Plugin Help
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Hello everyone,
I am very new to this site. Although I have ben using sketchup for a while now, i have never used plugins. I have a mac and when i download a plugin, such as skin tool, what am i supposed to do with it? Do i put it in the ruby command line? or perhaps a special folder of some sort? Please help, thanks.
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Hi Jake,
@abacodude120 said:
or perhaps a special folder of some sort?
Yes, exactly. I don't know where the Plugins folder is on a Mac, so I usually tell people to ask SketchUp where to install the files.
If you copy and paste this line into the Ruby Console window (lower area):
Sketchup.find_support_file("Plugins")Sketchup will tell you where to put the files.
For single-file plugins ending in .rb, it is easier. You only need to copy the file into the Plugins folder (returned in the Ruby Console in the previous step.)
Many plugins consist of multiple files and are typically distributed as a .zip or .rar archive. It is important to check the "preserve folder hierarchy" option when extracting a plugin in this form.
Typically, there is a .rb file and an associated folder in the archive. Move both into the Plugins folder.
Once the files have been moved/copied to the Plugins folder, you will want to close and open SketchUp.
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I am not a mac user either so I also refer to something else:
http://www.smustard.com/faq/index.php?action=artikel&cat=5&id=1&artlang=en -
Thank you so much!
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Hi Jake,
Installing plugins on a Mac was extremely frustrating for the first six months I used SU. It seemed very hit or miss to get a plug in to work. I very nearly gave up. Here's what works for me.
First the plugins go in: Mackintosh HD> Libary> Google Sketchup7> Sketchup> Plugins. When I download a plugin I open a window on the desktop that has the plugins folder. If the download is just a .rb I drop it into the plugins folder. If it comes as a zip file I extract the file on the desktop, open that file and separately drop the .rb and the folder containing support material into the plugins folder. Trash the now empty folder on the desktop. I also save the zip files to a folder on my desktop in case of accidental loss or damage to the plugins folder. In addition I occasionally save another copy of my plugins folder. All because some plugins cause conflicts.
I hope this helps. Enjoy SU - it's an addiction.
John -
Hey guys,
Me too! I'm having HELL loading certain plug-ins with my Mac (the Layers management plug-in being particularly difficult). Thanks for these tips, I'll try these tomorrow. I've been seriously thinking of buying SU Pro, but having to run it on a PC only gives me the screaming abdabs. (I don't mind Windows, but from a workflow sense, I just prefer Mac).
I really want Google to sort this nonsense out. It really shouldn't be this arcane, just to get some plug-ins to work first time
Tom
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@gaieus said:
I am not a mac user either so I also refer to something else:
http://www.smustard.com/faq/index.php?action=artikel&cat=5&id=1&artlang=enGaieus, these guidelines don't always work. Worse still, some ruby developers insist on having plug-ins placed in different directories or libraries. Podium is a classic for this. Podium sets up a folder in the user directory, which seems to turn off other plug-ins. You have to manually reset everything after installing. The developers really should rethink this- or at least listen to us Mac users.
I've also paid, downloaded and installed "booltools" which after much mucking around with different locations, now shows up, but doesn't actually work. The Layers Management plugin, that appeared recently, shows up, but all the icons are missing from the toolbars. The instructions say place in the user library. Again why? They should go in the main directory. It's almost as if people take one look at Mac OS X, and liken it to "hacked Linux" (someone once called it that to me). Then they treat it like Linux, and then wonder why it doesn't work properly!
Sorry for the rant. I need to sleep......
regards,
Tom
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if you all really want to know the best way to deal with GSU plugins on macs then check it:
[i won't go into the podium spiel again and how to deal with it but check this post --
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?p=146352#p146352
that said, for best operation, get rid of the user/lib/etc plugin folder if you have one.. it wasn't there when you originally installed su7 and the only reason it exist is because the podium installer created it...]ok, here's how you do it..
1.)
go to the sketchup folder:
Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 7/SketchUp
once there, you'll see the plugin folder.. drag that folder to the finder's sidebar.. this in effect will create a shortcut to your plugin folder so you're not always navigating 6-7 folders deep to get to it
[as a sidenote, i also like to keep my current project folders there.. gives me quick access to see all my files in different views (list,column,cover flow, or icon) + it's right there in all the apps save dialogs as well.. once you're done with a project, just drag it out of the sidebar and it will do the smoke puff thing.. it doesn't erase anything, it's similar to dragging something out of the dock).. fwiw, i always have my su plugin folder there..2.)
in safari's general preferences, check 'open safe files after downloading'... this will unzip your downloads automatically as they come in.. (and this isn't really necessary.. it's just my preference and it saves an extra step)also, in the same preference area, set 'save downloaded files to' the downloads folder which should be in the dock
3.)download a ruby from sketchucation, open the download folder, drag the files to the sidebar plugin folder, and start sketchup.. done son..
here's a video showing me setting up the sidebar then downloading chris fullmer's perpendicular face tools, installing it and restarting sketchup..
it's a lot faster and easier to do than typing all of these instructions
good luck[flash=853,505:71dnuzhj]http://www.youtube.com/v/HOJFjy18mKQ&hl=en&fs=1&[/flash:71dnuzhj]
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