This is related to the problem of doing a save_as on a component, and giving it different names - it will appear under its original name in the second component browser pane [therefore there could be several variants with the same name displayed there] but it'll kick into it's file name if loaded into the main pane ! I at first thought that it was the externally saved model 'component' title and name being different - but if you manually change the external files 'name' to its 'title' it doesn't help. The instance.definition.path returns the correct file path so it's not muddled there... Seems that there's something saved in a model's data that confuses the import into thinking its the same definition[s]... If you edit the table's groups after it's saved externally it'll then import with the right textured top and rails etc BUT the legs won't change as 'leg' already exists from the first table now in the model, so the import still uses that ! Solution ought to be to rename 'leg' as 'leg2' in the second table's skp file, but it's not going to work as SUp still imports the second table's leg as 'leg' even when it's not called that any more in that external skp !!! Super-confused mess... I think it's also tied into the weirdness where a group definition can have more than one instance - it can't theoretically and the group.make_unique even gives a deprecated method warning BUT it is needed to ensure a copied group that is changed doesn't affect its 'original' sibling... Of course the way to 'fool it' is to make the table out of groups/components with no materials and then apply the material to the component instance! But then UV mapping is a messy business one at a time... It is 'against nature' [ ] to have an app that lets you export variants of a component with different materials and later import them back into a new model but somehow muddle up their identities to such an extent that you can't trust which it is...

@escapeartist said: Not something I've ever done. Could you make a large sphere and place the picture on the inside, literally a skydome? Cover your scene with it? It'd probably mess up shadows and the like, but if it's the imagery you're after it might be OK. Here is a thread about mapping a Panoramic Image to the interior of a sphere using Google O3D. You could do the same mapping to the triangles of a sphere in SketchUp. We just haven't tried it yet. Using O3D for Panoramas And by breaking an 8000 x 4000 panorama into 8 pieces before mapping it to 8 octants of the sphere, you should be able to use 2000 x 2000 images for good resolution. (Part of the O3D Panorama) [image: lF9w_o3d-panorama.jpg] (Click on this link to view the O3D panorama) http://www.renderplus.com/pano3d/pano_from_o3d.html?file=http://www.algarve-photo.com/contax/wp-content/gallery/07_07_panofaro/pano_catedral_do_faro_01.jpg

Note however that this is really like "projection" - so if the curved shape curves too much (towards the sides like a cylinder for instance), you will have distorted images. It is best when most of your surface is more or less perpendicular to the direction this projection is coming from.

@ely862me said: This is very easy..make a component then make a copy ,mirror it(flip along or scale it with -1) and place it near the other one. I actually thought this may offend u ,being too simple.. Ah! Just one of those things I never learned... I'd always finish 1/2 the model and then copy/flip, but the method you show gives a much more clear sense of proportion. Thanks! (maybe this could go in the "DUH! aka D'oh!" thread?)

Writing scripts is not often discussed in the newbie forum. But if you are the sort who jumps into the deep end of the pool to learn to swim start at Chapter 11.

Thanks, Merry Christmas to you and all members here !!

@drewgandy said: For instance, if I have a "diagonal line" that I want to draw a rectangle against, how do I do it? Sometimes the Ruby Console (billed as a programmer's tool for writing plugins, but I like it for modeling) answers your need. Try diving into Chapter Two, Ruby Console. The first project there is the main and jib on a sloop. The main is orthogonal, the jib is not. Both are easy because any three points are always coplanar. Your four-point rectangles must be coplanar. The second project there adds a rectangle for the bottom of a banister: an example of a rectangle at an odd angle.

Use the 3ds format! Texture files must be in same directory as the 3ds file. Texture file have to have max 8 digits names. 3ds file, when a single mesh is included has to be less than 64K faces. However, 3ds file may include lot of groups-meshes, each of them less than 64 K faces. Under macOSX, in newer builds of SketchUp8, 3ds importer is broken! I wonder when devs will have a look on this. I import using SU7 free. You may face difficulties related with the scale of the model, in general, make it 10x bigger before exporting. After you successfully have imported the 3ds, with UV textures, you can still edit the texture file (probably using Ps or Gimp) In cases like using png transparent textures for leaves-foliage, you'll have textures assigned on the outer face-normal. Use the "UV toolkit" plugin to "frontface to backface"

Thanks every one ...

That could be an option but here it was not needed. As soon as I scaled the first "segment", the next PushPull was already not coplanar with it so left a series of edges (if you use Ctrl+PushPull, a face is also left there - then you need to get rid of these inner faces in order to be able to smooth the whole surface).

