okay- SU was hanging for some other reason; removing date.rb from the Tools folder has made the dialog box go away. who knows what else will be affected, but at least all is well right now. Thanks for the input.

Yep! Thanks Massimo, that was lightning fast feedback! cheers Andre

Here is a brief explanation on how it is done. I separated it as 3 different jpeg exports. Shading, shadow, and sketchy edges. All you have to do is save a scene so your camera stays locked. Then start exporting jpegs with different styles. Shading = Shaded style edges off (White material). Shadows = Hidden line edges on (white edges). Edges = Any Sketchy edge style you prefer. In photoshop run some filters on the shading and shadow passes. I used alien skin snap art which isn't free but you can use a combination of native photoshop filters with similar results. Then set those 2 layers to multiply and adjust the opacity to your liking. I attached an example of the process. Pardon the crappy model I used as an example. [image: sketchyshadowresponse.jpg] If you have any questions please feel free to pm me.

Organizer 1.4 is now available. To update to Organizer 1.4, you have three possible options: Use the download link you previously received when you purchased your license. If you don't have it, then Use the "MySmustard" button on the free Smustard Toolbar. Register using the email address provided when you purchased your license. If you don't have that account, or if you just don't want to install the Smustard Toolbar (which also gives you access to relevant upgrade offers), then Email me and I'll hunt down your information. If too many need/choose this option, my response may be delayed, and I may need to come up with an alternative method.

Excellent. There's already a script out there that does this, but it does not work very well for me. Specifically, it often selects a vertex behind the one I want, and then gives an incorrect angle. It would be much better if you could restrict it to act only in a given plane, like the native protractor tool. The existing script by Didier Bur is called dim_angle.rb, and can be found here: http://www.crai.archi.fr/RubyLibraryDepot/Ruby/em_arc_page.htm

@tig said: or Matt666's PointTool.rb - here http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=95648#p95648 thank you, TIG, this is the one!

There is a plugin ,driving dimensions ,maybe its a start towards what you are looking for. http://drivingdimensions.com/SketchUp/faq.php Bep

@tig said: Try this... http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=183609#p183609 Thanks a billion!

PS see also: This topic. This clip cg

@xrok1 said: Maybe if you change the name you'll get more response. hmmm... what about Outganizer Yes thanks I'm open to all suggestions. Perhaps a name that captures the idea of nesting sets of scenes and components as shown in this "Reform" part of the machine? Don't think Outganiser does that really. [image: L1s8_Previewreformversion2.png]

The behaviour with open components apparently pre-dates the SU ruby API. Tyler provided that bit of info.

@jim said: Cross-platform? Possibly. I guess it can happen when scripts are loading that there is no active_model yet ... Note in this post Finally, there is a difference in the way that the Mac boots up SketchUp that you should be cautious about: there is no Sketchup.active_model when the Ruby scripts are first loaded. So if your script is making changes to the active_model at load time, it will not work on the Mac. The answer? Ensure code that references the active model is part of a UI event handler, responding to the user selecting a tool or a menu item. You can also use an AppObserver to get a callback whenever a new model is opened, at which point it's safe to talk to the active_model.

@rickw said: Only to the extent that if the original author didn't make it Organizer I have been working at making my plugins compatible. Although Organizer is not a free script, I want to support my users who do use it. Particulary for single-file scripts, it's as easy as: ($submenu || UI.menu('Plugins')).add_item("Menu Text") { command } And yes it does work if the script is scrambled.

@fabiorossi said: anyone knows a plugin through which you can increase the polygons of a curved surface, for example if I have the lateral surface of a cylinder obtained by extruding a circle with a bit number of segments How do I increase that number of segments without having to shared by a circle with multiple numbers of segments? thanks!! hey brother , i just joined the forum recently , so i am sry ur reply is a year late but anyway if u havent got it yet u can increase the segments on any arc or polygon by just giving it a right click and clicking on entity info , a small window will open in which u will find segment written in it , just increase the segments as u want . as i said just thought of giving it a try even if its too late

I'd also love to see a good "skinning" plugin. I my case, I need to skin something like this:[image: 2POX_Murin_small.jpg]

I can't even begin to answer a lot of your database questions as I don't do a lot of programming. However, I do understand components. We manufacture custom HVAC ducting and piping, so while the component list is small, the need for the list work is still there. So, I made a dynamic component of a flange, with a bolt pattern. See my attached sketchup file using this dynamic component. Under file, click generate report. Using the native tools with sketchup, this seems at the very least feasible to me. With the report generator, I am able to harvest the information I need with the ItemCode section, which would let me identify my large components. The small component information can be used to build my device with the proper CNC machining equipment. Although it has X,Y,Z information that is relative to the coordinates of the minor components, it would require simple vector addition to get the precise location of each hole in the model, and feed that to the CNC. Working in reverse is a bit more complicated, but dynamic components would make working in reverse possible (an advantage). You could edit the data in your tables, use a script to redraw the dynamic component with the updated values, and viola! It would be updated. X, Y, Z and LenX, LenY, LenZ values would be recalculated and ready for the CNC. This does take some time however, as well designed dynamic components would take time. Unfortunately, this will not be updated instantaneously. There would have to be a request for redraw, or a request to save the generated report, so these scripts could not be used if you wanted instantaneous information. Still, it would beat working with the sometimes buggy "observers" of ruby. And the report generator is actually a ruby script (so you could make it anew). The only issue I would see then is finding someway of having your ASP net "ping" sketchup to regenerate the report and redraw the model. Dynamic Hole 2.skp

I'll look at it. Maybe I will be able to write it in the future. Thanks.

@thomthom said: Does it manage existing rubys as well? Management is not the main focus of this installer. I think if plugin installation were easier, more people would try plugins. And with an option to completely remove them, it may lower any barriers further. I clearly don't want to clobber a users plugins folder, but that's just a matter of checking what is already there. I wouldn't know how to get information about the origin of all the files in the Plugins folder. I do agree the issues of installation and management are closely related. But if I can get the installer installed, and developers to package for the installer, installing becomes easier for everyone, as does upgrading plugins. I want a safe and reliable installer/un-installer first. For developers, most plugins can be "installed" from their current .zip files - it simply un-zips the archive to the Plugins folder. Beyond that, I am thinking about options for pre- and post-install scripts, as well as pre- and post-removal scripts so developers can do some preparation or cleanup if needed when their .zips are installed.

Thanks! I will try to find that plugin. The path has to be level across the walkway as it goes down. Sort of like a winding downhill stair case. I just wanted to do it with a component or predefined face. (Sorry if the question was basic) Thanks! Stuart

@unknownuser said: @whaat said: I wonder if I can pass the binary string from a WebDialog back to Ruby using a callback function and then write the file to the user's temp directory? Does this sound possible? why not ? just try it have in mind that window.location might have a size limitation (depends on the browser) - so more than 2000 chars can bring trouble I've not tried this, but Chris mentioned you can store data in hidden input fields and extract data from there. http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=21166#p177786