Hi Morpheu, hi folks. When you choose 3DS in the pull down list of the import window, click on the "Options" button. Choose a unit that will cause a scaling up when importing. For example, if the model is in millimeters, import as centimeters or even meters. This will scale the model up by 10 or 1000. Then, the small facets shall close unless they are very tiny on the original model. If it seems to work OK when in SU, scale down the whole model by the corresponding factor of 0.1 or 0.001. Notice that SU will not accept 0.001 as a scale factor. For such a factor, you must proceed in two steps like 0.1 and then 0.01 or the reverse. Otherwise, you can repair probably all missing faces in one operation with the following procedure: 1 - Select all. 2 - Scale using a sufficient scale factor. Try 100 first. 3 - Use the Menu Tool --> Utilities --> Create Face This shall close all faces that where not, provided that their perimeter is coplanar. 4 - Since everything shall still be selected, scale down by 100 (use a scale factor of 0.01. Just ideas.

And don't forget that he was bringing those back that were th top ten ideas. Some of them enthusiastically wished herebut others are not. Th user base is definitely much wider than SCF.

Thanks!

sorry my friends.. i'm a really bad forum user.. after post it.. i've immediatly found those topics.. http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=21016 http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=21812 sorry...

@starling75 said: Here is fastest method for less complex models. Import SU model as a plain geometry, select whole object - all 3D polygons and press Ctrl+Alt+A (solid addition). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRQn3cQxJD8 Wow, thanks. You just saved me so much time. I never knew this. Previously whenever my solid objects turn into nonsolids for reasons I don't know, I would rebuild it again from zero.

@gaieus said: When you save the component only from the model, right? Like right click > Save as...? True - I can see the same (never thought of this so far) but I think this is how it should work. By saving a component, you only save the component definition into a new file, i.e. what "defines" the component (everything but only that is inside). Imagine you have a bunch of instances of the same component - some are painted this or that way (from outside), some are scaled or flipped - which one would you "save as..." if you, for instance, do it from the component browser (where there is only one definition of them)? All in all, whatever we do with a component "from outside", is only part of the model it is used but not part of the component itself. I was afraid of this! I'm building furniture from melamine faced boards with banded edges and I wanted to make basic panels with default face material and default banding material which I can chance according to the progect. But CutList plugin gives a panel material based on the "from outside" material of the component. So I gonna deal with layers again.

Aha! Thank you Chris. I appreciate it.

You are all too kind! I first ran SketchUp (was it v3 or v4) on my old college computer, a pentium III mx, if I recall correctly. It's specs (speed, memory, and storage) were just about on par with the iPhone's. So I'm sure it isn't a hardware limitation, especially if some of the extras are stripped out (If you're in the field, do you really need sketchy edges, or shadows?) Of course it wouldn't be simple, you'd have to toss the 3button mouse interface (which is perhaps one of the best SketchUp innovations IMHO), and come up with a multi-touch solution to deal with 3D. Also, measurement entry would be very important, but done without a keyboard. That's gotta be hard - I haven't seen it done very well anywhere, yet. I'd settle for a model markup tool (taking xrok1's suggestion a bit further) - no actual edits, but a simple interface to add notes for later editing. Actually, I'll settle for whatever the Google Guys come up with. Unless I become a programmer, I'll take what I can get;)

version 7 won't overide your version 6, so there is no need to do everything explained here. It gets installed into its own directory, and keeps itself separate from 6. It might not import your keyboard shortcuts from 6 correctly though, if I recall correctly. Which is annoying.

i'm all better now!

Thanks Peter. I saw that and gave it a try. I made the settings before I went to work. When I opened SketchUp after getting home from work, all the standard toolbars were missing and the ones from the plugins were stacked up one above the other. Weird. Lately when the toolbars do get scrambled, they've behaved well enough as far as letting me put them back.

Yup - practically you can use a (single) license on any number of computers - just of course, not simultaneously. Network licenses are indeed "tricky" from this point of view (but I understand you use a single license anyway)

Again, I'm thrilled with 7.1 - I'm on a laptop w/ junk graphics card and SU7.1 enables me to work in any model I have tried - impressive! (so I will never go back) but (there's always a 'but') one issue I have is pretty major for me in disrupting workflow... the Alt-Bucket sampler eye dropper. It USED to work fine. But NOW in 7.1 it seems to sample the edges or something. Who in the world ever wanted to sample the material applied to an edge? (Why can we even apply a mat to an edge anyway - that doesn't make sense to me either.) So, I know that when using Select Tool you want the 'dominant' choice to be an edge... very nice. But when using the Material Bucket Alt-click Eye Dropper tool... this should NEVER notice an edge... it forces me to zoom waayyyyyy in on materials on a face (like trying to sample the mat on a soffit, for example) much more than I had to in the past, I don't remember ever needing to zoom in at all in the past. This wouldn't be a major prob, but often you are in a particular camera position you don't want to get out of just to sample a nearby material... so this is one major wish of mine for next SU update... 7.1.1? edit also, is it just me, or does the 7.1 distance sometimes come out funky? I mean, I used the move command and it said it was moving it 60 feet, but it actually was about 20feet... or I used the Extrude Line ruby and typed (1") but it extruded it about 10 inches... it's happened to me enough now that I'm actually getting a bit worried about it.

I cannot say for sure, but traditionally, colons and semicolons are not "legal" characters to use in file names. Anssi

Unbelievable clarity in that communication. I doubt the other side will want to show it to a jury.

Here is the plugin: http://sketchup.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=161784 and of course, all previous versions still have the import option (although as an "official" download, Google only provides the latest version for the Free SU).

These are the .dwg and .dxf importers you're looking for, available for a limited time only: http://sketchup.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=161784