Well, I was going to say that if your edges are not standalone (but form faces), you can always duplicate them (but it doesn't work) Edit the group/component go to wireframe mode and with a selection rectangle (no double/triple clicking) select the edges only copy them, close the group/component and paste in place (this is in the edit menu). Now they will exactly overlap the ones inside the group/component but will be outside of it and as such, standalone ones so should export just fine. Make sure to include these and the original group/component into a new, parent (face me?) component. BUT it seems that the converter will merge all colinear edges no matter what the hierarchy is. See Allison's explanation here (well, that's a Google Guide for some reason answering as a Level 1 newbie) http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/sketchup/thread?tid=668c54ccde662c39&hl=en BUT if you have SU 6, export it as "Google Earth 4". That will get your edges through: Bamboo.kmz

Hi ushumgal Hi everybody, @ushumgal said: Thanks for the links to the plugins, Simon...TIG's extrude edges by rails is amazing!! I'm having some success with it, but I do have a question. I divided the arrowhead into 3 segments (which all have somewhat different sections). When using this tool, how do you merge one segment into the next? Tig has is own explanation about that: Here But In fact it was very uneasy to skin the middle segment with EEBR for it was not possible to skin directly 4 joining curves. I said "IT WAS" because ExtrudeEdgesByRail V2 is out and this limitation has now expired Segmented arrow: [image: Arrow2nd_001_th.jpg] [image: Arrow2nd_002_th.jpg] [image: Arrow2nd_003_th.jpg] You can also use Soap Skin & Bubble Which add the possibility to inflate or depress the skined faces. The process need to be initiate with Weld operation for SS&B works with two joining curves. Some small fails may happen and need to be repaired. Something a bit difficult for newbies. [image: Arrow2nd_004_th.jpg] The two different skins: [image: Arrow2nd_005_th.jpg] .../ I see you are doing skins manually to join your curves (good thing). This can be made with plugins. Unfortunately, powerful ArchitectBoy's Skin.rb (& see also& skin thread) only skin separate curves, but Rick Wilson Curve Stitcher does it very simply (you can throw a glance on my little skin reminder here even if it must be updated) ++simon

Choppy here as well. SU 7.1M1 Processor Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q9650 @ 3.00GHz Memory (RAM) 8,00 GB Graphics ATI Radeon HD 4870 X2

@dan rathbun said: It would be better (or more natural) if the 'Redefine Thumbnail(s) on Save' checkbox, was located on the 'General' page, in the 'Saving' section, of the 'Preferences' Dialog (ie: it would/should be a global setting for all models.) I understand as it is now, redefine Thumbnail on Save is a per-model setting. (1) I would like to override this globally (and perhaps temporarily,) withoutchanging the setting within the model. (2) I WISH for a global setting that defines a Scene (Page) name, and if the model has a page so named, the built-in Save command would use THAT scene AND it's camera location, to create the thumbnail that is stored with the model, INSTEAD of the current view. (3) This might be combined with a user setting at the model level, for a thumbnail scene (page). Currently I have to write my own command to do this... but if I forget and click the normal Save button (or Use File > Save on the Menu,) the thumbnail will get overridden by the current page, which will be 'Working' or some other Scene page.

@andrews said: Next time this happens, when you fill out the Bug Splat report, put in some sort of keyword ... I think I did, did I not do both? My post here IS the followup. In each of the 4 explaination(s) in the Bug Splat! reports, I wrote almost identical notes (but the receiver of the ".isatty" method changes per the list at the top of this thread.): @unknownuser said: Ruby Console: $stdin.isatty --> BUG SPLAT! So take your pick, try searching on ".isatty" Not that important anyway. Interesting that $stdout and $stderr raise "NoMethodError: undefined method `isatty'" The Sketchup::Console class needs a major overhaul. We need to be able to use STDIN, STDOUT and STDERR to implement our own Console Applets / Debuggers, or integrate with thrid-party Ruby IDEs. There is a glaring 'perfect' space for controlling such a feature on the 'Applications' page of the 'Preferences' dialog.

Hi Jeremy, Soon I'll be able to put my work online, stay tuned !!

It maybe that in the import options, you do not uncheck "Preserve drawing origin" or even if you do, there is some (even small) stray geometry far away therefore SU will start its issue with a too extensive model (when you have geometry of the size of miles - or even small geometry miles away from the origin, it will do this. Try doing the following make sure that you do not preserve drawing origin so SU will import the cad file close to the origin Try to select all (Ctrl+A) then Zoom extent (Ctrl+Z) to see if there is something odd (far away from the origin). Delete this bit. OR it maybe something else, too, of course...

The easiest (?) way is to fill an area in AutoCad or Revit with the pattern and export the result as a raster file, and then use a raster editor to crop or duplicate the file so that it creates a seamless texture. I don't know of non-Autodesk software that uses the same pattern files, although some of the available "clones" might. The pattern file structure is very simple, as the patterns consist of a series of (dashed) lines in various directions. I don't know of a viewer, but writing one should be a piece of cake for a programmer. Anssi