Top 3 SU plugins

TIG

@chris fullmer said:

@dave r said:

I end up using it once in awhile on models others send me but I have adopted a practice in which I never set any layer other than the default as active.

Same here, but if you explode a group/component that was on a different layer, its entities will get moved onto the layer the group was on - thereby taking them off layer 0. So that has caused me some pain in the past.
Chris

This http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=282640#p282640 puts exploded group's entities on the layers that they were on inside the group...

jason_maranto

I had a hard time deciding but I set for myself the criteria of only selecting 3 free plugins that almost any user would benefit from having.

SketchyFFD: Massively useful and simple to free form distort geometry.
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=25801&start=0

RoundCorner: Simple but powerful tool for rounding and beveling geometry.
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=20485&hilit=Round+Corner

JointPushPull: Amazing upgrade to Sketchups native push/pull concept.
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=6708

Best,
Jason.

Bertier

Center of Gravity & it's repoter, thank you TIG
Cutlist, thank you Steve
Default Scene, thank you Pout

EarthMover

I have a lot of "favorite" plugins that do really cool stuff, but if there were a tracker on my PC that logged which plugins I used most often, it would probably be -

Selection Toys
Joint Push Pull
Edge Tools (Divide Face)

Although Purge All, Weld, Make Faces and Fredo Scale are probably also in the running for top 3 most used plugins in my arsenal.

mozzie

Put on Layer (most used)!
Points cloud v6 (relocatable origin version) - merci, Didier!
Curviloft (most extraordinary, and irreplaceable)

Also, Tools on surface, Pipe along Path, Weld, and Cleanup are wonderful.

urgen

....Unfortunately, the three major plug-in is not enough for me ... I often use in the same proportion in the 10-12

Bob James

I've just downloaded "Default Layer Geometry": I really need that and it will undoubtedly become one of my frequently used plugins (I just must keep everything on layer 0 until everything is built!)

I have many of the complex plugins that are indispensable when I need them (curviloft, vertex tools, Tools on Surface, Extrude Along....,etc.), but

For every day general use:
Nudge (Doesn't anyone use this: I'd be lost without it.)
Options
JSAlign
Layer Tools and Layer Manager
Edge Styles
1001bit Tools

And, somewhat less often, but still a lot:
Round Corner
Profile Builder
BZ Toolbar
Weld
Extrude Lines
Arc Centerpoint Finder
Tube along path

For final tuning:
Repaint and Cleanup

And, of course, when the model is ready:
Thea Exporter

Pixero

@bob james said:

For every day general use:
...
JSAlign
...

Wow, I made it on the list. Thanks.

Prisoner

For me it's

round corner (using it all the time)
Fredo Scale (dito)
1001bit tools (they speed up so many things for me)

Oh, and never go without Purge; couldn't survive without it, since I hate poly/texture size/whatever counting.

A great UV toolset would instantly appear on my list... hint hint.

tfdesign

@prisoner said:

A great UV toolset would instantly appear on my list... hint hint.

What is wrong with the UV toolset written by Thom? Could you not use those?

Bob James

@pixero said:

@bob james said:

For every day general use:
...
JSAlign
...

Wow, I made it on the list. Thanks.

Actually it's QJSAlign, but that's just to get the neat icons

Prisoner

@tfdesign said:

@prisoner said:

A great UV toolset would instantly appear on my list... hint hint.

What is wrong with the UV toolset written by Thom? Could you not use those?

Right, I should give it a try again. Last time I used it it couldn't do what I needed (mapping imported 3ds files), have to give it another try. Thanks for reminding me.

utiler

@bob james said:

I've just downloaded "Default Layer Geometry": I really need that and it will undoubtedly become one of my frequently used plugins (I just must keep everything on layer 0 until everything is built!)

I have many of the complex plugins that are indispensable when I need them (curviloft, vertex tools, Tools on Surface, Extrude Along....,etc.), but

For every day general use:
Nudge (Doesn't anyone use this: I'd be lost without it.)
Options
JSAlign
Layer Tools and Layer Manager
Edge Styles
1001bit Tools

And, somewhat less often, but still a lot:
Round Corner
Profile Builder
BZ Toolbar
Weld
Extrude Lines
Arc Centerpoint Finder
Tube along path

For final tuning:
Repaint and Cleanup

And, of course, when the model is ready:
Thea Exporter

Hey, that's a good top 3, Bob.....

Bob James

@utiler said:

Hey, that's a good top 3, Bob.....

Oh, I thought it was the top three categories

Seriously, the top three depend heavily on what project I'm working on. But since you've busted me here are my

top three non-project-dependent rubies:
Nudge
Options
QJSAlign

pilou

Nudge ?
Nudge orbit by Tig ?

Bob James

Nudge by Todd Burch (it's on Smustard).

It's $16.00, but worth every penny (It was $8.00 when I bought it back in 2006 ). It's old, but, for me, very useful every day.

I tried "moveit", but it only works on groups and components (at least when I tried it).

pilou

Thx for the info

jeff hammond

@bob james said:

Nudge by Todd Burch (it's on Smustard).

It's $16.00, but worth every penny (It was $8.00 when I bought it back in 2006 ). It's old, but, for me, very useful every day.

I tried "moveit", but it only works on groups and components (at least when I tried it).

and that differs 16 bucks worth from standard move ??
i don't get it.

Dragoonprogramming

mine have to be:
1Roof maker(roofs are a pain and this plugin makes it considerably easier)
2Scf Power Toolbar
3Curve tool

fuzzion

Sketchup is good at creating basic shapes. IT is NOT 3dsmax or maya. However, when you want organic shapes, nicely chambered edges, twisting and radial bending
and other sorts done quick yet look professional on par with 3dsmax, you incorporate plugins.

Ofcourse skethcup can do these to some extent I love SU too, but lets be honest, the Plugin industry for sketchup is a brilliant idea since it could follow the same model
of app stores for droid.

My favourite 3 are (excluding vray)

1- Round Corner (Almost everything in life has some rounded edge too it. This program chambers everything you select like 3dsmax)

2- SDS ( everyones talked about what this is )

3- TGI3D for SU Amorph ( Organic modelling toolset. One of the best feature is upscale. Although primarily aimed at organic modelling, i use it on downloaded models from warehouse and increase polygon count by up to 100x making them look superbly sexy) http://www.tgi3d.com/index.php?Page=Amorph&VideoID=15705085&field=content6