesignOnline]

Check your Fusion 360 hub (web version) in a web browser - myhub.autodesk360.com/ If you don't see the files there, I'd suggest reaching out to their support. They'll have to investigate. Only thing somewhat similar I've seen was an account/credential issue.

[@yutub561]

@@ProductDesignOnline I actually just found them. They moved to the deleted items for some reason...

[@ProductDesignOnline]

@@yutub561 very strange... But glad you found them!

[@boboscurse4130]

Why don't I have the switch on any of my projects? I have no way to make them editable/

[@ProductDesignOnline]

What does it say at the top of your Fusion 360? sounds like you may be on the education or start-up license if you're not on the commercial license.

[@boboscurse4130]

@@ProductDesignOnline It says Personal.

[@benben2846]

Hello, I think Autodesk is going through a cash flow recession with the crisis ..... I think the next step will be the monthly subscription for millions of personal users who don't want to relearn new software ^ ^

[@onecarwood]

Anyone else have issues with selecting since they made the change?

[@sylvainforget2174]

Since I use F360 to learn to design and do not use the files, ten documents are enough.

[@CarlosFandango73]

I think a good option for f360 would be to charge 5p for every usable file exported such as an stl file.

[@robshaw4093]

Seems like a massive waste of time! It will only really stop a larger company who are likely to have need of more than 10 projects being editable from using the free version. For everyone else it’s just an extra things the faff with. Surely there was a much simpler way to stop people abusing the free version, while it isn’t a complicated process it does seem an overly complicated update from there part to add it.