Loading script without restarting?

Wo3Dan

How do I replace a script in my SU's plugins menu without restarting SU.
Right now when using load'scrip't.rb' through ruby console it adds to the menu the "new option" by applying UI.menu("PlugIns").add_item("new option") in the script.
Does this mean there is also a stack of loaded scripts after a while. Or is only the text "new option" added to the menu.

In other words, how can I be sure the script is completely replaced by entering code through ruby console?

Bear with me, I'm just starting/trying to learn writing ruby.
Thanks in advance.
Wo3Dan

Chris Fullmer

When you load the script again, it will generally overwrite the old loaded version. There are exceptions. If you had a method defined in the old script that is no longer in the new script, the method will still be active in SU until you reboot SU. But most code changes will get updated. Also, if you are not checking to see if the script has been loaded before adding it to the menu, you will end up with multiple listings of your script in the menu. They will all run the newest loaded version of the script though. And they go away once you restart SU.

I tend to write code snippets in Jim's awesome webconsole. It lets you not worry about making menu items to run the script. Just hit execute each time you want to test your code. Then once I get a nuch of working code, I take it over to an editor (notepad++ for me). Then once its in there I just save and reopen SU everytime I want to test changes. Or I go back to the webconsole to keep working snippet by snippet. And then go plug the pieces back into my big code in notepad++.

Chris

Wo3Dan

Thanks for the quick response, Chris.
So you are saying that you cannot avoid getting multiple listings of the reloaded script. Well, good to hear that the code is updated.
I can understand about a skipped method still being active although I wasn't expecting that.
My problem is (and I guess it will be for a long time) to get the syntax memorized in my grey brain cells and see how things are put together. So I need to take apart simple examples, modify them to see what happens until I "see the light".

What exactly is Jim's awesome webconsole. Where do I find it and how can it help me in understanding what scripts/script changes do in SU?

Thanks again.
Wo3Dan

Chris Fullmer

Jim websoncole is here:

http://sketchuptips.blogspot.com/2007/08/plugin-webconsolerb.html

Install it and I think you'll love it. While the ruby console allows only a single line of code at a time, the webconsole lets you type in all you want, and then just click execute to run it all.

So I rarely set up menus in the webconsole. I don't want to load the snippet into a menu, just test it out - repeatedly.
` model = Sketchup.active_model
ents = model.entities
sel = model.selection

puts "--"
puts sel
puts "--"
puts sel.to_a
puts "--"`

I often do much more than that, but somtimes it only take 5 or 10 lines to figure out what I want.

And for the menus, yes you can keep it from loading repeatedly. This is in the utilities.rb plugin that comes with sketchup. It checks to see if it was loaded already with the if( not file_loaded?(__FILE__) ) line. If its not loaded, then it adds the menu items. After that, it then adds the file to the list of loaded files with the file_loaded(__FILE__) line.

# Add an Animations sub-menu to the Camera menu
if( not file_loaded?(__FILE__) )
    add_separator_to_menu("Plugins")
    animation_menu = UI.menu("Plugins").add_submenu("SubMenu")
    animation_menu.add_item("Plugin Title") {methodname}
end

file_loaded(__FILE__)

That is how you should load full plugins so that they register themselves with Sketchup's loaded plugins and then they won't keep adding themselves to the menu system.

Chris

Wo3Dan

Good morning Chris and all,

Just woke up, thank you for the link to the webconsole.
It looks like this being the best of both worlds for what I'm doing.
(didn't like the one liners nor the restart etc.)
So I'm going to try it. It might take some time for any next questions for I like trying things out to get a better understanding.
Who knows, one day I might even come up with my own usefull script here.
One step at the time though!

I realy appreciate your help!!!
Wo3Dan

Jim

One trick I've used is to create the menu item in the Ruby console, and have it just load a file.

So in the Ruby console, you enter something like:


UI.menu("Plugins").add_item("Snippet Loader") { load "snippet.rb" }

And then in your snippet.rb file...


# snippet.rb
m = Sketchup.active_model
e = m.entities
s = m.selection

puts "=" * 25 # add a divider for visual separation in the output

# Do your test...

So now you get to use your favored editor to edit the snippet.rb file, and assign a shortcut to load it and run it.

Wo3Dan

Jim,

I see you are the creater of this webconsole script.
Thank you for this great tool.

What you just wrote in previous post, is this about creating route different from the webconsole in SU, to let you write outside SU and then run these snippets inside SU?
I'll have a better look and see if I can get it to work if I understand.
The webconsole is a huge improvement for a poor soul like me.
(I must have missed it since it is from 2006)

Thanks again,
Wo3Dan