What's your beginners tip?
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@tig said:
This is contrary to received wisdom.
Most users always leave Layer0 as the active layer
They make all of their geometry on that active layer.
They then make a Group or Component from that selected geometry
They then assign some other Layer to that 'container' using Entity Info.
They use Layers to control visibility.
Creating base level edges and faces [aka geometry] on a Layer other that Layer0 is a recipe for disaster, or at least confusion...Yes, we know, TIG - however what if you have finally managed to put a certain complex geometry (say a gorup / coponent) on a certain layer other than Layer 0 and then decide to explode it.
What happens? Where will the more primitive elements get?
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[Long time no see!]
Yes, it is unfortunate that the default exploding of a 'container' - i.e. a Group/Component-Instance/Image - will results in anything within it that was on Layer0 being reassigned to the layer which had been assigned to the 'container'.
There are several approaches to this:
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Remember to use 'Entity Info' to reassign the container's layer to Layer0, BEFORE you Explode it.
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Use a plugin like my http://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=explodegroup2layers to do the same thing...
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Use this snippet in the Ruby Console + <enter>, to reassign all Selected Groups/Instances to Layer0, and only then Explode them - so then all layers remain unchanged.
s=Sketchup.active_model.selection;a=s.grep(Sketchup;;Group)+s.grep(Sketchup;;ComponentInstance);a.each{|e|e.layer=nil;e.explode}It's easiy made into a script...
- I think Jim also wrote a similar script... but I can't find it immediately, and I do have to go to the pub
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Hi Tig and Hi Gaieus,
meanwhile I try to switch my SkUp-working style to the "Layer 0" method
and yes, absolute beginners will certainly use this method.
Other users (like me and certainly all of you) who have a long-standing CAD background will understand why I have given this (wrong) advice above. For example, not only for AutoCAD or Revit the "Layer 0" discussions fill hundreds of webpages as you can imagineLuckily the layer visibility per scene worked well so far over years and luckily there was no disaster or confusion so far. I still do not know why but fortune favors fools! Anyway, I am now getting used to the here recommended method. I have already even changed my origin template
I would like to follow and learn your "Explode Group to Layers" advice (thanks for that), but unfortunately I do not understand how to do it - I do not have any experience working with the Console - unfortunately. Maybe you or another member here might post a screenshot on this method? Or maybe someone can recommend any YouTube video tutorial on this topic or maybe there is already a thread on this topic here? Any help to learn that would be great!
Finally I have a very stupid question: how do you (all) do these screenshots here to show content of any other posts on which you refer in your own answer, as Gaieus has done it above? - I am really embarrassed to ask that
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I hadn't had the patience to read all tips so this one may be out there:
Forget about hitting ESC a thousand times when you want to cancel the mess you're in, as you used to do in AutoCAD. Try using the SPACE key instead.
SPACE key is the one to use as it cancels the command by switching to SELECT tool.
Hitting ESC key will probably get you in a bigger mess because:
1 - Your command isn't cancelled, just reset to it's initial action.
2 - Any active dialog box (like the Paint dialog, components, or entity info, etc) will close...
3 - If you're in editing a group/component context (double click to edit) ESC cancels editing and returns to the context you were before. When you know what you're doing it's very useful but for beginners, sometimes this means jumping out of multiple nested groups/components and getting lost in the model.Now that you know, use ESC key and double click to speed up your navigation.
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To be sure you are selecting some basic geometry for edition and not the group/component wich is nesting it, click a thousand times on it until all connected edges and faces get selected (visually this is usually blue or orange edges and blue or orange dotted faces).
Then you can select the single face/edge and move it, pushpull it, offset it, paint it directly or do whatever you want with it.
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Hornoxx to quote another post, hit the " " " quotation mark icon in the upper right of that post. It will place the post text and pictures in that format into your reply window.
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@pbacot said:
Hornoxx to quote another post, hit the " " " quotation mark icon in the upper right of that post. It will place the post text and pictures in that format into your reply window.
pbacot - thank you !
