Thanks. Yes I have always found Layout very frustrating and it is only because I have bought a new computer with a lot more RAM that I am even considering it. I think I am getting there with a system that works for me - a few more weeks and hopefully I will have it cracked. Thanks for your reply.

I would not get put off by the shape It is all quite basic geometry and simple machining. The shape of the leg is basically a 'Squashed' baseball bat, scaled down upon its longest axis. This could be achieved with the "follow me tool" It is basically "Lathe" in other programs. Then a bit of it is removed by putting a box or plane against the "leg" and look at 'intersect faces' to remove the box or plane leaving a flat bit on the lathed leg to fit against the flat side of the body. You are subtracting a plane or box from the lathed leg. I have attached an image of basically how you could do a leg. It is not in proportion though.[image: G8VA_Dogleg.jpg] Hope this is some help

Yes. That works, too. The best way to create dashed line and of course control line weights is to do it in LayOut.

Hi Tony, firstly my 'out clause'....I am definatley not a computer guru . I have recently posted "what graphics card" (might pay to check out that thread) I was having the same issue as you. I am now running 16 gig of RAM with a gainward Z77 nvidia 660 on a high speck quad core I5 3.4 GHZ. I WAS running an small AZUS graphics card. When I changed to the "bells and whistles" Nvidia 660 not much changed. . I am assuming you are doing commercial developments/streetscapes, as I sometimes do which end up being BIG models, you wish to turn on shadows to set them for rendering....."sketchup not responding" If that is the case it seems Sketchup itself is the limiting factor and it does not have a big GPU dependency at all. I hope the developers can do something about this as it seems to me computer graphics/RAM/processing has caught up to the limitation of SU for large Architectural models with lots of detail. Thats my experience for what it is worth. Click on this link. http://www.vtc.com/products/GoogleSketchUpPro8/Introduction/99227

You are right The standard 'en' template-set does indeed have 'mm' versions - as the 'b' types ['a' types are 'inch']. During ATC training I had to make a 'mm' training-template for the UK, because there isn't one for 'training' - only a=inch/b=meter - so that's where my memory broke down......

And the sheet needs to be as long as the curve . I did it with shape bender for the attached device . You can do it manually though if you divide the sheet in 24 segments equal with the length of the circle's segments and then you rotate all the segments of the sheet to match the circle . [image: BGRD_BioLitestove4byEliseiDesign.jpg] [image: cLpM_BioLitestove3abyEliseiDesign.jpg]

Ramzez Welcome. SCF IS a very liberal forum. It is dedicated to all things related to SketchUp... Plus some 'silliness' in the Corner-bar now and again. We will welcome anything you show us relating to your use of SketchUp, and even the more obtuse construction techniques like bales, roofs etc... We will also try to help you to achieve these goals... But please be aware that extreme view points or protracted polemic will not be tolerated by Moderators in any of the open forums - so don't get dragged into debates on Raelism, or for that matter any 'extreme-views' - no matter how 'true' they might seem to you - like Atheism, Christianity, Islam, Creationism or a hundred and one other things that others will ultimately take issue against - whilst these ideas might be central to ones life they are not suitable fodder for debate here at SCF... there are many other places where these can be freely aired and argued ad nauseam... My preemptive warning-shot over your bows is now completed... It's no every day that a Raelian joins SCF so openly - so I at least welcome your candor about that. So, I hope you will become a useful member of this community; and give and learn in equal measure. **Bienvenue. SCF est un forum très libérale. C'est dédié à toutes les choses liées à SketchUp... Plus quelques «bêtise» dans le coin-bar de temps en temps. Nous accueillerons tout ce que vous nous montrer relatives à votre utilisation de SketchUp, et même les techniques de construction plus obtus comme ballots de paille, toits, etc .. Nous allons aussi essayer de vous aider à atteindre ces objectifs ... Mais s'il vous plaît soyez conscient que les points de vue extrêmes ou prolongées polémique ne sera pas toléré par les modérateurs dans l'un des forums ouverts - il ne faut pas se laisser entraîner dans des débats sur Raelism, ni d'ailleurs aucune «extrême-vues» - peu importe comment «vrai» qu'il n'y paraît à vous - comme l'athéisme, christianisme, islam, le créationnisme ou mille et une autres choses que d'autres finiront par prendre contre le problème - bien que ces idées pourraient être au cœur de la vie ne sont pas celles du fourrage approprié pour un débat ici au SCF ... il ya beaucoup d'autres endroits où ceux-ci peuvent être librement diffusés et ont fait valoir ad nauseam ... Mon avertissement préventif coup sur la proue de votre bateau est maintenant terminée ... Ce n'est pas tous les jours qu'un Raëlien se joint à SCF aussi ouvertement - je au moins accueillir votre franchise à ce sujet. Donc, j'espère que vous allez devenir un membre utile de cette communauté, et de fournir et d'apprendre dans une égale mesure.**

