How to re-render a Fusion composition in the timeline

I have created a Fusion composition. I then drag it into a timeline. When I then go back and edit the composition, I cannot get it to update (re-render) in the timeline. I am forced to drag the composition into the timeline again to get the edited version to appear. How can I get the comp to update everywhere that it is used in a timeline without deleting and replacing?

I have created a Fusion composition. I then drag it into a timeline. When I then go back and edit the composition, I cannot get it to update (re-render) in the timeline. I am forced to drag the composition into the timeline again to get the edited version to appear. How can I get the comp to update everywhere that it is used in a timeline without deleting and replacing?

You can't. You'll need to either re-drag the composition to the timeline, replacing the original, or else go into Fusion on the timeline version and make the same changes there.

In Resolve, every Fusion composition is a separate entity. Whenever you drag a Composition from the Media Pool to a timeline, you are making a new and unrelated copy of the original. Changes to the original will not affect the copy, and vice versa.

The same thing applies even if you split a clip with a composition. For example if you add a Fusion composition to a media clip, then later split that media clip into three sections (perhaps because you wanted to remove some frames, or you inserted another clip in the middle), you now have three identical copies of that original Fusion composition. Any changes you subsequently want to make must be made separately to all three. (This can be sped up a little by using the Clip pane - you can middle-mouse-button click on another clip to copy its comp to the current clip with a single click.)

This can be one of the great annoyances of working with Fusion in Resolve. I very much wish there was a way to link a composition to multiple clips, such that all clips would be updated when the composition is changed. But this is not possible.

Thank you for the reply Tom. That is indeed bad news.

I should add that with scripting it would be possible to automatically replace the Fusion composition used on many clips.

You could write a Lua or Python script that iterated through a timeline - or through every timeline in a bin - and removed the current Fusion composition and replaced it with another one, loaded from disk. It could also add the new comp as a second Fusion composition on the same clip, allowing you to A:B between the original and new versions.

That might be worth looking into if this is something you need to do very often.

Has this behavior been updated. Why does it not behave like other clip that when you modify the original updates the clip on timeline? I get that you can update a timeline after that then ADSS ON TOP of the media bin clip, but it should stack, not negate the one in the bin... Please consider this a feature request. Thanks. Or maybe this is updated in 18.5, does anyone know

They ABSOLUTELY need to change this function.

"Timeline Comp follows Bin Comp" should be the number one with a bullet feature update. The sooner they do it the better. Backwards compatibility be damned. Everyone who I've ever taught Resolve and Fusion to have rolled their eyes over this "quirk" of operation. It's not helpful at all.

"Timeline Fusion Composition follows Bin Fusion Composition" Should be a setting in Resolve's General Preferences. Right next to "Create New Fusion Composition in Bin Next to Original Clip". For when you create a Fusion Comp from Clip in Timeline.

It's by far the most confusing thing in Resolve's integration of Fusion followed only by the lack of a drop down in the viewer LUTS labeled "Color Page Preview".

I see this happen with Autodesk 3D apps compared to SideFx Houdini. Autodesk wants to keep backwards compatibility so they refuse to make real changes to the software. They just keep bolting on new features while leaving the old broken ones exactly as they were.
SideFX and Adobe will update nodes and features to make the software modern and work with maybe the ability to access the feature of a deprecated list. Over time the quality of life features add up and nobody cares if they are on version 2 or 35 as long as it's documented what is different.

It's encouraging that the developers have initiated the newest changes in 18.5 B3. Bryan Ray pointed out that the MultiMerge should auto assign the name of the input stream and they made it happen. Adding USD and Hydra to the mix looks like they have a vision of what Fusion should do and be.