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    Custom Dynamic Component Functions = Ruby links

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    • jeff hammondJ Offline
      jeff hammond
      last edited by

      @jim said:

      @unknownuser said:

      I'm doing GUI scripting so it's basically just keystrokes and menu items..

      The Windows equivalent can be accomplished via Windows Scripting.

      Here's a VBScript example:

      set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
      > 'WshShell.AppActivate "- SketchUp"
      > Command = "C;\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google SketchUp 8\SketchUp.exe"
      > MsgBox Command
      > WshShell.Run Command
      > WScript.Sleep 1000
      > WshShell.SendKeys "%u" ' My SU Shortcut to open Ruby Console
      > WScript.Sleep 1000
      > WshShell.AppActivate "Ruby Console"
      > WScript.Sleep 1000
      > WshShell.SendKeys "require_all 'c;/plugins'"
      > WScript.Sleep 1000
      > WshShell.SendKeys "{ENTER}"
      > 
      

      is something like that easy to run from within sketchup? (that's sort of the beauty of osx services.. they become a menu item so activating the script is the same for anything else in sketchup.)

      regardless, you guys could probably write a macro recorder in ruby that in turn produces these services :enlighten:

      nothing to do with recording cursor movement etc.. AppleScript can't handle it.. (eg- edit component, select all, explode, generate faces, exit component)

      those steps are what ruby watches, then places the commands in a .scpt format and moves them to the services folder.

      [edit-- sorry for not cleaning up the quotes in my replies.. im on a phone and deleting big chunks of text is no fun 😄 ]

      dotdotdot

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      • Dan RathbunD Offline
        Dan Rathbun
        last edited by

        Yep.. what Jim said.. however, his example can also be written in Ruby (on PC using the Win32ole.so extension, which many users have already installed to their "Plugins" directory, or they have it in their full Ruby library directory, if they have installed the full Ruby edition, and pushed it's lib path into the $LOAD_PATH array.)

        So to use the "SendKeys" example (which seems to be a common function name in many of the programming languages available, from low-level C, to the higher level languages such as VB, C# etc.)

        Goal: To provide a cross-platform Ruby method, named SendKeys() that sends keystrokes to the Sketchup application.

        1) Choose a community namespace. As an example, lets say (for argument's sake,) this will go within the SKX project namespace, and beneath that we'll wrap it within a GUI submodule.

        module SKX; end # make sure outer namespace is defined
        
        module SKX;;GUI
        
          if RUBY_PLATFORM =~ /(darwin)/i # on Mac
        
            def self.SendKeys(keystring)
              # the Mac code using AppleScript
            end
        
          else # on Windows
        
            def self.SendKeys(keystring)
              # the WIN code using Windows Scripting Host
            end
        
          end
        
        end # module SKX;;GUI
        

        This is the one file approach, which may not be the best, because it makes everyone update their file(s) even when a revision is made for a certain platform. I show it to make an important point about Ruby, in that it is a dynamic language that can be defined during runtime. (In this example, we would define the same method, two different ways, depending upon which platform it will run on.)

        The separate file approach may be better. Where a user chooses an install package for the proper platform, so that their "Plugins/SKX/GUI" directory, only contains the Ruby object definitions for their platform.

        To use this proposed feature, scripters would simply require the proper module definition file:

        require("SKX/GUI/keyboard.rb") SKX::GUI::SendKeys("require_all 'c:/plugins'"+SKX::GUI::KBD::ENTER)

        P.S.: Locally within a custom module or class, a scripter can create 'nickname' shortcut references that point at long nested qualified objects, like:
        gui = SKX::GUI @kbd = SKX::GUI::KBD
        or even:
        ENTER = SKX::GUI::KBD::ENTER
        So don't be afraid of well organized, multi-nested module namespaces.
        Also.. if say, the KBD submodule was just a mixin module of constants, scripters could, if they wished, mix it into their module(s) or class(es) by inclusion:

        module Author;;FancyPlugin
          require("SKX/GUI/keyboard.rb")
          include(SKX;;GUI;;KBD)
          # now all constants in KBD module, are mixed in.
        end
        

        💭

        I'm not here much anymore.

