Overview#
Fusion is updated continuously through numbered builds rather than yearly editions, and Autodesk publishes release notes per year and month. This page shows how to read them and what the current notes contain. It deliberately does not retell the product's history from memory: the help set holds release notes for 2024, 2025 and 2026 only, so anything older (first release, rebranding, licensing eras, Apple Silicon timeline) is not covered or confirmed here.
Note: not confirmed in Autodesk's documentation: how often builds ship, whether you can decline or roll back an update, how offline periods interact with updates, and the dates of earlier milestones such as the original product launch, the EAGLE integration, the change of name, or the 2021 personal-use announcement. Earlier drafts described these from general knowledge; they were removed. Check Autodesk's own announcements.
Where to find it#
- Release notes. Autodesk help > Release Notes, with pages titled "2024 Release Notes", "2025 Release Notes" and "2026 Release Notes". Each page lists months, then builds, then categories.
- What's New blog. For builds that add features, the 2026 notes say "For a detailed description of new features and enhancements, see the What's New blog."
- Your build. The 2026 notes of October 5 (build v.2705.1.30) add a Refresh button to the About dialog to immediately update Fusion and extension licenses, so the About dialog is where build and license information is shown. The exact menu path to About is not given in the help mirror; look in the Help menu.
- Preview features. Application bar > My Profile > Preferences > Preview Features (requires membership of the Fusion Insider Program).
How release notes are organized#
| Element | What it looks like |
|---|---|
| Year page | Lists the months, e.g. "January, February, ... October" for 2026 |
| Month | A heading such as "October 2026", with Fusion and Fusion web client sections |
| Build | A heading with the build number and date, e.g. "build v.2705.1.30 (October 5)" |
| Compatibility notice | "Backwards Compatibility": the version includes changes that are not backward compatible with previous versions; update to the latest build to keep sharing data smoothly |
| Sections | New features and enhancements; Fixes and improvements (called Resolved issues in 2024) |
| Categories | Usability, Data Management, Autodesk Assistant, Design, Configurations, Sheet Metal, Mesh, Drawings, Render, Electronics, Simulation, Manufacturing, Additive Manufacturing, API, Platform & System |
| Rollout marker | Changes marked as "collaborative editing" are implemented gradually and may not reach everyone at once (2024 notes used the word "ROLLOUT") |
Build numbering changed over time: December 2024 shows builds like v.2.0.20981, while 2026 shows v.2606.1.22 (January 21), v.2701.1.15 (March 2), v.2702.1.47 (April 13), v.2703.1.11 (May 27), v.2704.1.15 (July 6), and v.2705.1.11 (September 3). Within a series the later digits count successive builds, so several builds can ship in a month.
What the 2026 notes record (sample)#
The September 3, 2026 build (v.2705.1.11) carries a backwards-compatibility notice and lists, among much else:
| Area | Entries (quoted or paraphrased from the notes) |
|---|---|
| Usability | New end-to-end sample project; orbit on Windows touchpads with Shift plus a two-finger swipe; Metal is now the default graphics driver on macOS; project renaming and Add to Assembly from the Home tab (collaborative editing hubs) |
| Data Management | Improved presence and reservation indicators; Fusion BOM overrides for physical properties and Remove from This Parent; BOM row reordering; design history access from Home; progressive rollout of Collaborative Editing across hubs |
| Autodesk Assistant | Bulk property editing of components; in-product purchase support; export of chat conversations to PDF; "coming soon" graduation from Tech Preview to a generally available experience |
| Design | Environmental Map Analysis; on-canvas names for construction and origin planes; Plane Along Path with construction axes and a To Object extent; Finish with AutoConstrain; automatic mesh-assisted fallback for Boolean operations |
| Configurations | BOM support for Configured Designs; Group feature suppression; number lists in Configuration Rules (Design Extension) |
| Sheet Metal | Join by Bend; dedicated Sheet Metal Fillet and Chamfer; Flip Overlap in Corner Closure |
| Mesh | Enhanced algorithm in Combine; Edge Length remeshing method |
| Drawings | Leader Note for Sheet Sketch and View Sketch geometry; zoom centers on the cursor |
| Render | Point, Spot and Photometric Scene Lights |
| Electronics | PTH support; NETROUTE; Bulk Package Import; bus authoring for modules |
| Simulation | Modern results experience for Modal Frequencies and Structural Buckling (Simulation Extension) |
| Manufacturing | 2 Axis Part Alignment (Manufacturing Extension); Polar Machining options; Surface Manager support for Rotary Offset Roughing and Rotary Contour (Manufacturing Extension) |
| Additive | Expanded Slice Analysis; Monte Carlo arrangement type removed from Additive Arrange |
| API | TypeScript support for scripts and add-ins fully released |
| Platform | Creo 13 PRT files supported |
Other 2026 entries include "Renamed Collision Detection to Interference Analysis" and, in later builds, fixes such as the personal-use capacity flyout always reporting that limits had been reached. Use the real notes for exact build and date of any item; this table is a sample, not a complete list.
Tip: Items that name an extension (Manufacturing, Design, Simulation) in the notes need that extension. See the Personal use vs paid page.
Preview features#
The Fusion Insider Program gives access to preview features that are "still in a conceptual stage". Documentation for them is available to Insider Program members. To enable one: Application bar > My Profile > Preferences > Preview Features, optionally filter by workspace, preview type, enabled state or search, tick the checkbox beside the feature and click OK. Private preview features are available only to selected customers. Autodesk warns that enabling a preview feature may affect Fusion's performance. Preview features may later become part of Fusion or of an extension.
How to read release notes effectively#
- Start at the month and build that matches your version.
- Search for your workspace's category.
- Read the Backwards Compatibility notice: files saved with newer builds may not work for collaborators on older builds, so update everyone.
- Look for renamed or moved commands, such as the Collision Detection rename.
- Check whether the item needs an extension or a collaborative-editing hub.
- Treat "coming soon" entries as announcements, not shipped features.
Step by step: tracking updates for your own work#
- Open the About dialog and record the version and license state.
- Read the newest month of the release notes.
- Before a critical delivery, open one saved design you care about after each update and confirm it behaves the same; keep an archive (.f3z) first.
- If something breaks, search the forum with your build number and report it as described on the crashes page.
Options reference#
| Option | What it does | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| About dialog Refresh | Immediately updates Fusion and extension licenses | Added October 5, 2026 |
| Preferences > Preview Features | Enable preview features | Insider Program members |
| Release notes pages | Per-year change lists | 2024, 2025, 2026 in the help set |
| What's New blog | Detailed feature descriptions | Referenced from the notes |
| Archives (.f3z) | Local snapshots | General guidance: export before major changes |
Tips and pitfalls#
Tip (general guidance): When following an old tutorial, search for the command name rather than the exact click path; menus move.
Warning: Do not trust a blog post's claim of "new" without checking the date against the release notes.
Warning: Backwards Compatibility notices mean mixed builds in a team can cause data-sharing problems. Update together.
Practice exercise#
- Open the About dialog and note the build.
- Open the current release notes and find the entry for your build number.
- Pick one entry in your main workspace and test it.
- Record the date, build and result.
Expected result: you know your build, where to read what changed, and how to test the impact on your own designs.
Related#
- Personal use vs paid (this section)
- Crashes, bugs, and cache clearing (this section)
- Installing Fusion (Getting Started)
- User interface tour (Getting Started)