https://sites.google.com/site/3dbasecamp2008/all-sessions-2008/sketchup-and-autocad I remember this talk as being incredibly useful. I also am first brained autocad but have now trained myself to be kind of dual brained. I have found that staying efficient in both means perhaps being less than optimal on each particular program. I find myself doing a lot of copy/move in sketch-up so the ends don't stick together. I then go back and erase the original. I think there must be quite a few sketchup for autocad users tutorials out there but if not I will dig out the stuff I posted to youtube when I was teaching and Autocad class with sketchup thrown in as the sweetener.

Pleas remember that SketchUp models objects in REAL 3d, so you use squares, rectangles, circles, boxes etc... and then VIEW them in way that produces 'Axo' or 'Iso' views, which can then be used to make images... Search the 'Plugins Index' [accessed from the Resources menu above] for my longstanding toolset 'Axo + Iso View'... This will make a 30/30 Iso view for you... As others have said - please learn to attach images/files to your posts - you are likely to get a better response when other members don't have to go off elsewhere to view what is in essence a simple image that could have been integral to your post...

As explained the lone RB/RBS files are effectively unchanged by the newer version, but more complex toolsets come in ZIP archives that need extracting properly into the Plugins folder keeping subfolder structures intact - this has been the source of many user misunderstandings and errors. Recent changes to SketchUp v8 have introduced a special RBZ archive file format - basically it's a ZIP archive with a renamed file-type extension - that SketchUp recognizes and auto-installs when you click on the appropriate button... Even better than that... thomthom has made a 'Simple Plugins Installer' that works in these more recent versions of SketchUp v8. You can download it from the 'Plugins Index' here. Once you have that installed - and as it's an RBZ archive you can easily installed it from the Preferences > Extensions button +restart - it can then be used from its new Plugins menu submenu... It allows you to browse to and auto-install/load tools/extensions from RBZ & ZIP archives AND also install individual tool's from RB & RBS files: auto-extracting them as necessary and placing them and any subfolders of files etc correctly into your Plugins folder[ without you worrying that you might have mis-installed something or have chosen the wrong folder etc... EDIT: PS: The issue with the TT Lib seems that you have not extracted/insatlled it properly. I suspect that the subfolder+file that is needed to be directly inside Plugins are actually inside another subfolder of that same name, made when you unzipped things... Move things out of this containing folder into Plugins, remembering to keep all of the Lib sub-subfolder's files intact within it... OR much more safely why not remove the whole lot and restart - using the archive itself - with the 'Simple Installer' as explained above

Maybe we could say that 3D Basecamp was for those who attended.

A 2d DXF export makes everything out of CAD 'lines'. You can of course [pre]adjust an arc or circle's segmentation, either as you create it [type Ns before entering the radius where N is the number of segments] or you can adjust it later on in 'Entity Info' - provided you haven't incorporated it into a 3d form, when it will become 'fixed'. You can also [pre]adjust the segment count in other SKP 'curve' types [again provided that they are no yet in a 3d form] by using 'Bezier Tools' [available from the 'Plugins Index' here...]. A 3d DXF export makes SKP arcs/circles as CAD real 'arcs'/'circles' [segmentation is ignored]; however other SKP 'curves' will remain as a collection of line segments.

This is (indeed) most of the times a sign of some graphics card deficiency (like inadequate card, not updated driver) but to be honest, usually happens on PC's as (AFAIK) Macs handle this more automated and drivers are part of the OS more than on Windows.

Oh, I see. Thanks!

My SolidSolver now resolves many errors - but nothing is infallible, if you want to contrive a form that has enough convolution in the errors nothing can fix it but some hard work !

You can also try to copy everything in your model, open a completely new, empty file and use Edit > Paste in place. Now try to save this new file. (Sometimes something gets corrupt in a file while - most of - the geometry would otherwise be fine)

@dave r said: Faces have a front face and a back face. The default back face color in the style you used in the SKP file you posted is blue while the front is white. Blue faces should all be on the inside of the model and not exposed. Painting the faces can mask the face orientation but it doesn't fix the problem. Okay, never knew that could make a difference. thanks for the tip.

Hi folks. The report generator (File menu --> generate Report) of SketchUp Pro is not very flexible. In supplement to the problem already mentionned, it cannot cope with a decimal separator set to use the coma instead of the dot and the semicolon as a list separator instead of the comma. With such a setup, It put all data that are on the same row into only one cell while it should be in 14 cells across each row. I had to revert to using dot as the decimal separator for this reason and also for two more: 1 - The dot on the numerical keypad don't generate a comma. When inputting a lot of numbers, it is improductive to have to switch to the main keyboard to get a comma. The funny part is that it works OK on the Mac version of SU. It also works OK with Excel both on PC and Mac. why not with SU on PC ? Go figure. 2 - It is impossible to input an absolute set of coordinates when moving an object. Typing [100;200;300] produces only ] in the Measurement Box. Just ideas. Jean

I replied to your PM. You are to be commended on your cheek, good sir!

Or here: http://sketchucation.com/resources/tutorials/36-intermediate/115-internal-external-components#external-components (Indeed, "expand" the external component view to see the nested child components)

'SCF Search' ? 'SCF' == SketchUcation Forum 'Search' is the menu option...

Yes. It does sound like lots to learn. Although you can move the origin (the place where the axes cross) I would suggest you don't make a habit of it. As it is it gives you a good reference for the ground plane and which way is up (solid blue points up). My suggestion would be to get in the habit of drawing your models near the origin. This will help head off a number of problems. When I am drawing a project that has some sort of orientation I put the front left corner of it at the origin and work to the right and back. I always do this and it makes things like the standard views provide predictable results.

Thanks for the responses. Yes, the black dots are probably what are shown in the video. Since the endpoint inference dot is a different color, and I'm drawing in parallel projection/top view and not trying to inference anything, I thought the flashing black dot might have been a cardinal point. I guess it's an inference. http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j320/DrawMeAPicture/cardinalpoint.png

Draw the shape of the hole in the desired location over the decking. Use Push/Pull to push the shape of the hole through the decking. Select the geometry of both the "hole" and the decking, right click on it, choose Intersect Faces>With Selection. Delete the waste. Note that the "hole" and the decking must be in the same context. So if the decking is a component you must open it for editing and draw the hole inside.

... CatchUp - SketchUcation magazine... you'll love it! Look for the tab at the top of the page [image: RcbJ_catchuptab.jpg]

Hi folks. I already answered this kind of question. Click in sequence on the scenes tabs of this SU file for ideas: Array of holes.skp Notice that it covers both through holes as well as blind holes.

I would suggest Twilight - it's an integrated plugin, very simple to use, and best of all, renders animations very well.