Why not use plugins?
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I think i started using plug-ins with the one that entered the code from the 3d warehouse into the model file, so you could update or change the model that had the code on the site even if it was completely new or just forgot to save the file after uploading.
Shortly after that i discovered Smustard and Sketchucation ( i lurked for about a year
), at first i experimented with all the plugins, I installed so many that SU didn't work anymore. After that i just tried installing and using only the ones that I really needed.I'm also amazed that so few people that use SU don't use plug-ins or aren't aware of them, then it's no wonder that most people who are not SU users always have a bad opinion about it.
I certainly got some people interested in SU with some models i din't consider to be my best work, but they were still amazed enough to give SU another try. -
I modelled for 2 yrs without using any plugins. Mainly due to lack of internet connection where i lived and no access to web in work. When i did discover what plugins could achieve it was a difficult crossover to learn new workflow and techniques.
But overall it is amazing what developers are producing for SU at the moment.
As for 'Gurus' it maybe extremely easy to place that label on anyone but to test it is where it gets grey. As SU is used from Architecture to Landscaping to Engineering aspects, a 'Guru' in one field maybe apprentice in the other.
Why not use plugins? Because you have the choice!
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@chris fullmer said:
only 1 person other than myself had heard of Sketchucation.com
Consider yourself lucky, then. At the time of writing this, out of the more than one million SketchUp users, less than 5,000 are SketchUcation members and have visited the forum during this month. That's less than 0.5%, the same proportion of people who live in my city vs. all people in the planet.
So it's not surprising that so few people use plugins, as SketchUcation is pretty much the center of the SketchUp plugins universe and you need to sign up to download them.
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Most other modelers that I know (except of SCF) don't use plugins. Some think plugins have to do with coding and thus would be unnecessarily difficult. And many don't know how to install them (I think dropping a file in a folder is much faster than installation under windows with registry things).
And if you have followed or contributed to the SU Product ideas, you saw that many people request features that already are available as plugins.
When I first opened Sketchup, it reminded me of MS Paint - because of the very basic and primitive tools (although I muchly appreciate that SU tools are 'intelligent'). This is because Sketchup is intended to be the framework, where you add the functions that you really need, I think the solution is the
Sketchup App Store
where you can load and try out plugins directly in SU from a centralized repository. -
@chris fullmer said:
So, why don't people use plugins? Do they just not realize how useful they can be?
i think it's just a lack of awareness.. a lot of SU users probably just don't know they exist or how they could be helpful to them.
i first used weld.rb and was blown away because i no longer had to soften a bunch of lines after an extrusion.. if someone is claiming 'purist' and would rather soften all those lines manually than more power to them i guess..
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@unknownuser said:
if someone is claiming 'purist' and would rather soften all those lines manually then more power to them i guess..
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=then%20more%20power%20to%20you&defid=4304238
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I first discovered the plugins and then started looking for where to plug them
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An interesting thread. I don't use any plug-ins either. I started to, but ran into problems- like having to get to grips with how someone else had written that plug-in, and therefore it wasn't behaving how I would expect it to behave. When there is a deadline to meet, having to learn how a plug-in works can be a frustrating experience! So therefore, I don't use them.
Essentially what I found is that with most plug-ins (not all), what can be done with a plug-in is possible anyway, it's just a case of knowing the 'tricks of the trade', so to speak (I've also got a BSc degree in engineering with CAD, so that really does help somewhat).
I've just modelled an entire local Victorian-Gothic church interior with modifications, in SketchUp, for a commission for a local architect. No plug-ins were used at all. I'll post the results soon (screenshots, I'm afraid, because I'm talking 10 to 15 Mb's!).
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I hear alarmbells when someone proclaims themselves as "gurus". That's usually people who have reaches a sufficient "good enough" level and assume there's nothing more to learn. Truly skilled people realise there's always more to learn and they are usually less likely to call themselves "gurus".
As for discovering plugins. It was some of my co-workers that demonstrated plugins for me. Think it was the mirror plugin - because I was fresh to SU and was looking for a more literal mirror function.
I then spent time looking at the Library Depot which for a long time was my main source of plugins. Then I discovered SCF.
Since I had scripting experience from PHP, JS, VB etc it felt naturally for me to begin to explore making my own plugins after I grew more reliant of plugins to do my work efficiently.But most people in my office doesn't use them. There's only a handful of us. But I am planning to do a demonstration in the office. We have a custom of doing a presentation each friday.
