Is there an easy way to...?

No. We've been trying to get him to allow standard file management hotkeys (eg: shift-click to select everything between two items) in the construction queue screen, to no avail.

You can set waypoints (ctrl+#). Once a waypoint is set, go to the queue settings for the construction queue in question and assign a waypoint under the "Automatic Moveto" section.

Saving the empire to file in-game is supposed to save ship designs (as in SE4), but I'm not certain if that was ever fixed.

The ability to scrap facilities is located under the Cargo Orders tab/button. The hotkey is ctrl-k. There is no way to autoreplace facilities.

Math? Empirical testing?

Eh? It doesn't matter what a particular planet produces, since all production is pooled globally. All that matters is the net. You can add resource production columns to the Planets report screen if you like, though. Just create a custom layout.

Weapon platforms, mines and starbases make good defenses.

You can set movement to the first waypoint automatically (see above), but not a load cargo order or a second move to order.

Yes, the "load cargo remotely" order does this.

Other than population and researching higher levels of space yards, there is nothing to do to increase planet production rates in-game in stock. Its possible (and easy) to make mods with so-called Space Yard Expansion facilities (unlimited build amounts, but much lower rates than the initial SY facility), but they do not exist in stock, sadly.

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Not quite true. There is a way to improve things in the stock game.

Research Planet Utilization. This will yield three things; Climate control facility at level 1 which improves the planet conditions (leading to faster immigration/reproduction of pop), Value Improvement at level 10 which increases the %yield ratings on the planets for minerals/organics/radioactives; and at level 20 gets you Atmospheric Modification, which will allow you to eventually dump domes and jack up your facility and pop capacity.

Be warned though, that each of these facilities take a loooooooooong time to improve anything.

If you want your shipyard to work faster, max your populations there and research Space Yards. Every level you gain increases the tnnoge of construction/repair a shipyard can perform

Again, it takes a lot to yield a lot, so don't expect rapid improvements unless you donate a LOT of research/production time to them. But with patience, they will pay off

The two parts that affect population (climate control and atm. modification) were technically included under the umbrella of population.

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