Problems with PickHelper

hsmyers · 1 Aug 2016, 17:11

I'm trying to allow the user to pick two objects with the intent to align the second selection with the first. I'll allow embroidery regarding axis and points later. With that in mind I thought this was a good chance to use PickHelper. So I created a small class as follows:


class HSM_Picker
  def activate
    @@picks = []
    Sketchup.set_status_text('Select an object', SB_PROMPT)
  end

  def deactivate(view)
    view.invalidate
  end

  def onLButtonUp(_flags, x, y, view)
    ph = view.pick_helper(x, y)
    ph.do_pick(x, y)
    @@picks << ph.best_picked
    if @@picks.length == 2
      p 'done'
      Sketchup.active_model.select_tool(nil)
    end
  end

  def onCancel(_flag, _view)
    Sketchup.send_action('selectSelectionTool;')
  end
end # class HSM_Picker

This for reasons unknown to me does not work. In my effort to debug I wrote the following snippet in the console:


x = y = 0
view = mod.active_view
ph = view.pick_helper(x, y)
ph.do_pick(x, y)
best_entity = ph.best_picked

As you might guess this did not work either.

So what am I doing wrong? Efforts to amend my abysmal ignorance will be deeply appreciated!!

thomthom · 1 Aug 2016, 17:52

@hsmyers said:

This for reasons unknown to me does not work.

Can you elaborate to what didn't work and what you expected to see happening?

hsmyers · 1 Aug 2016, 18:21

@thomthom said:

Can you elaborate to what didn't work and what you expected to see happening?

Never having used PickHelper, I really didn't have any expectations other than a vague notion of some indication that the code was in control of the 'pick' process but I saw no such indication during testing. I noticed that what I was printing to the console didn't appear which suggests an error of some sort...which I foolishly failed to save, I clear the console with each run head slap I'm not even all that clear on how I should integrate what I need with the tool under development—roll it into the tool or separate class within?

sdmitch · 1 Aug 2016, 19:57

@hsmyers said:

@thomthom said:

Can you elaborate to what didn't work and what you expected to see happening?

Never having used PickHelper, I really didn't have any expectations other than a vague notion of some indication that the code was in control of the 'pick' process but I saw no such indication during testing. I noticed that what I was printing to the console didn't appear which suggests an error of some sort...which I foolishly failed to save, I clear the console with each run head slap I'm not even all that clear on how I should integrate what I need with the tool under development—roll it into the tool or separate class within?

In the API the ph = view.pick_helper statement does not does not have variables passed to it. Taking off the (x,y) made it work for me.

class HSM_Picker
  def activate
    @@picks = []
    Sketchup.set_status_text('Select an object', SB_PROMPT)
  end

  def deactivate(view)
    view.invalidate
  end

  def onLButtonUp(_flags, x, y, view)
    ph = view.pick_helper
    ph.do_pick(x, y)
    @@picks << ph.best_picked
    if @@picks.length == 2
      p 'done'
      Sketchup.active_model.select_tool(nil)
    end
  end

  def onCancel(_flag, _view)
    Sketchup.send_action('selectSelectionTool;')
  end
end # class HSM_Picker
Sketchup.active_model.select_tool HSM_Picker.new

hsmyers · 1 Aug 2016, 21:47

@sdmitch said:

In the API the ph = view.pick_helper statement does not does not have variables passed to it. Taking off the (x,y) made it work for me.

class HSM_Picker
>   def activate
>     @@picks = []
>     Sketchup.set_status_text('Select an object', SB_PROMPT)
>   end
> 
>   def deactivate(view)
>     view.invalidate
>   end
> 
>   def onLButtonUp(_flags, x, y, view)
>     ph = view.pick_helper
>     ph.do_pick(x, y)
>     @@picks << ph.best_picked
>     if @@picks.length == 2
>       p 'done'
>       Sketchup.active_model.select_tool(nil)
>     end
>   end
> 
>   def onCancel(_flag, _view)
>     Sketchup.send_action('selectSelectionTool;')
>   end
> end # class HSM_Picker
> Sketchup.active_model.select_tool HSM_Picker.new

