[Plugin] Three Line Tools (Updated March 9th, 2009)

Chris Fullmer

I know its not much consoloation, but if you figure out the total elevation you are going for, then it works just the same. If you know you want a line that is 200cm above a plane that is 400cm above the 0,0. Then make that first line go to an elevation of 600cm and it will be as long as you want and all subsequent lines will also go to the desired height.

JGA

Thanks very much. The video explanations also help a great deal.

plot-paris

first of all, thank you very much Chris, great tool!

I have two little suggestions:

1. use the select tool to select an object (e.g. terrain) then click one of the 'Three Line Tools' buttons. instead of clicking onto the terrain surface and manually placing lines you right-click the selected terrain and choose the option 'place line on each face'. now the plugin places a line on each face of the selected object
(important: if you work with a smoothed object make sure to enable 'view hidden geometry' to make sure that a line is placed on every face. otherwise the plugin will place lines only on those faces that are visibly divided).

2. click one of the 'Three Line Tools' buttons to start the process of placing lines. but before you start, right-click and choose the option 'place components'. now the plugin places the same component instead of a line. the vertical axis of the component is aligned to the line within the component. if you worked with the 'elevation'-function, the component's height will be defined by the first one placed and all the others will be scaled.
this tool makes it very easy to later replace all these components with another one of your choice (trees, columns or needles, like in the above image).

both these functions are disabled by default. so if you don't need them you can simply ignore them. but if they have been chosen once the settings will be remembered for this SketchUp session.

what do you think? or ?

publied

very interesting tool! many congrats (and thank you).

Chris Fullmer

Thanks!

@Plot, I'm thinking about it. Some of that functionality fits right in with some of Frenchy's wishes too. I just haven't had time to do it yet. If I get more time to work on this one again, those are good ideas.

Chris

Doodler

Hi Chris, I'm new to this forum. Thanks for the great plugin. I wanted to try something different today and I came across this plugin. I've had fun with it, just playing around. I also wanted to say the tutorial is good too. Not only does it show me how to use the tool, I could actually see what you were doing, the video was clear and your explanation was to the point.

Chris Fullmer

I don't quite get it. Seems like the tool should do that already. Do you have a quick drawing to show better what you mean? I think I don't understand how you're using (or wanting to use) line tools in your workflow.

Chris

JClements

You answered too quickly ... I updated my previous posting. The more I think about it, the lines tools wouldn't.

I think what would be needed is a way somehow set the origin Z value to a specific base elevation (like a site's ground level or slab level of a building), and then somehow have your line tool reconize this and draw up from that value to a specified elevation or distance.

JClements

Hi Chris:

Could you add one that draws lines UP FROM an elevation to a specified elevation.

I'm often given scan of old section drawings for piping which only give the elevations of their centerlines and joints.

Chris Fullmer

Ahh yes, I think the ability to set a base z height was requested before too. It could be done. I won't get to it soon though I'm afraid. But when I get around to updating scripts, that could go on my list of features to add. Thanks for the great suggestion John!

Chris

JClements

Thanks Chris, for considering this. You've done so much already.

It sure would save me a lot of time from manually subtracting elevation valves to determine vertical pipe lengths or the placement of their horizontal centerlines (many elevations in the drawings I get are specified to the tenth or hundredth of a foot as pipe slopes are critical to gravity feed flow ... yikes).

rombout

what are all these plugins ??? never saw them before

Afbeelding 14.png

Chris Fullmer

I think that is a toolbar full of various plugins and with new icons. So they might be plugins you already have, just different icons. I'm not sure if they are still available as a group like that. But you can download them all separately.

Chris

markozeta

Chris,

Can you also make the normal tool work so if a single edge is selected (without a face), it'll draw a line perpendicular to that line? And then you'd just choose the rotation of that perpendicular line?

Or something like that?

Or would that have to be a fourth line tool?

Mark

Chris Fullmer

It would be tricky to figure out how to reliably set the rotation.

But I keep wanting the tool to work when its clicked on a vertex of 2 or more lines that do not necessarily make a face (like on an arc). I would be interested in exploring more possibilities like these with this tool.

Chris