[REQ] replace construction point with component

[djohnson.nz]

Hi all,
I am looking for a plugin that will replace selected construction points with a component.
Anyone know of one.
Cheers.

[Jackson]

Better post ruby requests in the Ruby discussions forum (add [Request] to the topic title so people know you're requesting something rather than offering).

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewforum.php?f=180

[Ecuadorian]

Could you give us an idea of the intended use? You could simply make that construction point a component itself and then right click > Reload component.

[Gaieus]

Imagine he has a set of construction points (imported) as place-holders for trees for instance. Now he wants to turn them into instances of the same component definition and yes, indeed, for the same reason; to be able to reload these construction point-components with real trees.

(Do I get a beer if I guessed correctly?)

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Edit - as Jackson said, there is more chance for something in the ruby forum so I am moving the topic).

[honoluludesktop]

Assuming that you do not already have the points located, you can also make a point into a component, and insert it from the the component's menu. When you are done, "edit component" one of the component points, and insert your component into it.

[djohnson.nz]

you have earned yourself a light beer Gaieus,
I am working with LIDAR information which gives me a point cloud and I want to represent the trees in the park. I would like to select a tree and replace the construction points with leaf components. (probably just green diamonds) A large tree contains about 450 construction points. This would give me an accurate representation of the canopy. If I was to make each construction point a component then replace them I would have to make 450 separate points into components (no thanks)then replace them. A script which simply replaces the selected construction points with the selected component would do that nicely. A script which relaces the component points and aligns the component to radiate away from a central point would be awesum.
Cheers.

[djohnson.nz]

Thanks for that code Tig. I will give that a try as soon as I have some time to experiment. Always wanted to have a go at scripts so nows my chance.

[TIG]

def cpoints2components()
  model=Sketchup.active_model
  ents=model.active_entities
  ss=model.selection
  instance=nil; cpoints=[]
  ss.each{|e|
    cpoints<<e if e.class==Sketchup;;ConstructionPoint
    instance=e if e.class==Sketchup;;ComponentInstance
  }
  if not instance or not cpoints[0]
    UI.messagebox("Must select an Instance of a Component and at least one Cpoint.")
    return nil
  end#if
  model.start_operation("cpoints2components")
  cpoints.each{|cpoint|
    tr=Geom;;Transformation.new(cpoint.position)
    ents.add_instance(instance.definition,tr)
  }
  model.commit_operation
end#def

Copy this into a file called cpoints2compos.rb in the Plugins Folder.
Select your Cpoints and one Instance of the required Component, type/paste cpoints2components into the Ruby Console and it should swap them around. [Menu is easy too but I'll leave that to you...]
Cpoints are also left behind ... Delete Construction Geometry to erase them or tweak the code to erase! them afterwards...

[Gaieus]

Looking forward to the results - really curious how it works.

[djohnson.nz]

@gaieus said:

Looking forward to the results - really curious how it works.

Hi there,
Just got back to this today.
The code worked really well thanks Tig.
Attached is the sketchup file I used to create the trees from LIDAR
Its a bit fiddly but the result could be useful.
More could be done to change the nature of the component to get a feel for different tree types.
Use the layers to turn off the constructino points to see what the trees look like. Note I havent done all the trees.
I added very basic lines as trunks and this helps visualise the tree a bit better.
Remember these are New Zealand trees so they might look different to yours.
Cheers.

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SU7.1 file