[Plugin] VisMap - Layer/Scene Visibility Map

MartinRinehart

this would request a url from internet explorer that would contain a 2,150 character string attached to an 11 character header to form a 2,161 character url - which exceeds IE's ( ) limits.

Thanks!

I've done a lot with bit maps, so packing 16k bits into a 2k string is not a problem. But is 16k going to handle really large animations? Or should I find (they're there) a more capacious solution?

Edit: "The data area passed to a system call is too small." Remember? That's the 2k data area that IE is trying to fit 2k+ bytes into.

Edson

@martinrinehart said:

Do you know anything about Ruby or JavaScript?

very little. however, i have been able to run tests for other coders when there was any problem about running scripts on mac. but i would have to be guided for that to work.

MartinRinehart

Edson,

Two attachments. "house.skp" is my test model. Try to VisMap it. If it works, then it's your models. Please send me the smallest one on which VisMap fails. Ignore the second file.

Leave "house.skp" loaded in SU if the above fails. "vismap.txt", which you must rename to "vismap.js", is the JavaScript but it is tricked out to not call the Ruby. Instead, it simulates the Ruby return of data appropriate to "house.skp". Save it to /dir/of/your/su/Plugins/vismap/ as "vismap.js" (UL'd as "vismap.txt" because this board won't permit ".js" files.) If it succeeds, then we have a problem in the Ruby code. If it fails, then we have a problem with the JavaScript. Let me know.

Martin

test model

tricked out JavaScript

Edson

martin,

i opened your model and the vismap UI was still blank. then i did as you asked me to: downloaded the other file, renamed it and put it in the proper folder. it worked: the UI appeared with the info related to house.skp. however, it did not work with any of my models. closing and opening the vismap window again while in your file works but it takes along for the info to appear.

do you want me to send you my model?

MartinRinehart

@edson said:

do you want me to send you my model?

I don't think so. The fact that you couldn't VisMap my model but you could VisMap with the tricked out JavaScript pretty much isolates the Ruby code as the villain. Ruby has a good reputation for being truly multi-platform. (Unlike JavaScript, where MSFT resolutely refuses to follow standards.)

Hmmmm.

Off topic: Speaking of things I don't know, where is Brazil in world tennis? I would have expected a wave to follow Kuerten.

On topic: Hmmmm. I'll think of something. (I hope.)

takesh h

Hi Martin,
Since I was having the blank dialog box problem too (in my case, I had to go to another program once and come back to SU to get Vismap display right), I tried the above house.skp and vismap.js files.
with house.skp, vismap showed a small blank dialog box first, so I dragged its edge to maxmize it and the content of the box appeared.
So I installed vismap.js. With it, vismap showed dialog box right, although it was small at the beginning.
Then funny things started happening. I opened several of my own models and tried vismap, but it kept showing the layer structure of house.skp! Now this is weird.

MartinRinehart

@takesh h said:

I opened several of my own models and tried vismap, but it kept showing the layer structure of house.skp! Now this is weird.

That was a tricked out vismap.js. It's trick was to pretend to call Ruby and then provide the Ruby's answer - appropriate to house.skp. The idea was to test that the JavaScript was working correctly, which it was.

DL the .zip again. You'll get a straight JavaScript and a better Ruby.

MSP_Greg

Martin,

I don't use scenes much, but congrats on your plug-in (I thought you said it was your first somewhere.)

For loading and unloading models, you may want to use the Sketchup::AppObserver and hook the onOpenModel(model) and onNewModel(model) events.

Secondly, you might consider wrapping all your code in a module and use 'self' for the methods, and using 'private' to control for external visibility. Helps with 'namespace type' collisions.

Lastly, I put the html as a string in my rb/rbs files and load it with dialog.set_html. It's easy to change the font size in the (inline) CSS before loading it in the dialog box, and I used 'em' for all the html size/layout units. HTML needs the same kind of escaping as strings passed between ruby and javascript.

HTH,

Greg

markozeta

@unknownuser said:

I've done a lot with bit maps, so packing 16k bits into a 2k string is not a problem. But is 16k going to handle really large animations? Or should I find (they're there) a more capacious solution?

If you're able to pass it as 32 bits/char, you could get 256^2 bits in. That would work for what I'm trying to do (make a decent pipe system of 200+ pieces and pass it to layout), but might not pass for animation work.

Make it a pro version and a free version, pro being for animation with a different data passing technique?

