Problem adding instance of child component

[ktkoh]

My script is intended to add a instance of a child component outside of the parent component. The script starts as a context selection when a child component is selected. The user needs to open the parent for editing to select the component.

UI.add_context_menu_handler do |popup|

      sel = Sketchup.active_model.selection
      unless sel.empty?
        if sel.single_object?
          obj = sel[0]
          if obj.is_a?(Sketchup;;ComponentInstance) &&
          obj.parent.is_a?(Sketchup;;ComponentDefinition)
            popup.add_item(NC2SCENE) {
              #
              nested_component_command(obj)
              #
            }
          end # component test
        end # single_object?
      end # unless empty?
      
    end # add_context_menu_handler

and I have not found a method to close the parent component and then when I add an instance of the child it is added inside the parent which is not what I need. The instance needs to be added to the model outside of the parent component.

Thanks
Keith

[TIG]

Assuming 'obj' is an instance... using
obj.parent
will return the actual 'container' of 'obj' - which might be the model or a group/component-definition].
Use
definition=obj.definition model.entities.add_instance(definition, transformation)
to add an instance into the model itself using a 'transformation' - which you might get from the 'obj' and its 'container' instance...

[Dan Rathbun]

@ktkoh said:

... and I have not found a method to close the parent component ...

use: Model # close_active()

as in:
Sketchup.active_model.close_active()

[ktkoh]

I used the Sketchup.active_model.close_active() and it worked as advertised.

Thanks (I wish sometimes I could find these on my own)
Keith

[Dan Rathbun]

@ktkoh said:

(I wish sometimes I could find these on my own)

The API Method Index really helps find things.

[thomthom]

@ktkoh said:

I used the Sketchup.active_model.close_active() and it worked as advertised.

Note that the method is bugged and doesn't add the operation to the undo-stack - so if the user undo operations you might see some unexpected results. No workarounds atm.

[ktkoh]

Ok I tried the other method

c2=@model.entities.add_instance(ent_def,insert_tran)

when I first looked at the suggestion I thought that was how I added the instance in my origional code but closer inspection I noted that I was using

c2=@model.active_entities.add_instance(ent_def,insert_tran)

Once I replaced active_entities with just entities the code worked also.

Thanks
Keith