Dimensioning in Layout

cmd

It also mentions alignment to screen in SU - which I can't fathom out. Can anyone explain what I'm doing wrong, please?.....

Select a surface > context click (right click) on that surface > select Align View. This should align your view perpendicular to the surface.

Go to 1:10 on this YouTube video and you will see how it is done

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFuJPtDsInU&list=UUS7PeKQhyKCZkrZYEBOkpFg&feature=plcp

Cheers,
CMD

emerald15

Thanks all for your advice. I have taken the offending model & produced these test elevations following your tips. This isn’t the complete model as this project is still in negotiation so it probably isn’t right to publish yet, even here. However, this is the part that has caused the trouble. (colours have been changed & branding removed to protect the innocent! LOL) On the left, the plan & front elevation are correctly dimensioned. On the right are three elevations of the diagonal ‘A’ on the plan.
Top option – produced using ‘align view’ in SU to the front wall surface (I confess this option eluded me previously as it only works on individual surfaces, while I, of course organised my model in components & groups! So thanks CMD for pointing that out & the YouTube video which had further advice.
Middle option – produced with section planes (although it doesn’t actually cut through anything) & the section plane display turned off
Bottom option – as the middle one, but with display on.
My conclusion is exactly as you said, Gaieus – the LO measuring tool is picking up other elements behind the front of the elevation. When I measure a part that has less behind it in the model, eg. the archway – there is less occurrence of the error. Unfortunately, even with the display on I couldn’t get a correct measurement.
My solution was (as you suggest Dave R) to read the dims in SU. I did this & corrected LO manually.
I would love to find a cleaner solution to this LO problem. I’ve worked with AutoCAD for many years & am otherwise a complete convert to SU. I’d go so far as saying that it really has made my work more enjoyable!
test evlevations

jolran

If you right click the sectioncut you can create a "slice-group" where the section cut is. Normaly it's hidden in the cut when you create it but you can move it or rather the cut just a fraction in the right direction. Then use dimensioning on that.
I think that should work in Layout.
Or use TIG's section cut face. Wich does just that + many things more and better.

I saw you rotated the plan view a little. Be careful of step-artifacts when using raster or hybrid mode..

Looks good anyway

emerald15

Good solution Jolran. I think that will keep me happy!

jolran

Glad I could help

emerald15

I've been working on this again... most of the solutions kindly offered relate to cutting a section, which I'm not actually doing - I just want to show the elevation from a particular angle. For anyone interested, I've just come up with one more option, (using AutoCAD's procedure - or is that a dirty word!)...Set up required view in SU & add dims there, (well, I guess that's sort of what you meant, Dave R). However, you can leave these dims in place when viewed in LO. It does mean that any dims need to be on layer only shown in that scene & set the text size/style to suit your printout style & scale... but it works. It also helps to use the 'hide when foreshortened' dimensions option in 'model info.'

PS. Jolran – what are ‘step-artifacts’please?

Dave R

The thing I was suggesting is to place some guidelines temporarily in the model so that you give yourself some convenient snap points for the dimensions. I showed these guidelines for making dimension lines match the perspective in 3D views with this image:

I use a similar method sometimes for elevations or plan views when the end points are otherwise ambiguous.

After the dimensions are inserted, I simply delete the guides in the model and update in LO.

FWIW, I also use guidelines to make it easier to place dashed lines in LO, especially when they are simple straight lines. The Line tool in LO will follow the guidelines easily.

jolran

Step artifacting or "stairs"(has many names) is.. Well I better give you an example, I'm not an expert. But did a lot of video-editing some years ago, and this was an important topic..

Lets say you are in Photoshop(or other image editing program).
Now to see this effect better, make a small 300X300 resolution image.
Draw a straight horisontal line. Lets say 1 pixel thick. Looks fine?

Rotate it 30 - 45 degrees, and you will see stair effect on the line.

This effect is not so common to vector graphics, as in rasters.

So in Vector mode in Layout you will not get this sideeffect. In Hybrid-mode it's nearly perfect(for Sketchup edges, that is). In Raster you mode you MAY get stairs from thin edges. Thin edges are more prone to this side-effect. And edges are quite thin.

IF you must use raster-mode and get this akward side effect. Try using as high resolution as possible. Cause the more pixels there are to work with, the smoother the stairs will get.

Hope that wasen't to basic for you

emerald15

Thanks Guys,
I get that that's a useful method, Dave R - especially for dotted lines. I'll keep that in mind.
'step-artifact' - Ahh! known in my world as the 'saw-tooth effect'! Thanks

jolran

Saw tooth , Yeah that describes it even better.