MartinRinehart

@markozeta said:

If you're able to pass it as 32 bits/char, you could get 256^2 bits in.

The limit is 2kB in the URL: 16k bits. I'm working on the code right now to pack 6 bits per byte which you can do with the printable ASCII characters, so it should be totally dependable and give you 12k scene/layer combinations.

@markozeta said:

Make it a pro version and a free version, pro being for animation with a different data passing technique?

I like this thinking!

MartinRinehart

Thanks for all the good ideas. I'm already pretty clean, namespace wise. (Only one public var, $vismap_model).

@msp_greg said:

Lastly, I put the html as a string in my rb/rbs files and load it with dialog.set_html.

That's a very interesting idea!

MSP_Greg

Martin,

I'm already pretty clean, namespace wise. (Only one public var, $vismap_model).

I was referring to procedure / function / class visibility, not variable visibility.

For instance, 'Model' may not be the best unqualified name for a class. IOW, what if someone has a lot of installed plug-ins? You don't want name resolution issues...

Thanks,

Greg

Bob James

This plugin has terrific potential for my work! I often have 50 or more layers and 10 or more scenes and, although "add hidden layer" is a great help, this plugin would be super for changing things later on in the process.

It worked perfectly with a small test model, but when I applied it to my current large model all I got was a blank dialog box. I tried all kinds of "open, close, scene update, save, etc. tricks", even the right click "reload".

This is on a MacPro.

Works fine for small test model

Does not work for large model (not all layers are shown)

takesh h

@bob james said:

It worked perfectly with a small test model, but when I applied it to my current large model all I got was a blank dialog box. I tried all kinds of "open, close, scene update, save, etc. tricks", even the right click "reload".

Bob, I am also on a Mac and having a similar problem.
In my case, when VisMap spreadsheet is bigger than dialog box, one of the followings will fix the visibility issue;

Move the dialog box then size-drag to fit VisMap spreadsheet.
Go to another program and come back, then resize the dialog box.
Hope it helps.

MartinRinehart

@bob james said:

when I applied it to my current large model all I got was a blank dialog box.

See my exchanges w/Edson. Known Mac issue, now tracked to the Ruby code.

MartinRinehart

Edson,

Drop attachment 1 into your .../Plugins/vismap subdir, open the Ruby Console and try again to vismap "house.skp".

The result should look like attachment 2. (The addresses - :0xhhhhhhh - will be totally different, but the rest will be the same up to the point of the failure.)

Have I thanked you adequately for your help and patience? Both are truly appreciated.

Martin

verbose Ruby code

Ruby Console output

Edson

martin,

no need to thank me. by helping you i am also helping myself and many others who will benefit from your plugin.

i followed your instructions. see the attached file below for the result.

edson_vismap.txt

MartinRinehart

@msp_greg said:

For instance, 'Model' may not be the best unqualified name for a class. IOW, what if someone has a lot of installed plug-ins? You don't want name resolution issues...

Thanks, Greg. I should maybe learn a bit more Ruby. How does this work?

You click VisMap on your Plugins menu. That's a trivial program that loads ...Plugins\vismap\vismap.rb. How might VisMap stumble onto some other Model class, or some other plugin stumble onto my Model?

Thanks!

MartinRinehart

@edson said:

i followed your instructions. see the attached file below for the result.

That output is perfect. Start to finish, it pulls the data it needs from your model into a correct JavaScript callback. The message doesn't get to JavaScript.

On the PC, this is what I dubbed, The Bug from Hell:

http://21st-century-languages.blogspot.com/2009/08/i-love-javascript-sometimes.html

Just to be sure, there is debugging info commented out in the "rubyReturned" function in "vismap.js". (A JavaScript inline comment is two forward slashes ("//") followed by a comment, or code you don't want to run or a seafood recipe.) Try uncommenting the "// whats_in_model()" function call. Just delete the two slashes. Try Vismap again.

Expected result: nothing. Ruby's callback doesn't call back. Took a week to figure this out on the PC. Why should the Mac be different? (It should be different because it's a Mac, but this is Google code, not Apple code.)

Possible result: you get a pop-up, center screen, detailing "whats_in_model()". Then we have something to work with. Otherwise, ...

MartinRinehart

The current version now supports about 12k layer/scene intersections.

Mac issues remain.

"Monty", (I say to my pet python) "That's the dumbest idea you've ever had."

"Yeah, hotshot, you got a better idea?"

Lacking an answer, am now trying Monty's suggestion. You never know.