Dynamic Components Question

haynesc · 6 Jan 2011, 14:09

hi all ...

I was thinking can dynamic components be programmed to do the following and if so can somebody break it down for me ...

Scanerio: I have a floor of a building as a component copied multiple times in the z direction to form a massing building block ...

Desired outcome: if i change the height of one of the building's floors [component- "Floor"] could the the rest of the floors that make up the building reposition up/down automatically to allow for the new height data for each floor?

Looking forward to answers

Chris

jason_maranto · 6 Jan 2011, 16:28

Yes, but there are a couple of ways you can tackle this depending on what type of user interaction you want to base the resizing on.

I would start with a simple representation of the Floor/Level and just work out the copy/scale issues, then model the details into the component.

Have a look at some of the DC staircase examples on here to see possible approaches to the issue.

Best,
Jason.

haynesc · 7 Jan 2011, 16:39

sorry i should of said i have no idea how coding / dynamic components are setup ... i wouldnt know how to setup what i want it to do ... :/?

jason_maranto · 7 Jan 2011, 18:53

Some really good videos to get you up to speed -- you might have to watch them more than once as they cover alot of ground

I also have a video series coming out shortly that spends several hours on the basics (and not so basics) of Dynamic Components, but it's not out yet... unfortunately it is a bit hard to find good information on -- but like most things once you get into working with them it will be easier to understand what others are doing in their DC's.

Good luck!

Best,
Jason.

jaxcoffee · 17 Jan 2011, 23:16

@jason_maranto said:

Some really good videos to get you up to speed -- you might have to watch them more than once as they cover alot of ground

I also have a video series coming out shortly that spends several hours on the basics (and not so basics) of Dynamic Components, but it's not out yet... unfortunately it is a bit hard to find good information on -- but like most things once you get into working with them it will be easier to understand what others are doing in their DC's.

Good luck!

Best,
Jason.

Best,
Jason.

Great stuff. Sure appreciate running across this information. The only thing I believe was missing in the videos, was that there were a couple of moves just within going from one area of the attributes screen to another without any explanation, and a couple of click moves not explained. Like when he mentioned referencing another attribute, and just clicked on it to place it. If I hadn't read that somewhere else I would have had no idea what he did.

I hope your videos will go more into the formulas and what they mean, and how they work. Kind of a dummy's version of DC creation is what need! LOL!

jason_maranto · 17 Jan 2011, 23:42

Exactly -- although by the end of my look at DC's it does get a little heady, but its a gradual buildup of information.

The series is already long done -- it's in the hands of my editor now so it should be out in a week or so... but I'm already onto a new series.

Best,
Jason.

jaxcoffee · 18 Jan 2011, 00:10

@jason_maranto said:

Exactly -- although by the end of my look at DC's it does get a little heady, but its a gradual buildup of information.

The series is already long done -- it's in the hands of my editor now so it should be out in a week or so... but I'm already onto a new series.

Best,
Jason.

That's great news Jason. Can't wait to see what you have created. I'm ready to learn!!

d12dozr · 18 Jan 2011, 03:31

@jason_maranto said:

Exactly -- although by the end of my look at DC's it does get a little heady, but its a gradual buildup of information.

The series is already long done -- it's in the hands of my editor now so it should be out in a week or so... but I'm already onto a new series.

Best,
Jason.

jason_maranto · 26 Jan 2011, 14:26

Here's the link to the series:

Google SketchUp Pro 8 Video Training

The VTC course is designed to highlight the new features in Google SketchUp Pro 8. The easy-to-follow course will help you to maximize SketchUp Pro's Potential & work files are also included.

vtc (www.vtc.com)

The first 13 videos are a free preview, but the parts relevant to DC come later in the series (in chapters 5-12).

Best,
Jason.

jaxcoffee · 26 Jan 2011, 18:46

@jason_maranto said:

Here's the link to the series:

Google SketchUp Pro 8 Video Training

The VTC course is designed to highlight the new features in Google SketchUp Pro 8. The easy-to-follow course will help you to maximize SketchUp Pro's Potential & work files are also included.

vtc (www.vtc.com)

The first 13 videos are a free preview, but the parts relevant to DC come later in the series (in chapters 5-12).

Best,
Jason.

Nice stuff Jason. Adds are a bit annoying, and I can't watch them on my Cr-48 ChromeBook, because Chrome OS isn't doing flash or Quicktime yet, so I am stuck at my desktop to watch. $30.00 a month is a bit much for getting instructions. Any other format available?

jason_maranto · 26 Jan 2011, 19:04

A DVD/CD hard copy set will be out soon -- but they charge $99 for them... I've seen them run promotional deals before, so maybe keep an eye out for that.

It is worth mentioning that they have a TON of different softwares and subjects (including Ruby) that are covered by that $30 and you can pay for just the one month if that is all you want... I've seen similar pricing by other video tutorial companies -- but of course there are several great free tutorials like the ones linked above and a couple straight from Google here:

Best,
Jason.