V6.0 compatibility

honoluludesktop · 27 Nov 2010, 16:18

The menu icon images for one of my plugins fail to show with Su v6. The buttons show, but no image. It works OK with v7 and v8. The code for the menu is:

select_tb = UI::Toolbar.new("Select Components") cmd2 = UI::Command.new("Select First Component") { hdt_clear_select_component } cmd2.small_icon = "my_select_button_start.png" cmd2.large_icon = "my_select_button_start.png" cmd2.tooltip = "First Instance" select_tb.add_item(cmd2)

As far as I can tell, the methods are v6 compatible. However the icons are on the large side. I didn't size them down since they worked OK in v7, and v8. Anyone with an idea where else I could look for problems?

TIG · 27 Nov 2010, 17:32

First question - is the path correct ?
For example, if they are in a sub-folder they won't load with that code...

honoluludesktop · 27 Nov 2010, 18:37

There is no path, all files are in the plugin folder, and it works in v7, and v8.

thomthom · 27 Nov 2010, 19:07

@honoluludesktop said:

UI::Command.new(("Select First Component"))

Double brackets?

honoluludesktop · 27 Nov 2010, 21:27

OK, fixed that, but not the problem. What size do you fellows make your icons?

thomthom · 27 Nov 2010, 21:39

@honoluludesktop said:

What size do you fellows make your icons?

16 for small icons, 24 for large. That is optimal sizes for best visual quality. Any other size and SU will resize the icons - poorly.

As for the original question - have you tried if absolute paths is required in SU6?

honoluludesktop · 27 Nov 2010, 22:28

OK on the icon sizes, and no, didn't understand that I should try that for v6. Will try it, thanks.

honoluludesktop · 28 Nov 2010, 07:17

The v6 user said that the sized down icons did the trick. Anyway, I did both, sized down the icons, and placed a full path to the icon:

` file_path_name=Sketchup.find_support_file "sketchup.exe", ""
file_path_name=File.dirname(file_path_name)+"/Plugins/hdt_folder/"

select_tb = UI::Toolbar.new("Select Components")
cmd2 = UI::Command.new("Select First Component") { hdt_clear_select_component }
cmd2.small_icon = file_path_name+"button_first_16.png"
cmd2.large_icon = file_path_name+"button_first_24.png"
cmd2.tooltip = "First Instance"
select_tb.add_item(cmd2)`

Any problem with the way I derived the drive_letter\pathname?

Below is a couple of the icons I drew at 50%. The following pair was reduced to 16 pixels square and displays as such. Any ideas how to improve the 16 pixel square's appearance?

Jim · 28 Nov 2010, 18:58

Many of the SketchUp icons are made in SketchUp and Layout. Google posted some 800x800px images of them on the official blog - they might give you some indication about how to make your icons in SketchUp.

Hi-res tool icons for SketchUp and LayOut

Follow the SketchUpdate blog for SketchUp news, modeling tips and tricks, user stories and more.

(sketchupdate.blogspot.com)

What software are you using to resize the images?

honoluludesktop · 28 Nov 2010, 19:22

I am drawing the icons in Sketchup, and sizing them down with a Win2000 utility. Hmmm...think that's the problem? I will try a high end image editor.

Jim · 28 Nov 2010, 21:25

@honoluludesktop said:

am drawing the icons in Sketchup, and sizing them down with a Win2000 utility. Hmmm...think that's the problem? I will try a high end image editor.

Possibly (even likely.) There may be several settings to chose from when resizing the image; some designed for speed, others for quality. That may be all you need.