- Enter editor mode with /editor command
- Under editor settings ensure "Instant upgrading" is checked
- Create an upgrade planner that upgrades modules
- Apply the upgrade planner to an entity
- Construction orders appeared for the modules (a red X over existing modules; new modules appearing in the cyan "upgrade" flags)
- Modules actually in the entity were not changed
- Module changes immediately applied to entity
Related: Copying and pasting an entity that contains modules over an existing entity while in the editor should also work the same way (actually changing modules rather than creating upgrade/deconstruction items like it currently does).
The new module functionality for the upgrade planner is an awesome QOL improvement that's a welcome addition to the base game instead of relying on mods. I like to use the editor mode for planning out my blueprints in a temporary savefile. The module functionality feels like a little bit of a gap in the otherwise instant editing functionality.
In my opinion the current behavior goes against the spirit of the "instant upgrading" editor setting. I realize that this may be deemed "not a bug" by the developers; if that's the case, could you please move the thread to the "ideas and suggestions" forum instead?