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    What's your beginners tip?

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    • jgbJ Offline
      jgb
      last edited by

      @dave r said:

      That's a good tip, mics_54. It is mentioned somewhere but I don't remember exactly where.

      I wish I'd known a long time ago that was giving you trouble. I wouldn't have let you suffer so long.

      Dave
      That's commonly referred to as "Hyper-Pan" or "Hyper-Zoom" and has been a bone of contention since I started using SU years ago. Others have bitched about it too, and even John from Google-SU said he would look into it and get back to me. That was last year and no word yet.

      There is a way to fix it inside SU. Simply maintain the original rate of pan/zoom when the cursor slips off the object, and only until the cursor is back on an object or any button/key or tool is activated.

      At least that way you won't go off in space somewhere.


      jgb

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      • Dave RD Offline
        Dave R
        last edited by

        Yes. I'm well aware of that.

        Etaoin Shrdlu

        %

        (THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE)

        G28 X0.0 Y0.0 Z0.0

        M30

        %

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        • david_hD Offline
          david_h
          last edited by

          @gaieus said:

          @dave r said:

          open the cling wrap and edit the sandwich

          🀣

          Next time I need something in my food, I will tell my wife to editit. "Would you please, edit that bowl of stew and add some pepper, please?"
          πŸ˜†

          I tell my wife all the time to Hide Unused Basil . And she tells me to go Delete Myself. πŸ’š

          If I make it look easy...It is probably easy

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          • jgbJ Offline
            jgb
            last edited by

            All I get from my wife for any request for anything is
            Access Denied 😒

            And so begins another downward spiral of a once good and interesting thread...... πŸ˜’


            jgb

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            • R Offline
              rbecker
              last edited by

              I'll add this one because it took me way too long to figure out.

              If you have a component you've used throughout your model, and you realize you have several instances you need to alter in the same fashion, but you don't want that to apply to all the instances;

              Select one of the instances, choose "make unique". Now, select the other components you want to alter. Go to the component browser, make sure you are viewing components "In Model". Find the new unique instance you created, right-click, and choose "replace selected". You now have a new group of components, edit one and they all get the same new treatment!

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              • GaieusG Offline
                Gaieus
                last edited by

                Ross, if you want to make a bunch of instances unique, just select them all then right click on any of them and make unique. This operation will make all selected instances of this new definition - so you spared the replace step now (which can indeed be useful though for other actions).

                Gai...

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                • R Offline
                  rbecker
                  last edited by

                  Gaieus,
                  DOH! I thought I tried that and it made every selected component individually unique. I just tested it again and it does exactly what you say, which is what I was trying in the first place. Thanks!

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                  • GaieusG Offline
                    Gaieus
                    last edited by

                    Never mind (we have a doh thread somewhere if you want to join - many of us have posted in there about our "doh's" too). πŸ˜‰

                    The "Replace selected" function is indeed a good one and a useful hint for newbies in this beginners' tips topic to look at. πŸ‘

                    Gai...

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                    • opalO Offline
                      opal
                      last edited by

                      my noob two cents.. lots of places I've seen it suggested that we start with something simple, like a box or a chair (not one of the lovely overstuffed varieties either) I disagree.. my first model was a wedding cake.. tiers, pillars and decorations (unfathomable poly count) but making a box or a square chair isn't going to teach the tools.
                      My tip is learn the tools. sure, make that box but do everything you possibly can to that box with each and every tool in the arsenal.. if it looks cool - do it again!

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                      • J Offline
                        Julia198x
                        last edited by

                        These are all really great beginner tips. Thank you everyone!!! πŸ‘

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                        • E Offline
                          EWWinterbach
                          last edited by

                          As a newby - Myself - best is to play and pracice and keep playing playing playing - its such an easy program and once youve played a bit - ask question from the guys here that know it thru and thru

                          by the way - do u know how to make fabric - like as in fold of fabric in random
                          I dunno and its doing my head in
                          can u help
                          i see it has been done in Library

                          if so please email me : info@in2interiors.co.za

                          regards from : Cape Town South Africa

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                          • T Offline
                            Trogluddite
                            last edited by

                            Learn to think more negatively!

                            In my first few attempts at making my own objects, I found that I was trying to make lots of little 'construction kit' parts, and then ending up with nasty overlaps and internal faces when I tried to 'build' my object.

                            But, it is often better to think more like like a sculptor - don't 'build' an object, rather 'carve' it from a solid block to remove the bits you don't want. The push/pull tool is your biggest friend for this.
                            Using 'intersect faces' (or Solid Tools if you have SU Pro) makes light work of 'carving' even the most complex 'negative shapes'.

