@alexschreyer said: That model looks good. Have you tried their PBR rendering option (somewhere in the editor)? I find it makes materials more shiny and metallic, which should work well in your case. I took a little simpler model and started trying to learn how to produce a more metallic look to the metal frames in my models. Here is a sample DCW Top Brush Again, your feedback on the process is welcome.

try this, from the EW: Dynamic Component from two Objects

Yep, that is the one Pilou...

pbacot/ntxdave Thank you. I was able to place lights based on your suggestions. It's been log enough that I forgot how that worked.

Yep - that sure works. Hope that is the last of my dumb questions (at least on this topic).

Here's one way, with Thru paint. you need to add divisions to the face-- SketchUp texture will not know one flat surface shape from another. http://sketchucation.com/resources/tutorials/intermediate/1764-arch-texturing-in-sketchup-with-thrupaint Try making the arcs to have more segments. Maybe about the length of the pavers. Use split sausage plugin to divide the face up.

Let me edit the post for simplicity. I went through many steps trying to figure out what was going on, but here's the final way I fixed it. There was no problem at the arch top. The problem is where the two sashes meet. they meet on a single edge, one edge has four faces. To fix I push-pulled the bottom of the top sash down slightly (in reality sashes lap more than that. I erased the face to look inside, selected the new face between the sashes plus the edges (double click), group and delete (be sure any left over edges are gone). Then draw an edge to bring back the top sash bottom face. Couple comments: Sashes overlap for the most part, you see one lock rail primarily, not both rails. Muntins are usually not as thick as the sash, they're recessed from the face, both sides. Vinyl windows may not have much recess. Sorry for the size of the picture, only good shot I could find. [image: jwO9_wooden-win800.jpg]

Hide the box temporarily. Right click on the origin and choose Reset. Then unhide the cube and move it so it's corner is at the origin where you want it. Then use File>Save as template. Make a new template and discard the old one.

Thanks again for the Ideas. Turned out to be the graphic cards driver. It was up to date, but the current driver somehow created a problem with su2017. The previous driver also had the same problem, so we had to roll the driver back two releases. Probably not coincidentally, two drivers ago was when I installed "the gforce experience" application that is designed to prompt you when new drivers are available so you can stay current with the actual manufactures latest and greatest. I actually thought it would be better to let the manufacture prompt me rather than let windows update handle when and what gets updated. I have had two instances with this gtx1080 gpu in the recent past where windows has changed the driver for me and it has caused problems so I was trying to be smart by going to the gforce experience. I guess i will just let windows do its thing and put the fires out after. p

Something like this [image: cfgY_GIF_simple.gif] 2 Curves on the same plane Draw a big vertical Line Copy Move with /x x = number of thing that you want Intersection Select Only Straight edges (Plugin) Invert selection Erase and make like shown above with Projections by Didier BUR and Add Faces by Tig

Did you install fresh copies of the various plugins and extensions or did you copy them from a previous install? If you did the latter, you shouldn't have. Install fresh copies. Maintenance releases don't overwrite things like toolbar locations so don't worry about installing the new release of 2017. Just do it. Major version releases install as a separate program so you have to set up toolbars and such almost as if you never installed SketchUp before.

Charmian, I will ask the obvious. Is the Transparent Background checked in the png options? [image: SP3C_Transparent.PNG]

@charms2601 said: I've just purchased some .skm texture files and can find nothing on how to import them into my texture library on a mac.....I know I'm probably just a newbie who's overlooking the obvious, but any help would be so appreciated.... You need to add them as a collection then save the collection so SketchUp can load them each time it starts. There's a button in the Materials Browser that allows you to Add or Open as collection.

@moot said: Also, I'd like to be able to clear the list when starting a new project... May I ask if you found out how to clear it? If so, please tell!

You misuse the term 'active' - only one section-plane can be 'active' in any given context. Having the nested section-plane allows you to cut what's inside its context [when it is active]. Another section-plane outside of that group's context will cut everything in its own context, including the group which has the nested section-plane. You need to have both section-planes active to hide the loose geometry that is not inside of the group. Here's some screenshot showing it - in the original there two active section cuts and the bigger cut is looking towards the loose geometry, so it is visible - because it's outside of the group it's bound to be seen. The second shot shows the section cut in the opposite direction this time the loose stuff is not seen. Trying to do this with section-cuts alone is going to be very convoluted... If you want to hide that loose stuff I suggest you use the section-cuts as you have made them, but put that loose stuff on its own layer - which you then switch off in that scene - see the third screen-shot... [image: jjfP_Capture1.PNG] [image: 3u1q_Capture2.PNG] [image: qQcQ_Capture3.PNG]

my.sketchup.com runs in the browser... you need a trimble account, and pretty sure you can send someone a link. i don't think you can protect the files though (yet) - so someone could save your work locally - maybe not an issue for you.

The shadows are missing because the foreground aerial image is in the way. Note the settings in the two screen shots. I turned off the foreground image in the second one and the shadows show just fine. By the way, it has nothing to do with the background image. I just made the background image lighter in the first to make it easier to see where shadows are being cast. [image: IT41_Screenshot-11_30_20164_45_24PM.png] [image: sECr_Screenshot-11_30_20164_46_01PM.png] Here's an image export from the file with the foreground image turned off. I also turned off shadows on ground. [image: xNJl_TechHelpFile.png]

Thanks for all the reply's guys, i will try them all. And let you know how it turned out!

By snap I mean the cursor and input point are drawn to significant points on an object, like the endpoint or midpoint, you see a colored point light up. Actually the cursor snap and indicator happens when you touch an edge anywhere, so you know you are drawing from that edge when you click down. When you draw a line out and get the colored indication of direction... I'd call that a constraint because it is showing how you can constrain the operation to a direction or another edge or face (but I think the tutorials also consider this an inference). Inference is an alignment indicated with other objects' points or direction. Are you speaking about drawing an edge along an edge which is in a group? Otherwise, you don't have to draw another line there, that edge will participate in your new face when you add the remaining edges. It is difficult to see SketchUp edges on a Retina screen. I think this has been improved in 2017 version. Try other screen resolutions. I use a MBP but I don't often use the laptop screen itself for SketchUp. More difficult to see snap indicators too. Zooming may not help. It shouldn't be hard to work off an existing edge. Are you working with a lot of edges off-axis? Sometimes SU forces the axis alignment if it is close to what you are drawing. Are you drawing from or using imported edges, as from AutoCAD? This sometimes introduces edges that are not quite right though they appear to be aligned.