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        • jeff hammondJ Offline
          jeff hammond
          last edited by

          the wording in AppleScript is keystroke.

          keystroke "v" (for the v key)
          keystroke "V" (is for shift + v)
          keystroke "V" using command down (for shift-cmmd-v or paste in place)

          likewise, you can also do menu items:

          click menu item "Outer Shell" of menu "Tools"

          dotdotdot

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          • Dan RathbunD Offline
            Dan Rathbun
            last edited by

            @unknownuser said:

            the wording in AppleScript is keystroke.

            Yea.. and what is the point your making ??

            I'm not here much anymore.

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            • jeff hammondJ Offline
              jeff hammond
              last edited by

              @dan rathbun said:

              @unknownuser said:

              the wording in AppleScript is keystroke.

              Yea.. and what is the point your making ??

              just saying that ruby could write the macro script. (but I'm pretty sure I'm not thinking about doing this the right way 😉 )

              like if a user turns on the macro recorder (.rb plugin) then does a series of commands they want to automate then click 'stop ecording'(or whatever).. ruby will then write the commands used in a scpt file in the format of my previous post.. then puts it in the services folder so the user now has a sketchup macro without leaving sketchup or manually typing up an AppleScript.

              edit. oh, I was also just saying it's 'keystroke' in applescript as opposed to 'sendkeys'

              dotdotdot

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              • bmikeB Offline
                bmike
                last edited by

                Jeff,

                Very much hope you do a thread on how to use services in Mac. I've moved back to Mac after a too long trip through various PCs and am very curious about Services, AppleScript, and Automator. Anything you put together for Services in SketchUp would be appreciated.

                mike beganyi design + consulting llc

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                • jeff hammondJ Offline
                  jeff hammond
                  last edited by

                  @bmike said:

                  Jeff,

                  Very much hope you do a thread on how to use services in Mac. I've moved back to Mac after a too long trip through various PCs and am very curious about Services, AppleScript, and Automator. Anything you put together for Services in SketchUp would be appreciated.

                  I'm going to do a thread today on it.
                  I think I'll keep it super basic at first then the thread can evolve from there into the other possibilities.

                  dotdotdot

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                  • bmikeB Offline
                    bmike
                    last edited by

                    @unknownuser said:

                    @bmike said:

                    Jeff,

                    Very much hope you do a thread on how to use services in Mac. I've moved back to Mac after a too long trip through various PCs and am very curious about Services, AppleScript, and Automator. Anything you put together for Services in SketchUp would be appreciated.

                    I'm going to do a thread today on it.
                    I think I'll keep it super basic at first then the thread can evolve from there into the other possibilities.

                    Great!
                    I'll keep an eye out for it!

                    mike beganyi design + consulting llc

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                    • jeff hammondJ Offline
                      jeff hammond
                      last edited by

                      ok. I made a little macro example in this thread:

                      http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=44503

                      .

                      dotdotdot

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                      • halroachH Offline
                        halroach
                        last edited by

                        @tig said:

                        Please read this http://cfcl.com/twiki/bin/view/Projects/SketchUp/DA_Adding_Functions
                        which covers how to add your own 'custom functions' to a DC. ...

                        The link seems not to work anymore (It actually looks like an endless loop of DNS forwarding!?)
                        Anywhere else where the info may be found?

                        FlexTools - Super Quick Windows, Doors, Slats...

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                        • halroachH Offline
                          halroach
                          last edited by

                          Seems like the site is back up and running! The link about "Adding Functions" seems to have changed to this:
                          http://cfcl.com/twiki/bin/view/Projects/SketchUp/Cookbook/DA_Adding_Functions

                          FlexTools - Super Quick Windows, Doors, Slats...

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