[Plugin] Layer Manager New Release

TIG

I know, but for some reason in the PluginStore database it was given 'v6' as its version !
Anyway, I have now got the newer version.
I have corrected some unreported issues with it and will publish it as 2.2.0x shortly...

TIG

Here is the updated version [v2.2.0x] http://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=layer_manager It includes the following...

Corrected an error in opening the 'Help' PDF file, which was causing it to fail in >=v2014.

Stopped it making an empty Tools submenu 'Layer Manager' when its Extension is not activated.
Fixed the missing Tools submenu 'Layer Manager' to include all commands.
Corrected misspelled translations, which was leaving blank submenu/toolbar text items.
It will now load and run from a non-default Plugins folder.
It auto-deletes any legacy files and folders it finds, that belong to the superseded older 'Layer Manager v6' - a SketchUp restart is required to complete the process.

greenskp

Thanks for this plugin.

I had an issue when I will restore a configuration and the plugin is installed in the custom folder:

Error; #<Errno;;ENOENT; No such file or directory - D;/Custom_Folder/DBUR_LayerManager/pre000_.lmi>

The file "pre000_.lmi" is located in Desktop but says that file is in the custom folder.

Sometimes I have no privileges in the machine and cannot modify the plugins folder.

SketchUp version 2015.

EDIT:

I had the same issue if plugin is installed in default plugins folder but the file of configuration is any place other than the folder plugins.

juju

SU EW latest current version is 3.0.0_1, the version (v2.2.0x) on SketchUcation Pluginstore seems to be out of date?

faust07

Version 3.0.0 from SU EW has not the tools submenu 'Layer Manager'. This tool is completely deleted. V 3.0.0 has only the 'Layer Tools'.
But the 'Layer Manager' has useful tools like 'Save and Restore Layer Configuration' directly into the model file etc.

But my request for Version 2.2.0x is:
The function 'Create layer and control behaviour' in 'Layer Tools' brings problems in both versions.
To create a layer 'Visible in the current scene only' is very helpful if you have many scenes in which the new layer should be switched off.
The problem is that the tool not only makes the new layer invisible in all other scenes, it overwrites all scenes with the same layer configuration of the active scene. And there is no way back - no undo. All layer settings in all scenes are lost...

If that could be corrected, it would be fantastic. Thanks in advance!

TIG

This tool's author [Didier Bur] has updated this tool, but only on the EWH - so this version is now quite old.
I suggest you contact Didier directly and request his current version is updated/adjusted there...

faust07

Hi Didier, since I see that you are active in other posts, here is a request to your fantastic Layer Manager Plugin: Is there a way to improve the two replies above mentioned point?
It would be great if the plugin could also be used for the SketchUp versions 2016 and 2017.
Thanks in advance!

Didier Bur

Hi faust07,

Version 3.0.0 from the EW works with all versions of SketchUp. It has all the tools from the previous versions (including the save/restore feature), nothing was deleted except the pulldown menus. I've attached here the PDF help guide so you can see.
Concerning the problem you mentionned, I'm unable to reproduce it here but I'll look into it.

Help file for v3.0.0 (included in the plugin when you install it)

faust07

Hi, Didier,
Many thanks for the quick reply.
Yes, the functionality of the current version is already sufficient.
The old "Save to / Restore from file" and the "Show, Isolate, Hide layers by Filter" are rather less needed. This makes the menu more compact.
In my models, I often have many scenes with different layers on or off.
The function "Create new layer and control its behaviour" overwrites this layer configuration in all scenes with the layer configuration of the active scene if I select the behavior "Visible in current scene only" or "Invisible on all scenes".
Since that only seems to happen to me, it is not dramatic. I avoid this feature, although it is very useful if you do not want to manually turn off new layers in all other scenes.
In addition, the current version does not recognize layer configurations saved with older versions of the plugin.
But enough of the whining, the plugin is immensely helpful. Thank you!

