Suggestion for how to help New Users
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I've been guiding some friends here to learn SU and this got me thinking.
we have a lot of Ruby's to add in now.. but no what I would call "the Essential Pack" - those Ruby's we would consider as should be part of SU in the first place and put in straight away. ones like Fredoscale etc.
now I'm not saying we put them all in 1 zip to download. I mean basically a thread titled say 'Ruby's Start Here' and then the list of links.
(I know there's the visual thread but I mean more of a 'this is what you should have')
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Hi,
that's a great idea and I hope it's taken up. Personnally I feel that Rubys which are considered essential to me might have no relevance to others. How would we decide which 10 are best for new users if we don't know the new users workflow?
Maybe some simple tutorials with the rubys in use? There is a tutorial on desiggning furniture which show good use of 2 rubys and more like it would help new users develope better understanding of what each particular ruby can do.
When I first started to use rubys I found that I'd install , see what it was like then forget about it. Then realise I needed a ruby for particular task and search only to find out I had it already!
I'm sure there are many more dumbasses like me out there who found it tuff at the start but with each error came enlightenment.
Where am I going with this rant?
Basically I agree and think a tutorial based introduction to commonly used rubys would help new users and maybe issue challenge once tutorial is issued for new users show off their new fuubd skills. Part of the tutorial would include instructions on installation also as some find it daunting enough to mess with their new SU Pro software licence
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Its virtually impossible to offer a plugin pack, since they are developed by so many people and officially hosted in different locations.
But maybe you should poke around in the threads listed in the First thread of the Ruby forum entitled "Ruby Forum Sticky Links". There are some great links to useful Ruby topics.
Perhaps one of the best is the visual plugins index here:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=16909There are LOTS of great topics about plugins in that forum. And there are other topics in various locations here in the SCF that go over this idea of what are the most essential Rubies. Try searching. I think you'll find some good posts about what scripts other people can't live without.
That's a start.
Chris
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chris as I said, I'm not suggesting a pack on offer.
more like a thread saying : ok, you've just got Sketchup and you've found out about Ruby's that you can add to it.
here's some that you'll find useful :
Fredoscale : <link>
Multiface push/pull : <link>like that you see. the Visuals good, and when I first started I raided it.. but without knowing what I was doing and what I should have started out with.. which led to reinstalling and starting over when I had a plugin list longer than my forearm and no idea what I actually had and menu bars out the wazoo...
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Hi,
IMHO it's not a good advise telling beginners to look at plugins.
I would first help them to understand the SU basics. We can do alot without plugins. For me it's like to educate your brain. Then it will always be time to use the other nice tools provided by our great scripters here.As there are so many different user types and needs, it will be quite impossible to define "THE" list. But you can find some users trying to it for specific purpose like DaveR is doing here for woodworkers:
http://finewoodworking.taunton.com/item/16794/plugins-an-updated-listThe visual Plugin Index mentionned by Chris is an excellent way to show what a plugin is doing in a few seconds. This has probably to be continued. Just my 2cts.
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Hi Pilou,
Unfortunately, i'm unable to access that link?
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Slan,
to reach Pilou's list you've to be registered in the French Forum.
To do that:
User Control Panel > Usergroups > select french forum -
I am never too keen to advise rubys straight away, believing the basics of modeling should be learnt first.
I think it is better for newbies to read through the forums and tutorials to pick up much of the helpful information available here. -
Like many above, (at least here, in the Newbie Dept.) I also try to avoid directing beginners to plugins whenever it's possible. And while I understand that (say) at a "Pre-Intermediate" level, after playing around with SU and understanding the basics and the whole concept, one will eventually get introduced to plugins and suddenly faces with literally hundreds of them and cannot decide which one he/she may need or be interested in.
But I wouldn't even suggest anything so complex as FredoScale for the first. And honestly; I coul;dn't even imagine what should be suggested. Pilou's link above contains lots of plugins that are of course great but if a newbie installs them all at once, will be lost forever.
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I think my first plugin was probably make faces, or MAYBE simplify contours. I was importing terrains from autocad.
If you feel like there is some critical document for beginners about how to use plugins that is missing, you would be best to write it yourself. Since you know what you think is missing, only you can put in the content that you think should be there. Then post it and get comments and crits.
Sketchucation has a great tutorial forum where you could post it. Maybe if its well received it even gets put together as a tutorial in the SCF Tutorials section.
Chris
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