SU 9 Wishlist

brodie

Waht you read. Working with two tools together

I'm still not understanding I guess. It seems like SU does that a lot. The move tool for instance also rotates, copies, creates arrays, and stretches geometry.

@unknownuser said:

Can you rotate and traslate at the same time?

What do you mean by translate? Move? You can use the rotate tool and set the origin somewhere other than on the object which will rotate the object at the same time it's moving it about a circle centered on the tool's origin. This is how you make polar arrays of course. Or you can use the move tool to move an object and then while still in the tool you can rotate the object. I guess that's not 'at the same time' but I'm not sure how you'd control all those variables at once. Is there another software that does what you're referring to?

@unknownuser said:

Yes except if you are using "hand curves"

I don't know what a 'hand curve' is

@unknownuser said:

No. I'm refering moving any object selecting ONLY origing point and destination point.

Select object, type M for move tool, click origin point, click destination point. That's currently how it works. Again, I must be misunderstanding.

@unknownuser said:

Yes and not. When exporting, certainly it export what you see. BUT it export also what you can't see. Imagine a block of apartments with 24 floors and you REALLY need renderize only 3 or 4...

Then you'd hide those other floors or put them on a layer and turn that layer off. Again, this functionality is already within SU. You say that it exports what you see but also what you CAN'T see. It sounds like you want to reverse that so that it would export what you can't see instead of what you can see which seems counterintuitive.

-Brodie

Chris Fullmer

The push/pull following a curve sounds exactly like the follow-me tool built into SketchUp. Look into that one, see how it works. I tihnk you'll like it. There are also some scripts out there to help do similar things with slightly better results. Follow me and Keep is one many people like to use.

The combining tools is a good idea. I'm not sure if there is a plugin that does this already. But it is something people ask for. So you could do a linear array, but also automatically add rotation to the object at the same time.

And a renderer inside SketchUp - I could be wrong, but I don't see Google doing that one. Largely because there are very many companies out there that already make incredible renderers that plug into SketchUp. I'd almost prefer google invest their time in something else other developing a tool that is already well taken care of by the outside community. But I'm not Google, so who knows what they'll do. You should look into Podium, Thea, Twilight, Kerkythea, Indigo, and many others that I'm not listing. And check out the gallery, lots of really great renders being posted there.

Cheers!

jgb

@chris fullmer said:

The push/pull following a curve sounds exactly like the follow-me tool built into SketchUp. Look into that one, see how it works. I tihnk you'll like it. There are also some scripts out there to help do similar things with slightly better results. Follow me and Keep is one many people like to use.!

From what I understand of the original thought, Follow-me won't do it. FM will only extrude a face, not a curved or multi-face surface. Same as the Extrude-along-path RB. JPP will only extrude along a linear direction.

What was asked for is a combination of FM and JPP; which presents a major problem for concave surfaces. Even JPP has problems with that.

obkcaptain

Hey all.
Sorry again. English isn't my mother tongue and it's harder to explain...
When I say "coupling tools" I mean rotating and moving away or upwards AT THE SAME TIME.... For example If you try to model a spiral staircase, you need create a disc, copy x times and then selecte the stair one by one. If you could rotate and move upwards (at the same time) this would be easy...
I've call "hand curves" the traces made by hand (free form), wich is in the "Extended tools" below the curve and above the push/pull. I can't use "follow me" with this
And with the reference to the use of scenes, I can explain more precisely. Again I apologize for my english.
So, anyway, thanks a lot to everyone

Chris Fullmer

I know this is not exactly what you are looking for, but here is a way to use the follow me tool and pushpull tool with freehand curves.

[flash=790,600:22b058lx]http://www.youtube.com/v/9ZbciwDLIBE&hd=1&fs=1[/flash:22b058lx]

jeff hammond

@jgb said:

From what I understand of the original thought, Follow-me won't do it. FM will only extrude a face, not a curved or multi-face surface. Same as the Extrude-along-path RB. JPP will only extrude along a linear direction.

What was asked for is a combination of FM and JPP; which presents a major problem for concave surfaces. Even JPP has problems with that.

curviloft can do that.

(though using it for such a purpose doesn't really make much sense to me.. or, at least, i can't think of a circumstance where it'd be necessary)

jeff hammond

@pbacot said:

Also unlike other Mac apps. It always asks to save when closing the new default file--when I have done nothing at all yet.

that's caused by a plugin.. if you give me a list of your plugins (or screenshot of the plugin folder), i'll tell you which one is doing it..
[basically, the plugin does something to the raw document so in effect, you have done something to the file]

@pbacot said:

@unknownuser said:

And I wish that when I open a recent doc from the recent file dropdown, and then save as, it defaults to the location of the last document I opened with the open file dropdown, and not the one that I just opened. Wastes a lot of time navigating file structures to where I need to save as to.

