[Plugin] Boolean--OSCoolean (Dec 2013) for SU 8 up free ver

Jspro

Dear TIG thanks for help, as i was saying i am new to this. Where would i find this skp file? if i knew where to find it i would sure like to send it to you. The Ruby Console had no message in it. I suspect from my lack of knowledge of the internal working of Sketchup & plugins that maby i should just be happy with sketchup the way it is. i just thought that this forum was for all ,when i sent the wrong pic of the model that should have been the clue that i am a rookie. thanks john

TIG

OK... we really do have our work cut out here...

At least if we are not getting error messages we know something

A Sketchup model is saved as a file on your computer.
That model-file have a file-type suffix '.SKP' [or .skp that's irrelevant].
So a model is often referred to a a 'SKP'...
That's the file you can attach to a post - just as you attached an image-file.
[Note that your system might be set also to make 'backup-files' [.SKB] of your model. do NOT attach that file...]

Everyone has to start somewhere, all of us were 'useless' at some point...

On a separate issue from the 'SKP'...
I note that you have '...AdditionalPluginFolders.rb' in your Plugins folder.
Why?
This is only needed by users who know what they are doing... and have additional plugins in folders other than the standard folder structure, that they also want to auto-load - e.g. if you kept some plugins on a central server... Unless you really do need that remove it from the Plugins folder...

Every .rb [and .rbs...] file in the Plugins folder will 'auto-load' [or at least try to do so] when Sketchup starts. So only have those types of files in there that you want to load and which you know are 'OK'...
Many files auto-load and then load other files in special subfolders... hence the 'Lib' folder for Fredo's scripts - these add extra functions and often the main bulk of a tool's coding...

Jspro

Dear tig i am truley trying to find this .skp file when i type in search the drawing comes up, and i know now thats not what you want. is it some where in the c drive? ive look in sketchup folders, i dont know? the AdditionalPluginFolders.rb' was suggested by the author. would you like me to remove it?

TIG

If you are not actually 'using' the '...AdditionalPlugins' script then please remove it from the Plugins folder. It's pointless having things complicate issues unnecessarily...

On this question of the 'SKP file'...
How have you been able to open and save models thus far ???
If you have a new Sketchup model and you save it, you are prompted where to save it to.
How do you then open it later ?
That is the very SKP file you could attach to a post - although as I have said it's unlikely to offer much of a solution...
Surely you understand the basic operation of a computer ?
Have you ever used a PC before ?
Do you understand how files are made and saved as different 'types of file', so that they will open with different applications that are specific to that 'type' etc... for example a TXT file or a DOC file or a SKP file, or a PNG or JPG file, etc will ALL open with different applications [aka programs!]..

Jspro

TIG, well your patience with me paid off. I removed the AdditionalPlugins than restarted win and now it works, i glad you stayed and helped. When i was downloading the plugin (Round Corner) the author had put id his referral of this (I also suggest that you install 000_AdditionalPluginFolders to have more control on errors when Sketchup loads plugins.) so i did? i dont know. Well thanks again John

blackcat1313

I just gotta say, this plugin is FANTASTIC -- I just tried it on a few simple shapes and it works great! Thanks Oscar! You plugin writers are really making this Sketchup thing work in the real world!

Bill

huajiet

hi,

first of all, great plugin. it has been working fine for the first few times until recently, when the plugin stopped giving any observable response after selecting both operands.

ruby console gives me something like this:

WARNING: make_unique is a deprecated methodof Sketchup:Group
WARNING: make_unique is a deprecated methodof Sketchup:Group
WARNING: make_unique is a deprecated methodof Sketchup:Group
Error: #<TypeError: reference to deleted Edge>
(eval):279:in all_connected' (eval):279:in Remain_Face'
(eval):279:in collect' (eval):279:in Remain_Face'
(eval):331:in Intersect_outer' (eval):422:in Cut'
(eval):123:in set_current_point' (eval):80:in onLButtonUp'
(eval):279

could someone interpret this for me?

much thanks in advance.

nate812

Awesome! Thanks! I had to disable SketchyPhisics to allow it to work - but works great!!

willyshop

I'm having some trouble getting this to work. After I installed it and restarted sketchup, the new toolbar didn't show up. I went in the ruby console to load it manually, and got the following error:

Error: #<SyntaxError: (eval):27:in `load': /Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins/OSCoolean.rbs:1: no .<digit> floating literal anymore; put 0 before dot
RBS1.0
^
/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins/OSCoolean.rbs:1: parse error, unexpected tINTEGER
RBS1.0
^>
(eval):27
(eval):27

TIG

Did you look under View > Toolbars [aka ToolPalettes on MAC ?] to activate its toolbar ?

Unsure about that 'error message' - the script is encrypted as RBS rather than a readable RB format...

prairiemain

This is an EXCELLENT tool. I don't see how anyone using Sketchup on a regular basis can live without it. I'd rank this in the top five MUST HAVE extensions.

When I first installed this and could not get it to work. I finally did get it to work and my problem was operator error I was using it wrong. You first select WHAT operation you want to perform THEN the two components you want to operate on. Works like a charm, then.

I'm usually pretty good at following directions, as per the OSCoolean videos which are short and show absolutely what you need to know, but one gets into the habit of first "selecting" then "operating" for core and plugin functions. Hopefully, this experience will teach me to be more alert.

