[Plugin] Plugin Loader for SketchUp

MALAISE

Hi Alex

About 117 readers and no reply! Shame on us!

Thanks

MALAISE

alexschreyer

Hi Malaise, thanks for caring. I didn't count on much, though since it was just an announcement...

Cheers,
Alex

ken

Hi Alex

I use you plugin “Loader” and greatly appreciate all the work you have done. My drop down plugin menu, is now shorter and manageable.

Along with all the new directories I have for plugins, I now have a directory called Test Plugin, that I store new plugins until I am sure they work as advertised.

Some time ago, I had a plugin that was causing an error on loading Sketchup. It took some time to test each and every plugin to find the culprit. So, I was wondering how hard, for me it would be impossible, to add a menu items, an unload separate, or unload directory to your plugin.

Again thanks for all you work.

Ken

Oops! I guess I should have read your web page completely. Never mind.

Again thanks.

pecan

The download link is broken. The big green download button returns a 404 page not found.

dtrarch

Alex

THX from SOCal too.
Very usefull for many moons.

dtr

alexschreyer

The download link is fixed now. My WordPress download plugin seems to have reset itself...

Cheers,
Alex

plot-paris

Alex, that looks like a damn useful plugin.

what I would love to see (no idea how that could work though - web dialogs maybe?), is some sort of menu, where you can tick and untick checkboxes to load rubies.
so you define one or more source folders. and all the rubies in there are shown in a list, each loaded folder being a separate paragraph in that list. thus one could sort all the plugins in different groups (like CAD plugins, organic plugins, rendering plugins...).

then for every plugin you have two checkbox options. one for manually loading/unloading a plugin and one for permanently loading a plugin at startup (when the latter is ticked, the first box for manually loading plugins is greyed out of course...).

what do you think? possible? impossible? useful?

alexschreyer

I also think that what you mention would be great functionality. But I don't know how to unload a plugin or function. If anyone knows how to do that, then please let me know. Using checkboxes for loading should be easy.

Cheers, Alex

zafiris

@alexschreyer said:

Hi All,

Just some minor changes to my plugin loader. E.g. I finally spelled SketchUcation correctly . You can get the new version here:
http://www.alexschreyer.net/projects/plugin-loader-for-sketchup/

11/5/2010: I just updated this to version 1.2!

Cheers,
Alex

dtrarch

Alex

Much appreciated and thanks.

dtr

derei

Is it just me, or Plugin Loader don't load properly .rbs files?
I tried to load BoolTools (payed plugin - it have booltools.rbs) and failed. Also failed to load from console too. It loaded after sketchup restart. As I know, rbs files are just scrambled, but the code is still there, waiting to be interpreted... it should load in same manner, shouldn't it?

gilles

Hi and thank you,
You wrote on your blog

@unknownuser said:

Alternatively, you can save the contained files anywhere (e.g. your USB memory stick – the H: drive in my case) and then load it into SketchUp (no restart required!) by opening the Ruby Console (Window > Ruby Console) and entering this (modify for your setup):

load "H:\PluginLoader.rb"

This is exactly what I need.
When I extract the ZIP I get this:

(file)PluginLoader
as_loadpluginloader.rb
as_pluginloader_readme.txt
as_pluginloader.rb
(file)as_plugins
(file)as_pluginloader
as_pluginloader.rb

My question is : what command line should I type in the Ruby Console as I work on Mac an my key is named USB?

Thanks in advance.

tspco

I looked around a bit here and on Alex's site, but I still have an question. If I understand this right, if I install the plugin loader, do I need to move my less used plugins to another folder then "link" to it from within the loader? I did not see anything, mentioning this in my brief search.

goatboy

Gee:

Just not my day...

I get this error message now (deleted: 000_AdditionalPluginFolders.rb) but that didn't seem to help.

In my preferences, I can see the Plugin Loader under extensions, and I have installed in the rbz and the zip...I think I know what I am doing as some of my previous rubies load...

Help!

TIG

Goatboy

At first it looked like the 'as_' scripts were testing for 'file_loaded?' before its creator 'sketchup.rb' was loaded [typically with a require ...].
But having checked the code for that in the current toolset, it does use require 'sketchup.rb' early in the code, so that should run OK IF sketchup.rb is loading.