                            For example, I needed to make some realistic screws with nice rounded 'mushroom' heads. But constructing the slots for a Phillps screwdriver into a curved surface isn't easy (and concave areas are always a bit awkward, even with X-ray view or wireframe).
                            Far easier to construct a nice easy convex 'screwdriver' component, and then use that to carve out the slots using subtraction.

                            This is as much about how you see the objects around you, as it is about SU technique (just as in painting or sculpture) - so it's worth training your eye to see the shapes of the 'nothingness' in objects as much as the solid matter.

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                            • M Offline
                              mics_54
                              last edited by

                              my attempt at fabricfabric.skp

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                              • E Offline
                                EWWinterbach
                                last edited by

                                @mics_54 said:

                                my attempt at fabric[attachment=0:1kogs4cp]<!-- ia0 -->fabric.skp<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment:1kogs4cp]

                                thank you so much for this example

                                it open up my world to the fabric thing that was holding my back
                                your example has helped heaps
                                now i am creating some awesome stuff
                                See it just needs one person to lead the way and the rest of us learn so much

                                bravo !!!!!

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                                • DanielD Offline
                                  Daniel
                                  last edited by

                                  Whatever your modeling, pay attention to how things are made, and model accordingly. And, pay attention to how you position your textures.

                                  My avatar is an anachronism.

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                                  • X Offline
                                    xphatjunkie
                                    last edited by

                                    My beginner tip (in landscape practice) : always save many scenes for every match perspectives, plan, detail, and section

                                    a Landscape Architect. Born in Indonesia. Live in Hong Kong

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                                    • D Offline
                                      DanYHKim
                                      last edited by

                                      Two-sided Faces

                                      I don't usually deal with materials and faces, but this is a useful characteristic. Faces have two different sides, and are usually colored differently. It is possible to make one face transparent, while the other side is opaque. I use this when modeling a house, so I can see the interior of the house when looking through the top, but a solid ceiling shows when I have POV inside the house.

                                      Here's a video of this:
                                      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivv4qcdX6lM

                                      [flash=425,344:32vbof82]http://www.youtube.com/v/ivv4qcdX6lM[/flash:32vbof82]

                                      Related video done by someone else:
                                      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBcI7Rzo6yU

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                                      • D Offline
                                        DanYHKim
                                        last edited by

                                        I always set up custom keyboard shortcuts, then save them to a file. I keep this file in a USB Flash drive that I carry with me, so it's handy. I also use the "Large Tool Set" instead of the "Getting Started" set, and set buttons small.

                                        My department has computers in the lab with SketchUp installed, but students do not have Admin rights. They cannot install plugins or components into the usual places. It turns out that you can copy the program folder for SketchUp to a Flash drive, and run it from there, if the host computer also has SketchUp installed. It may require that the same or higher version be installed, but haven't tested that yet.

                                        So, I have told students that they can install SketchUp on their home computers, install plugins and component bonus packs, and then copy the program folder to a USB drive. If they run the program from there, it will give them access to the plugin and components folders, which is very handy. Not exactly "portable" SketchUp, but close.

                                        I have a video of this:
                                        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VQmkz-MraA
                                        The relevant portion of this video begins at 5:25
                                        [flash=425,344:2tby5oj2]http://www.youtube.com/v/0VQmkz-MraA[/flash:2tby5oj2]

                                        In truth, there's probably no real reason why SketchUp can't be reconfigured to run as a portable app. Only a few minor changes would do it I'm sure.

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                                        • GaieusG Offline
                                          Gaieus
                                          last edited by

                                          Yes, that's a good trick. I also did it here where I painted the back face of the thick wall transparent so that windows "seem" to cut through those thick walls:

                                          Gai...

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                                          • B Offline
                                            bestmate
                                            last edited by

                                            If i may ,can i give you our future experts ( trust me it won't take long ) tips to help them along

                                            1/ Accurate inferencing, To me is the corner stone to clean non hair pulling out experiences in sketchup ( Zoom zoom to see were your putting that line)

                                            2/ COPLANER If that face will not fill in after 10 minutes ( and i have been there) its not flat ! If there are two lines very close together where there should be one ( you know, those lines that look alittle thicker that the other lines), then the party on its the way to pair shape city Ha ha.

                                            3/ Work cleanly and and erase those lines that should not be there ( the lines that keep flashing puppy eyes at your inference engine) ,and your clinical approach will reward you , in not wanting to get off your computer ,rather than throwing it out the window .
                                            Enjoy Phil

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