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@tfdesign said:
Essentially what I found is that with most plug-ins (not all), what can be done with a plug-in is possible anyway, it's just a case of knowing the 'tricks of the trade', so to speak (I've also got a BSc degree in engineering with CAD, so that really does help somewhat).
A number of the recent plugins do stuff that's pretty much impossible to do manually.
And some allow you do do repetitive actions in a fraction of the time it takes to do by hand.
In my experience, spending 10-15mins to investigate a new plugin and learn how it works will in the long run save me a great deal of time. -
Maybe using plugins can win some times?
And the life is so short
So I don't understand why not use plugins
And each Guru has always a better Guru over him!
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I spent a long time working with the WordPress team when that blogging engine was version 0.72, and plugins were, and still are, the best way to achieve many goals without bloating the main core of the application itself. More software programs should take a plugin approach, IMO. Just build a solid foundation and a great API and let others add feature-specific functionality. In that way, the program becomes more of a tool box where you get to pick and choose the things you want, and most critically, ONLY the things you NEED.
When I recently downloaded and started to try to make a serious attempt to learn SU, the first thing I did was start a search for a user-based community and PLUGINS. It may be wrong, but I expect a program like SU to be extensible. Anyway, in a very short time, I found Sketchucation, and I never for a moment hesitated to join. My WordPress experience has taught me a lot about the value of dedicated, fanatical, passionate users.
Sure plugins can add to the learning curve, but as Thomas stated, if I may paraphrase, it's "short term pain for long term gain".
I have a question about an earlier comment regarding a plugin called 'SDS'. What's that?
Sketchucation FTW!
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@tfdesign said:
it's just a case of knowing the 'tricks of the trade'
you're right, all the stuff possible with rubies are possible with native SU tools (though i really wouldn't consider attempting an SDS operation manually). a decent understanding of geometry can get you pretty far in this game but still, what you rather do in this situation:
i have an exploded arc that i need the centerpoint location of.. i can either do it as shown in #1 (and then clean all that up afterwards) or i can go with door #2.. clf's 'arc centerpoint fiinder'..
ya dig? -
@nuclearmoose said:
I have a question about an earlier comment regarding a plugin called 'SDS'. What's that?
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Personally, I don't use 3rd party plugins. If I need something not built-in, then I'll write the plugin myself. IMO, installing 3rd party plugins is a security issue that is ignored by most (as far as I know). I'm not willing to take the chance on that possibility, even though it may be small.
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I think that's a bit too much paranoia, you can control who's plug-ins you install.
The best plug-ins are also from a handful of guys who are well trusted here, and also being in a big community, you will also see the reaction of others who have used the plug-ins. -
Stay away from the 'free-porn.rb'
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As plugins are simple text files with a limited 'vocabulary' they don't have the possibility to do much with your computer outside of the Sketchup window. Maybe create millions of spheres and crash Sketchup.
Every one can open .rb (not .rbs) and read what the script does. So if a plugin has been downloaded 1000 times without any critical comments, it will probably do what it should and not create millions of spheres.But you're right, using ruby files from somewhere in the internet could be risky, especially if it's directly from the search results. A plugin repository where plugins have to pass a review (like for firefox plugins) should be more reliable. SCF is something like repository (although I would like to see a unique repository which is directly connected to Sketchup).
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david. does bring up an interesting point, one that I would love to ignore, but Google won't. The reason that Google has given for not being able to create a Google sponsored App store is that ruby opens too many security breaches. Ruby can delete all the contents of your hard drive, install virus, etc. Google has said they can't be responsible for that. So it has been hard to get an app store in plce unfortunately.
Even if the app store scanned the ruby code to see what methods it uses - face.pushpull is safe, but hard_drive.format would not be (I don't think that is the actual name of the method
). So they could scan the code before allowing it to bt uploaded to their app store. But ruby allows code to be downlaoded from anywhere on the internet. So google can't track that, hence a security problem.For now it has been a non-issue, since all of us coders here seem to be trustworthy so far. But it is still a legitimate concern, for Google and users.
As for myself, I use quite a few ruby's, but interestingly, I do not use a lot of them. And I have not mastered any of the geometry manipulating ones like subdivide and smooth (except shape bender and simple loft). But then, I never need to do that stuff. I mostly model boxy cities. So I might never be a full guru since I don't know how to make organic shapes.
Chris
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