Peter, thanks for the reply.
I think Shaun gave some excellent examples of when a user would want (need) to duplicate in place.
#1 Version control and #3 testing are two examples that coincide somewhat with my current workflow….but the scale/complexity is probably different.
I work mostly in developing, placing, and modifying machinery in production lines, as well as general layout, flow, etc in our processing plants. In essence I help in the everything from the design of individual components, to the final placement of whole assemblies within an (usually already existing) building.
My primary use of duplicate in place is for generating multiple concurrent, slightly different versions of a machine or layout, for design review. Alternate versions in separate folders allows me to have one touch “layer” control of the view while I am developing my proposed layouts and presenting them for design review.
During my design process I go through MANY possible solutions that may be based on/duplicates of an initial body or assembly. Usually, it is important for the new version to start with exactly the same placement (have the same orientation, centerline, etc) as the other possibilities. Then parts of the new copy are modified to test fit and flow within the larger machine or building. This may continue as tweaks/modifications are requested to new versions, etc, etc.
Ultimately two or three alternatives usually show to be promising, as well as a version of the “original”/existing layout, and incompatible designs are discarded.
As you can see, duplicate in place is a CENTRAL piece to my design and design review workflow. Because I work with multiple versions as layers, I am sometimes duplicating production lines with THOUSANDS of bodies. Most of which will not move in the new version (but need to be there anyway in the new folder). At that complexity, the time it takes to calculate the “move” twice (over a bit, then back to the origin) causes further frustration that may not be as apparent when duplicating a single body.
I am sure there are more workflows that have been affected or could be made less disruptive/quicker (a stated goal of Shapr3D) with a duplicate funcion.
I would hope that Shapr will duly consider the effect of taking away an existing function (even inadvertently) whose loss disrupts existing paid user workflows, and prioritize its replacement.
The eventual addition of a “duplicate” function is of course needed (from the items menu also hopefully), but I hope this current copy in place shortcut we had does not get shelved in the meantime. As we know, “on the roadmap” sometimes takes a long time.
I will be very disappointed if it takes 6-12 months or more to get back a functionality I had until weeks ago.
Thank you for your consideration!