Didier Bur

Hi,

When I was saying "nothing was deleted", I did'nt remember that old "by filter" feature!
I've found the bug of the "create new layer" behavior (in fact there was 3 bugs that were applying to this layer creation): when you create a new layer (manually) and update the scene(s), you are asked to save (or not) the layer configuration. But when this is done by a script, surprisingly all scenes are automatically updated ! My script updated each scene one by one and this is what caused the bug...
I'm considering to release a version 3.1.0 with this bug fixes, and maybe re-introduce the filters in a separate toolbar (to save space in the user interface).
Regards,

juju

Bravo Didier! Version 3.1.0 on EW out now! Super useful. One request / suggestion: maybe change icons to something that scales with high resolution monitors, like SVG icons?

I'm busy formatting my layering template TXT file at the moment, going to play with this a little to see how it works. I like the idea of having the layer status appended, not sure how this works in practice when you want to change a specific layer status from one to another if the layer has already been created. Also, does the layer status somehow work with layer states from your Scenes Tools? I'm not sure how to implement this useful tagging / feature into workflow.

juju

Well version 3.1.0 has become indispensable, I love the layer creation tools. Thank you! I've been waiting and asking for something like this for a good while.

It would be great if the extension would remember your last used settings though.

zooen

Bonjour,
For information Layer manager works very well with SU2019, even if on EW at the time of installation from the site (for those who have an account) there is a message about the risk of malfunction.

It's really an indispensable plugin. You can save layer states by scenes of course, and a whole bunch of other functions that remind you of AutoCAD for layer management (for those who know).
Zooen

faust07

Yes, it works great (for me in SU2016Pro and SU2017Free). Thanks Didier!

juju

I'm on SU2021Pro (version 21.0.391), Win10 and am having some strange behaviour from Layer Manager (version 3.1.0) recently. Somehow it isn't reading my custom layer structure (.lml) file. I've used the custom layer file without any trouble in SU2020Pro (and earlier) with Layer Manager (version 3.1.0). As a side note, I've also extracted frequently used button, New Layer (create layers from file), with Toolbar Editor (version 1.1.8) and have reverted that as well to check if this had anything to do with the problem, but it doesn't seem that way, still had problems with function.

Anyone else also having trouble with the extension lately?

Any ideas?

juju

@juju said:

I'm on SU2021Pro (version 21.0.391), Win10 and am having some strange behaviour from Layer Manager (version 3.1.0) recently. Somehow it isn't reading my custom layer structure (.lml) file. I've used the custom layer file without any trouble in SU2020Pro (and earlier) with Layer Manager (version 3.1.0). As a side note, I've also extracted frequently used button, New Layer (create layers from file), with Toolbar Editor (version 1.1.8) and have reverted that as well to check if this had anything to do with the problem, but it doesn't seem that way, still had problems with function.

Anyone else also having trouble with the extension lately?

Any ideas?

Hmmm, it seems to be working as expected again. The only change I made was shortening the custom layer structure (.lml) file name by 5 characters (a space and 4 numeral). Go figure.

Bokkie

Hi,

Was there any reason why the layer naming function was removed ?
Is there a better plugin for that or could you bring back that feature, as a new plugin.

I thought this was a really good thing.

Than you for all the great work !

S.

Didier Bur

Hi Bokkie,

Maybe you haven't the latest version, which is 3.1.0.
I've updated the page on the PluginStore, you can download here:
https://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=layer_manager

Layer name Generator.gif
Click to see the layer name generator in action

Regards,

pilger

I think there's a bug with the latest version. The toolbar buttons work, but the extension is missing from the toolbar altogether. My keyboard shortcuts for the functions don't work anymore.

I've manually loaded an older version of the extension and there was a "Tools > Layer Manager" item.

I've also tried doing a clean install of Sketchup Pro 2023 with only the Layer Manager extension installed and it still wouldn't work.

Any thoughts?

blank_page03

Hello. I would just like to suggest a small change to the "Layers States" behaviour which is for the plugin to ask if the user really wants to delete or update an existing layer state. As of the current version, the user can easily and MISTAKENLY update or delete a layer state which can be a devastating mistake. Just a simple confirmation message to update or delete a layer state would probably save a clumsy user's sanity.

In any case, thank you very much Didier for this wonderful and indispensable plugin. Keep up the great work!