Others have mentioned this in previous posts but I thought I would also bring it up: While using the Ruby Console to debug for why this plugin was not working, I did not see error messages but warnings about "deprecated".

WARNING; make_unique is a deprecated methodof Sketchup;Group
WARNING; make_unique is a deprecated methodof Sketchup;Group
WARNING; make_unique is a deprecated methodof Sketchup;Group
WARNING; make_unique is a deprecated methodof Sketchup;Group
WARNING; make_unique is a deprecated methodof Sketchup;Group

A hearty salute to the author of this great tool, oscarlok.

TIG

Don't worry WARNING: make_unique is a deprecated methodof Sketchup:Group is an erroneous 'spurious' message from the API.
In fact there are many occasions when you need to make groups unique so that you only have the one instance to refer to.
The 'error' message assumes that every operation on duplicating a group makes it unique automatically [as it logically ought to be], BUT this is actually not the case!
To see this, make a simple group and then copy it using Move+Ctrl.
Select one instance and open Entity Info, it will report that there are two groups with the same definition in the model !!
Now edit the selected group, but close the edit without making any changes.
Now the selected group's Entity Info reports ONE group, the copy has been rendered unique automatically by SketchUp working behind the scenes.
The equivalent in the API code is group.make_unique - this will produce the same result [as you can't mimic an 'edit' in code any other way].
Therefore the method is NOT 'deprecated' and is needed whenever group.entities.parent.instances[1] returns true, like when a group has been copied and not edited...
It will remain that way until the SketchUp inner workings auto-uniquify copied groups, so then authors won't have to trap for duplicates in Ruby code as there'll never be any...

Esquimo

Hi, i'm sorry, i havent read all pages for this topic but the prime and the last ones.

So i've put the oscar folder and the OSCoolean.rbs file in my sktechup 8 plugins folder, restarted the beast and i dont even see the boolean toolbar. Nothing.

Is it normal? does it work with sketchup 8?

Esquimo

Ok, again, very sorry.
I've found out on the pages that i didnt read.
Hehe.
View/tool palette/OSCoolean.

there i go...

Esquimo

Ok, i installed the plugin, viewed the toolbar BUT, if i create 2 components and then select one of the boolean tool, when i try to select any of the 2 components, nothing happens. I cant even seem to be able to select the components, meaning they dont outline in blue. I have to unselect the boolean tool and try again. But nothing changes and it still doesnt do it.
Also i looked like it would work with 2 groups instead of components, meaning i can at least select the 2 groups but coolean is processing... forever with actually resulting in anything.

any tips?

Esquimo

So here is the error message from the console:

Error: #<NoMethodError: undefined method best_picked' for nil:NilClass> (eval):108:in set_current_point'
(eval):83:in `onLButtonUp'

and here is a screenshot of my plugins folder.

I'm voluntarily ommitting to upload the .skp file as it is probably the same as JSPRO, a simple cylinder component and a simple rectangle component. Nothing else.

yanrothwell

Hello,
I have OSCoolean working on free Sketchup 8, but I am struggling with grouped objects - attached image is a frame of a shed like structure. I'm trying to 'cut out' the frame ends where they meet the floor boards... Anyone assist me possibly? Oh - when I try to execute OSCoolean it just hangs on the 'OS Coolean is processing.....'

Thanks very much for any tips in advance. This forum is grand!
Ian

floor and frames.jpg

TIG

Presumably the floorboards AND posts etc are raw geometry in their respective groups... no nested groups.
Edit the post's group [double-click].
View > Component Edit > Hide Rest of Model [works on Components AND Groups]
Now the floorboards etc are hidden.
Select All and use context-menu Intersect with Model.
Lines appear around the posts etc where they intersect the floorboards.
Change the View to a Side-elevation, without Perspective, and use Select with a fence right>left to catch all of the unwanted geometry below floor level.
Press Delete to remove all of the highlighted parts.
Exit the edit, now the posts etc should be neatly trimmed to the top of the floorboards...

TIG

Sorry, I misunderstood.
'Cut out' versus 'Cut off'...

If the floorboards are individual groups/unique-component-instances you will need edit each one in turn, select its geometry and Intersect with model, to get a cutout for each post etc.
because those cutouts aren't readily 'selectable'... you can either PushPull their faces to form a hole in the plank [remember that for subsequent PushPull operations you can just double-click on a face and the same distance is used], or use the Erase tool to remove some edges to make suitable holes [or pick-select the faces and press the Delete key].

Of course you only need to make these 'holes' if you intend showing the construction sequence [or you have OCD], otherwise intersecting the two posts and floorboards groups will add lines around the intersections and the unseen geometry will only be hidden from view, adding a little unnecessary load to view rendering etc, but nothing more...

The trick of setting your View to hide other objects whilst editing is useful, and toggles [make a shortcut] - sometimes you want other things out of the way, but sometimes they are useful to snap onto etc...

yanrothwell

Old school and fast. Thanks. I should have explained myself better, sorry. I need to cut the floor boards around the post (rather than cut the posts), I've got the floor boards individually grouped, then all of them in one single group - is that what you mean by 'nested' group?... 'Intersect with model' doesn't cut out. That's why I was hoping OSCoolean would do it in one command... Anyway to do this efficiently?