Suggestion for renaming, relocating, or better describing of "Derived"

chris_8

For some reason it took me a very long time to understand the use of the "Derived" icon.  Maybe it was my lack of a previous background with CAD software (Is derived a standard term for importing copies of parts?).  Maybe it was my scattered learning curve with OS because I jumped into this new app with goals that I needed to accomplish, but I didn't take the time to go through all the tutorials as I should have.

Whatever the cause, the fantastic function of Derived has been there the whole time, but I didn't understand what it was.  I searched help for "copying" parts, but derived didn't show up as a suggestion there.  I tried copying parts in one studio tab, then pasting them to another tab... that didn't work of course.  

So my suggestion to help other new-to-CAD people in the future:  Rename Derived to something with the words Copy and/or Import in it (ie: "Import copy of derivative" or something.  Also I recommend placing multiple references in the OS help search so that whenever someone searches for "copy", Derived shows up in multiple instances in the returned links.  

Also moving that link from the far right side of the toolbar, more to the left could help it get found easier.  The icon for "derived" being directly next to the icon for "variable" for some reason made me think it was an intense mathematical formula creating device that I had no need for... just weird word association in my head I guess.

I understand the big hindrance for me was my own lack of focused training.  However I think others could have a similar lack of immediate comprehension about the function of Derived if the name, description, and help files remains as they are, IMHO

   

øyvind_kaurstad

Import or copy isn't really good names either, because most people will think of the copy as a separate, independent instance of the object/part that was copied. That is not true for a derived part, because there is still a relationship to the orginal, and edits to the original is reflected in the copy.

I believe Onshape uses Derived because they (most of them, at least) comes from SolidWorks, where the same name is used.

I guess it could have been named something like Live copy if the word copy was to be part of the name, but personally I'm not too bothered about the command names, as long as I can find their functionality in the documentation.

chrisjh777

I have also had difficulty in coming to terms with the meaning of some of the obscure terminology and nomenclature used throughout Onshape.  I put it down to OS wanting to distinguish themselves from other CAD products.  

I'm starting to get used to the terms, but agree that a glossary of some sort could be published in plain English.

chris_8

øyvind_kaurstad said:

Import or copy isn't really good names either, because most people will think of the copy as a separate, independent instance of the object/part that was copied. That is not true for a derived part, because there is still a relationship to the orginal, and edits to the original is reflected in the copy.

I believe Onshape uses Derived because they (most of them, at least) comes from SolidWorks, where the same name is used.

I guess it could have been named something like Live copy if the word copy was to be part of the name, but personally I'm not too bothered about the command names, as long as I can find their functionality in the documentation.

I agree the word Derived probably came from its prior use in SW.

The story of how I came to need the use of the Derived function:  I started out as a complete newbie... I learn to make a cube... wow that's amazing (hah).  Now I advance to dimensions, fillets and adding holes, etc, etc.  Soon after this I had made a widget that I liked.  So I wanted another widget like it, but with some minor changes.    My immediate brain response in caveman terms: "Me need copy of part".  So I looked all over everywhere for a way to make a copy and didn't find results. 

Newcomers just need a bridge to go from the idea of "Copy" popping into their brains to instructions for how to use Derived.  Maybe only as links in the help search functionality.   You're right, copy and import aren't accurate, but they are associated with the process.  Derived is past tense of a verb though, so it's not really accurate either.  When I pronouce that word I think of a Southerner with a slow drawl explaining how they got to work.  How about "Insert Derived Item"?    

I'm over that hurdle now, so it's in the past for me.  I'm just trying to make it easier for future newbies to get faster immersion through quicker comprehension.  

One of the time-wasting routes I used before I understood how to bring a copy of a part into another tab:   building an assembly of parts, then exporting that assy to parasolid format,  importing the parasolid file to a new document and using boolean to join the parts.    Whoops