Sketchup Web Exporter

Gaieus

Hi Luca,

What if you draw a big sphere all around the model (so it fits inside all extent) and paint this sphere with a completely transparent png file (and also make it cast no shadow at all)? This could fool the script (hopefully) as it would always zoom extents of the surrounding sphere (which would be an even zooming of course).

Here is a model whose scene animation I made the same way (so not exactly the same case but similar solution). I then deleted the sphere (there - as the scenes will retain the camera position - obviously you should not delete your sphere).
http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=ed6358317ca6c63cf316679995e7e4d8

tridem

Thanks Gai, but I've the opposite problem
senza titolo1.jpg

Gaieus

Is there anything else in that model? Anything on a hidden layer? Also, where is the origin?

Sorry but I have never used this plugin so I am not sure how to trouble shoot it - especially with scripting. I can only approach these things from some practical, SU related point of view.

tridem

No, there are no other objects and it's centered with the origin, the fact is that the plugin forces a resize to fit the scene (that could be a reasonable choice to show your model) but I'd prefer to keep the current view because I want to show only the central part of the scene

Gaieus

And what if you make the images this way - just big resolution export enough - and crop them to get what you want?

(Sorry gain that I can only offer these lame workarounds as I know as much about ruby scripting as about woodworking)

TIG

The swivelButton.rb code is set to zoom extents and then x1.1 so there's some white space around the object etc

<span class="syntaxdefault">def SwivelButton</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">;;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">zoomInitial</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">()<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  Sketchup</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_model</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_view</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">zoom_extents<br />  eyeNow    </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> Sketchup</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_model</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_view</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">camera</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">eye<br />  targetNow </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> Sketchup</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_model</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_view</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">camera</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">target<br />  upvec     </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> Sketchup</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_model</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_view</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">camera</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">up<br />  </span><span class="syntaxcomment"># draw the circle at our elevation (z coord)<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  bb </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> Sketchup</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_model</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">bounds</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">;<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  bbcenter </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> bb</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">center</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">;<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  <br />  centerpoint </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> targetNow</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">;<br /><br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  viewvec </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> eyeNow </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">-</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> targetNow<br />  unitviewvec </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> viewvec</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">normalize</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">;<br /><br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment"># add a boundary by backing up a bit more,<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  standoff_distance </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> getStandoffDistance</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">()</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">*</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> 1.1</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">  <br />  <br />  </span><span class="syntaxcomment"># the eye will lie along the current view line so it is <br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment"># standoff_distance away from the target<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  standoff_vec </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> unitviewvec</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">;<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  standoff_vec</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">length </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> standoff_distance</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">;<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  standoff_eyepoint </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> bbcenter </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">+</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> standoff_vec</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">;<br /><br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  c </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> Sketchup</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">;;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">Camera</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.new<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  <br />  c</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">set</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">(</span><span class="syntaxdefault">standoff_eyepoint</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">,</span><span class="syntaxdefault">bbcenter</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">,</span><span class="syntaxdefault">upvec</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">)<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment"># now stick this camera on our view<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  Sketchup</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_model</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_view</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">camera </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> c<br />end</span>

You can modify this method thus

<span class="syntaxdefault">def SwivelButton</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">;;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">zoomInitial</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">()<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment">###Sketchup.active_model.active_view.zoom_extents<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  eyeNow    </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> Sketchup</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_model</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_view</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">camera</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">eye<br />  targetNow </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> ORIGIN </span><span class="syntaxcomment">###Sketchup.active_model.active_view.camera.target<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  upvec     </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> Sketchup</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_model</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_view</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">camera</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">up<br />  </span><span class="syntaxcomment"># draw the circle at our elevation (z coord)<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment">###bb = Sketchup.active_model.bounds;<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment">###bbcenter = bb.center;<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  <br />  </span><span class="syntaxcomment">###centerpoint = targetNow;<br /><br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment">###viewvec = eyeNow - targetNow<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment">###unitviewvec = viewvec.normalize;<br /><br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment"># add a boundary by backing up a bit more,<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment">###standoff_distance = getStandoffDistance() * 1.1;  <br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  <br />  </span><span class="syntaxcomment"># the eye will lie along the current view line so it is <br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment"># standoff_distance away from the target<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment">###standoff_vec = unitviewvec;<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment">###standoff_vec.length = standoff_distance;<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment">###standoff_eyepoint = eyeNow ###bbcenter + standoff_vec;<br /><br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  c </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> Sketchup</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">;;</span><span class="syntaxdefault">Camera</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.new<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  <br />  c</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">set</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">(</span><span class="syntaxdefault">eyeNow</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">,</span><span class="syntaxdefault">targetNow</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">,</span><span class="syntaxdefault">upvec</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">)</span><span class="syntaxcomment">###c.set(standoff_eyepoint,bbcenter,upvec)<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  </span><span class="syntaxcomment"># now stick this camera on our view<br /></span><span class="syntaxdefault">  Sketchup</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_model</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">active_view</span><span class="syntaxkeyword">.</span><span class="syntaxdefault">camera </span><span class="syntaxkeyword">=</span><span class="syntaxdefault"> c<br />end</span>