I wonder if this is a SU or MacOS thing. Do you find other apps act differently?

that's a sketchup thing and it IS annoying... what happens is when you open a file using the open dialog (File -> Open...), the Save As... dialog will now always default to that as the save location.. even across sessions..

but, both of these bring up my su9 wish and that is for google to tie into Lion's Versions and Autosave..
it's the future and makes file management so much better.

rhino for mac already has these features added and it's just beta software.. it's super sweet and i can't figure out why google hasn't taken advantage of it yet..

pbacot

Thanks for the offer Jeff. I've attached some screenshots. Peter

Plugin Screenshots.zip

otb designworks

@unknownuser said:

@pbacot said:

Also unlike other Mac apps. It always asks to save when closing the new default file--when I have done nothing at all yet.

that's caused by a plugin.. if you give me a list of your plugins (or screenshot of the plugin folder), i'll tell you which one is doing it..
[basically, the plugin does something to the raw document so in effect, you have done something to the file]

I had no idea this was a plugin thing. I would love to make this annoying behavior go away, so here is my list for analysis, too.

Thanks!

Picture 1.png

jeff hammond

@ Peter & Chuck..

wow, i thought i knew all of the problem rubies in this dept but apparently not
i don't recognize any of those as being problems (well, skindigo causes it Peter but since you don't have skindigo.rb in the plugin folder, it's not actually loading... fwiw, i do have a workaround for skindigo because it's my rendering app of choice so i spent a few hours tinkering with it in order to be able to use it without this save/dont save issue.. all of the other problem plugins, i just don't use)

do either of you by chance have plugins also installed in the user directory? there may be an .rb in there that's causing this as well..

one way to get a clue as to which one is causing it is to:
open a new su window.. notice the red close button has a darker red dot in the middle.. if the file will close without the save/don't save dialog then the red button will not have the darker dot.. the darker red dot means something has been done to the file.. this isn't sketchup specific and happens in all osx apps.. (well, except for the newer apps that are hooked up to lion's versioning)

so, assuming you open the new su window and the darker red dot is present, undo (⌘Z) until the smaller red dot disappears.. notice that you'll now be able to close the file without the save/don't save dialog..

with a fresh su window, look under the Edit menu and the Undo choice there will list what it is that you're undoing.. (for instance, if i draw a line then look under the edit menu, i'll have a choice to 'Undo Draw Line')..

what does it say that you're undoing?

otb designworks

So of course, for the first time in recorded history, my new files are closing without the save dialogue.

Never, ever seen it do that before!? It is like the darn thing is paying attention or something. Or maybe the screenshot I took of the plugins folder freaked it into behaving:)

Thanks for the undo heads up; I will pay attention to that once the behavior reverts to normal.

wind-borne

@unknownuser said:

@pbacot said:

Also unlike other Mac apps. It always asks to save when closing the new default file--when I have done nothing at all yet.

that's caused by a plugin.. if you give me a list of your plugins (or screenshot of the plugin folder), i'll tell you which one is doing it..
[basically, the plugin does something to the raw document so in effect, you have done something to the file]

@pbacot said:

@unknownuser said:

And I wish that when I open a recent doc from the recent file dropdown, and then save as, it defaults to the location of the last document I opened with the open file dropdown, and not the one that I just opened. Wastes a lot of time navigating file structures to where I need to save as to.

I wonder if this is a SU or MacOS thing. Do you find other apps act differently?

that's a sketchup thing and it IS annoying... what happens is when you open a file using the open dialog (File -> Open...), the Save As... dialog will now always default to that as the save location.. even across sessions..

you might check tools folder also as LU presented the same save when you had done nothing issue at one time

a bit pricey yet nevertheless valuable is Default Folder X for the Save As issue

System Preferences1.png

jgb

It is a Windows "thing" not SU that resets your default directory on a "save as". Drives me nuts when I d/l something from the net to a specific dir, then my next "save to" from any app goes there too.

Bob James

Some way to handle a lot of plugins so the right click menu doesn't get greyed out.

I'm more than a little tired of having to take out half, see if the "bad guy" was in that half, put part of them back in, check again, etc. etc. etc.

I'm not a "plugin pack-rat" or a masochist wanting to constantly have greyed-out right click menu search and destroy exercises. So why should I be limited on the number of plugins I have? I wouldn't have them loaded if I didn't use them (granted some more often than others, but none that I don't use at least some times for special needs).

I'd better stop, this is turning into a rant.

jgb

What irks me most about plugins in general is there is no consistency or logic to where their controls go… rt-click, plugin menu, own toolbar (somewhere on the screen) or buried in some other menu item.

SU needs a menu item or plugin (the irony does not escape me) that lists all plugins and where to find their controls. While we are at it include the authors name in that list. Many a time I need to ask here a question/pose a problem and I gotta open the script to see who wrote it.

obkcaptain

Hi all
I like the new SK may vary the width of the lines and their appearance (dots, dashs, etc.) and that could change the color of the lines without using extruded circles
Sorry if this was asked before. Or there's a plugin (always plugings for all)
In this case, Please Mr Moderator, erase this post.
Thanks

AdamB

@jgb said:

What irks me most about plugins in general is there is no consistency or logic to where their controls go… rt-click, plugin menu, own toolbar (somewhere on the screen) or buried in some other menu item.

SU needs a menu item or plugin (the irony does not escape me) that lists all plugins and where to find their controls. While we are at it include the authors name in that list. Many a time I need to ask here a question/pose a problem and I gotta open the script to see who wrote it.

Open SketchUp Preferences->Extensions and click on the plugin name to get a short description and info about author/company etc.

Adam