Ah! On such screw-ups as this are founded the bugs that plague us! Much and many thanks sir.

hsmyers · 2 Aug 2016, 13:23

Back to debugging... The following appears to run without error—or actually without doing anything other than returning "[]"!

mod = Sketchup.active_model # Open model
ent = mod.entities # All entities in model
sel = mod.selection # Current selection

SKETCHUP_CONSOLE.clear

class HSM_Picker

  @@picks = []
  
  def activate
    @@picks = []
    Sketchup.set_status_text('Select an object', SB_PROMPT)
  end

  def deactivate(view)
    view.invalidate
  end

  def onLButtonUp(_flags, x, y, view)
    ph = view.pick_helper
    ph.do_pick(x, y)
    @@picks << ph.best_picked
    if @@picks.length == 2
      p 'done'
      Sketchup.active_model.select_tool(nil)
    end
  end

  def onCancel(_flag, _view)
    Sketchup.send_action('selectSelectionTool;')
  end
  
  def picks
    @@picks
  end
end # class HSM_Picker

pk = HSM_Picker.new()
ets = pk.picks

Implication clearly being that I don't know what I'm doing (certainly true!) So once again begging for clues here... In line with previous I had expected

ph.do_pick(x, y)

to politely wait for the user to make a selection (or two) and then be available for interrogation but I fear that may have been naive. My initial understanding ( or miss in this case ) is often warped by my expectations based on years of building APIs more sigh

thomthom · 2 Aug 2016, 14:49

What is the value you get from .best_picked?

That should only return an entity - so I wouldn't expect @@picks.length to work. (Unless you accidentally picked an edge - in which case you are getting the length of the edge.)

hsmyers · 2 Aug 2016, 14:59

@thomthom said:

What is the value you get from .best_picked?

That should only return an entity - so I wouldn't expect @@picks.length to work. (Unless you accidentally picked an edge - in which case you are getting the length of the edge.)

Don't know, will find out...oh the joys of print statements!

sdmitch · 2 Aug 2016, 15:19

The class HSM_Picker works as a Tool but must be envoked by Sketchup.active_model.select_tool HSM_Picker.new. The problem is getting the two selected entities returned since the normal return is the model object.

thomthom · 2 Aug 2016, 15:57

@hsmyers said:

@thomthom said:

What is the value you get from .best_picked?

That should only return an entity - so I wouldn't expect @@picks.length to work. (Unless you accidentally picked an edge - in which case you are getting the length of the edge.)

Don't know, will find out...oh the joys of print statements!

Try the debugger: https://github.com/SketchUp/sketchup-ruby-debugger
I prefer RubyMine for debugging: http://forums.sketchup.com/t/please-help-me-to-setup-de-debugger-on-rubymine-for-mac/289

hsmyers · 2 Aug 2016, 19:21

@thomthom said:

@hsmyers said:

@thomthom said:

What is the value you get from .best_picked?

That should only return an entity - so I wouldn't expect @@picks.length to work. (Unless you accidentally picked an edge - in which case you are getting the length of the edge.)

Don't know, will find out...oh the joys of print statements!

Try the debugger: https://github.com/SketchUp/sketchup-ruby-debugger
I prefer RubyMine for debugging: http://forums.sketchup.com/t/please-help-me-to-setup-de-debugger-on-rubymine-for-mac/289

Hmmm...haven't used any, could be interesting...

thomthom · 2 Aug 2016, 20:56

So much nicer to debug - no more editing files to add print statements and reloading.

hsmyers · 3 Aug 2016, 14:40

As is often the case the problem is simple—code in question works much better if properly invoked:

pk = HSM_Picker.new()
mod.select_tool(pk)

Thanks all, sorry for the stupidity

thomthom · 3 Aug 2016, 15:19

No worries - we all learn. Thanks for posting back your solution.