This sets the target as the ORIGIN, keeps the current 'eye' and adds NO white space.
Untried... but you can see where it's going...

tridem

no, it seems this affects only the preview...then, when hit "create" it still zooms out to fit the scene. I believe you should modify the way it creates a circle which is the base of cameras path. As I understood, it takes the dimensions of the model's bounding box to compute how far the camera is from the model and the radius of that construction circle...maybe could be enough using the bounding box of a selection instead of the entire model and all other methods follow... maybe! I'm not able to read and understand a script

TIG

OK...
That's because I only showed how to correct the start frame...
To change the rest of the frames there's more stuff to change...
This is a dirty hack leaving lots of things making arrays etc that are then not used!
Change line #634 to read something like
pt=Sketchup.active_model.active_view.camera.eye;up=Sketchup.active_model.active_view.camera.up;tr=Geom::Transformation.rotation(ORIGIN,up,360.degrees/numseg);pnts=[pt];numseg-1.times{pnts<<pt.transform!(tr);};return pnts
[NB: This is untested]...
The whole thing could be rewritten a lot simpler to allow the user to determine the extents of the view etc... My nudgeOrbit.rb could be the basis of this as that simply rotates the camera around the target by given angular increments... You then combine that camera with exporting the image...

driven

Anyone still interested in this?

low res gif ...NEED to Open in new tab, not continuous on Safari...
I've been hacking the code for use on mac and worked out the bits needed to change the default zooming

the gif is b+w and jumpy [down-sized for upload to the forum], but shows the base disc is filling the frame.

The web animation is smooth and full color, but we can't post those here...
I'll put some test up elsewhere if anyone wants.

I need to figure out a couple more things but those bits should work on PC's, if anyones interested.

john

Rich O Brien

That .gif animates once then stops. Can you upload one that runs 'forever'?

It is of interest though

driven

rich,

how big a file can I upload? and have you ever made gifs with 'image magicks' it seems to redistridute 0-9 amongst the others...

Rich O Brien

4mb.... i think?

I use PS for animated gif so i know it gives good control over file sizes. The thing with your gif is that members may miss the animation element if they read later/earlier posts. Still pretty neat output though.

driven

you can get them straight out of SU, but the settings are a bit of a learning curve.... will repost when I work it out.

Rich O Brien

No image?

driven

test....no.11
convert -set -delay 400 -colorspace rgb -ordered-dither o8x8,8,8,4 -dispose 1 -depth 8 -loop 0 -scale 100% *.jpg macHack14.gif

very grainy as big gif, but getting better

manually reordered the sequence, runs fine from file,

point is do you want to 'fix' the PC version... to not zoom out.

driven

i was trying to upload, others and forgot i was in edit mode, not new...

the limit is 2MB, can I get a raise, it's so hard to meet this one 1.6MB but half size.
IM Settings convert -set -delay 400 -colorspace rgb -ordered-dither o8x8,8,8,4 -dispose 1 -depth 8 -loop 0 -scale 50% *.jpg macHack16.gif
best compromise...
john

driven

in viewer the button in Sketchup [window zZoomed to AR]
This is my actual selection and the resultant output file ready for playback in SU.