Because there's nothing in it.

@cuddlebunny said: What i did before was to make the walls on layer 0 then group them send them to their layer and when i need to work on the walls i`d have the wall layer active and visible and draw the lines on that wall layer, i see now that was my problem. Yes. That is the problem. @cuddlebunny said: If i understand right, when i need to work on my wall group thats on is on the wall layer i must make sure layer 0 is active with the wall layer visible and draw all lines in the 0 layer. Really the thing to do is leave Layer 0 active at all times. If you need to edit your wall group which is on the Wall layer, you'll open the group for editing and make the needed changes. At that point you'll be working on Layer 0 where all the other geometry is. As layers and visibility are concerned, I often use the analogy of the cloaking device on the Romulan Bird of Prey spaceship. (Did you ever watch the original Star Trek series?) The Romulans would activate the cloaking device which would make the ship invisible. It would still be there but it couldn't be seen. In the same way, turning off the visibility of a layer associated with a group or component cloaks the edges and faces inside. @cuddlebunny said: Thank you Dave for taking your time to explain this to me hopefully now i can finish my first model. You're welcome.

Thanx a lot! That helps!!!

I have to regrettably confess that I do not use Outliner either. The only time I open it is when there is a question about it in the forums.

John, I was thinking about the same thing. It is a much better tool for designing boat hulls. I've used it a few times and it would be my choice over SketchUp for its intended purpose.

What do your styles have to do with textures? What face style have you chosen for your new styles?

Bem vindo! This is a great place to hang out, Chris

Thanks....they are updating and its not available at this time... eccowboy

Great thank you guys.

If I had to do it, I would: Draw my rolling hills inside a group, totally separate from the city grid. Then I'd move it directly underneath the city. Then I would drape the city roads onto the terrain. Do this part in small increments as it is quite likely it will crash sketchup a lot. So grab about a blow worth of the city terrain and drape it. If it doesn't crash, save the file, then move on to the next block. If it does crash, open the model and try doing only half the block. Then once all the roads and parcels are draped, I would use drop.rb from http://www.smustard.com to drop all the building straight down onto the terrain. Many will end up with corners showing above the terrain, so then move them down the rest of the way until they are entirely hidden. This will not work as easily as I describe if your buildings have entry doors and such as they could end up partially buried. Anyhow, that's how I do it. Good luck! Chris

@grizzler said: ..., I need something that will get me from A to B without too much difficulty. My suggestions would be: Look for a renderer that is under current and ongoing development. These are more likely to offer decent documentation and active user forums, as well as optimizations for today's hardware. Once you've found a renderer to try, go to youtube and/or vimeo and look for video tutorials made with that particular renderer software. So, search on youtube for "XYZ renderer tutorial" or something like that. Seeing someone work through the selections while setting up a render session can be much more helpful that reading through poorly worded, overly technical documentation. You usually have to view multiple tutorials in order to 'catch' tips, suggestions and explanations for the arcane stuff that is inevitable in rendering software. Rendering software is full of technical jargon that sounds like complete and impenetrable gibberish to a rendering newbie--it's a technical subject all its own and it's tough to get a basic footing in it. Perhaps start first with truly free rendering software, like Kerkythea or LuxRender or Blender, since there is no artificial time limit on your use of the software. That will give you plenty of time to search for understandable tutorials and to practice at rendering. Lots of the knowledge you gain will transfer into other rendering software later on if you decide to then go for a licensed software.

Thanks Gaieus, great answear.

Goodnight Dave.......Goodnight cotty