(please don´t tell it anyone)
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My tip:
If you ever find yourself not being able to do a certain task in an efficient manner, there is a very good chance someone else has been there before. If they have, they may have created a plugin to solve it. Or a clever workaround. Never settle for a "adequate" solution, always try to find a better way. It will turn you into the office guru in no time. This is about making a short-term investment that will often pay out in the short term, and always in the long term.
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Create and use an easily readable layering system
Double/triple check working layer OFTEN
learn to group & use components
Learn shortcuts (print them & keep at workstation until they become muscle memory)
Buy Nick Sonders book "Sketchup and Layout for Architecture"
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@scottchup said:
Create and use an easily readable layering system
Double/triple check working layer OFTEN
learn to group & use components
Learn shortcuts (print them & keep at workstation until they become muscle memory)
Buy Nick Sonders book "Sketchup and Layout for Architecture"
Good list. As for the working layer. You might write that as, "Double/triple check that Layer 0 is always the active layer."
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I discovered, by accident, that dimensions can be rotated any number of degrees and their value is automatically recalculated.
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Brute leftclick yourself into context until your faces are hatched blue as selected. Then you can edit them.
If what you want is to select the group/component nesting those faces, hit ESC once and click the mouse once.
By doing that you'll be able easily tell the difference between transforming a component (move, scale, rotate, etc) or editing the entities inside it.
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@jql said:
Brute leftclick yourself into context until your faces are hatched blue as selected. Then you can edit them.
If what you want is to select the group/component nesting those faces, hit ESC once and click the mouse once.
By doing that you'll be able easily tell the difference between transforming a component (move, scale, rotate, etc) or editing the entities inside it.
Brute-leftclick until you are blue in the face? What?
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@pbacot said:
@jql said:
Brute leftclick yourself into context until your faces are hatched blue as selected. Then you can edit them.
If what you want is to select the group/component nesting those faces, hit ESC once and click the mouse once.
By doing that you'll be able easily tell the difference between transforming a component (move, scale, rotate, etc) or editing the entities inside it.
Brute-leftclick until you are blue in the face? What?
LOL...
Use select tool and click 3.000.000 times in a component or group until you select all it's faces. Then you know you're inside it.
It's good for nested groups and components that eventually make up a complex model.
Most people I teach SU to, have a hard time figuring out if they are inside or outside of the group. This way they are sure they are inside as suddenly all the faces are selected with a triple click.
It sounds strange, but it's the best advice I have for beginners.
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That's cool. (Now you see, I want a command click /plugin that opens the nested component where the face lives.)
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@pbacot said:
That's cool. (Now you see, I want a command click /plugin that opens the nested component where the face lives.)
You can already do that from Outliner. Of course you need to give the components useful names so you can identify the one you want to edit.
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Someone needs to make an Extension called Deep Dive that brings you into the murky waters of selecting Component#512 by simply knowing you want to select it.
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@rich o brien said:
Someone needs to make an Extension called Deep Dive that brings you into the murky waters of selecting Component#512 by simply knowing you want to select it.
Mind Reading?
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@rich o brien said:
Someone needs to make an Extension called Deep Dive that brings you into the murky waters of selecting Component#512 by simply knowing you want to select it.
Powered by the infinite improbability drive.
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Don't think of layers as layers. They don't introduce drawing contexts as layers in other programs usually do (e.g. LayOut). In SketchUp groups and components server that purpose. Think of layers as tags that you apply to entities, not places you put the entities on. Also, think of layer0 as "none" or "No tag has been applied" as it is fundamentally diofferent from the "other" layers. It's the only one that cannot be renamed or deleted.
Think of the default material as No Material. That makes material inheritance in groups and components and the fact that its color is controlled from Styles and not Materials much easier to understand.
Read the status bar! The native tools and properly made plugins show a lot of useful information here.
Remember that the instructor exists. A lot of users, including myself, starts off by hiding the instructor because it's too d**n distracting with its animation. However, if you don't know how a tool functions or forget what modifier keys there are, or even just are curious if there is any additional functionality of the tool that you didn't know of, the instructor is a very useful resource.
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