Do you have other scripts loading successfully?
If so which ones??

Do you have the file 'sketchup.rb' inside the Sketchup Tools folder [where it ought to be]?
If the file is not there Repair/Reinstall Sketchup to get it back.
Do you have a version of the file 'sketchup.rb' inside the Sketchup Plugins folder ? If so then remove it - it must NOT be there - some older rogue toolbar-compilations installers did that, subtly breaking Sketchup...

Also ensure that you have FULL security permissions [under Window's right-click context-menu Properties] to the folders in the Sketchup folder that you will want to right to from time to time - Plugins, Components, Materials, Styles and Tools...

If it still doesn't work on a restart please type or copy+paste these three lines into the Ruby Console and report back with their results...
Sketchup.find_support_file('sketchup.rb','Plugins')
and
Sketchup.find_support_file('sketchup.rb','Tools')
and then
$LOAD_PATH

goatboy

TIG:

Awesome!

First: I did have sketchup.rb in the plugins.

Second: I moved it to 'tools', but still had the same errors and no ruby console.

Third: I had to uninstall/reinstall SU8pro. I saved the Plugins in a separate place, too, but when I reinstalled, many rubies, including the 'links' worked, that had not. And: the 'Ruby Console' reappeared under windows...I don't know when it disappeared. I ran the code you suggested and have attached the following along with the new errors.

I will reload 'sandboxtools' and 'actloader' as my 'plugins' folder was not destroyed in the uninstall/reinstall and I suspect I screwed up those folders before all of this.

FYI:

Trimble 'does not support ruby script' and did not offer any useful assistance.

Thanks to all at SketchUcation.com .

SU8 errors.pdf

TIG

I didn't say to move the Plugins 'sketchup.rb' file into Tools - I said remove it - it is almost undoubtedly an older version unsuited to the current Sketchup version.
The one in Tools is the good one - if it was simply missing a 'Repair' should have fixed it.

Now... in response to your PDF error images...

The 'GetString' method is created by 'langhandler.rb' which must be in Tools [only!].
If a script like 'actloader' is trying to use it and it hasn't initially run require 'langhandler.rb' then it will fail, if no other script has required/loaded it beforehand, because the Tools scripts load after the Plugins scripts, unless they are 'required' earlier by a script in Plugins...
Incidentally what is this 'actloader' ? I don't have it in my Plugins ??

The 'sandboxtools.rb' is failing because 'DefaultManager' hasn't been set - this is because you have 'sandboxtools.rb' in Plugins [!!!] it belongs inside the Tools folder...
This is a list of the files and their subfolders that live in Tools [you might not have ALL of these as some are additions I've added myself!]. Compare the list with your own Tools folder. If ANY of these listed files/folders are duplicated [or even exist 'alone'] inside the Plugins folder then please remove them - a sure fired way to break Sketchup is to have things in the wrong folders...
The find_support_file results now look OK, but the misplaced files issue noted above seems more widespread than I had initially suspected...

The error with Fredo's version-checker is because the SCF forum htpp address changed some weeks ago and it relies on it. The latest version of Fredo's Lib fixes this - download it from here... http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=144178#p144178

goatboy

Thanks, TIG.

The only reason why I placed sketchup.rb in 'tools' was because it wasn't there when I looked (because I had already moved it in my initial mistake . When I did the re-install, I (presume) it updated?

Thank you for the 'capture' of the 'tools' directory. I will have to verify what I now have.

All of this was definitely my fault, as I incorrectly tried to 'fix' the ruby problem myself in the beginning, by moving some key 'rubies' from 'tools' to 'plugins' since I thought I had incorrectly 'unzipped' them during the original install of desired 'rubies'...

As to the mystery 'actloader.rb'? I have no idea what it is/was...

Lesson learned: DON'T move stuff around in SU without reading forum first!

Rich O Brien

actloader.rb is related to Advanced Camera Tools

C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google SketchUp 8\Tools\AdvancedCameraTools

It should be located here along with advancedcameratools_main.rbs and 2 folders