[Plugin] Layers Panel 1.2.1

monmonred

can you integrate the layer colors to the panel?
can you make dragging support multiple-selected layers/groups?
can you make an option to set visibility for multiple-selected layers at once?
can you have support for keyboard shortcuts like in photoshop, just select a no. of layers then ctrl+g to group the layers? arrow keys to scroll through items then ctrl & space bar to select multiple layers, etc.?

thanks! you are so awesome!

jiminy-billy-bob

Nope, that's not possible. Unfortunately.
Already working on it.
3&4. Added to my todo list.

tomot

The webdialogs in SU use Ie, and we can't force using something else. So update your Ie version!

Sorry but this had nothing to do with updating I.E.
Windows 64 is already being updated automatically by Microsoft.
Also There are many Ruby Webdialogs, now in use. None of these cause errors when a .html is opened in Firefox.

Have a look at your Layers Panel.html and options.html , both files give the following errors when opened

"The address wasn't understood"
" Firefox doesn't know how to open this address, because the protocol (skp) isn't associated with any program."

TIG

That is a red-herring.
You'll get the same error with many tools html that have a callback within them or their js...
IF you open them directly in IE, Firefox, Chrome etc...
SketchUp alqays uses a modified version of the installed IE on PCs and Safari on MACs.
When an author makes a webdialog in his rb and adds a callback etc, then this error does not occur if the html/js is written in a matching way.
But when you try and open the html file directly inside a browser, then you will get an error because the callback code is missing [simply because it has not been added by the Ruby script that usually creates the very similar looking webdialog] - giving the message like: "XXXX doesn't know how to open this address, because the protocol (skp) isn't associated with any program."

tomot

@tig said:

That is a red-herring.

I don't write Web dialogs, I'm simply reporting a Web Dialog Issue. As I stated in my last reply

"There are many Ruby Web dialogs, now in use. None of which cause errors when an.html is opened in Firefox" particularly when the Ruby Web dialog has not even been installed yet.

Its simply my observation that all Ruby Web dialogs I have collected Don't exhibit errors. while this particular script does.

Why this is so, I don't know? Maybe this red-Herring has been contaminated from Fukushima.

jiminy-billy-bob

Web dialogs use IE. Period.
You'll never see a webdialog use Firefox or whatever, that's just not possible.

From there, I made the choice to warn people using IE 6 and 7 that LP won't work well if they don't update IE. Otherwise I'm pretty sure this thread would be full of "meh not working" due to an outdated IE.

TIG

@Tomot

On a PC all webdialogs use a modified version of the current OS's IE installation.
Not all webdialogs will include callbacks that are designed to be executed as soon as the page loads, therefore when you open them in a browser [rather than a webdialog] you will not get these errors - however, later on clicking on buttons etc that do activate a callback will then raise an error.
The fact that your Firefox presents an error with this code loading is irrelevant, you'll get the equivalent error in IE or Chrome.
There are several plugins that use webdialogs that run callbacks as they load, and these will all display errors when opened in a browser rather than a webdialog. However, they will open and run just fine when they open from within SketchUp, because the webdialog is constructed with the appropriate callback codes etc as it is initially created...

halroach

I autoinstalled it through the the sketchucation plugin store 2.0.0 and sketchup immediately crashed. (I sent the crash report)
It says my internet Explorer version is outdated when the Microsoft website says it's the latest... hmmmmmm

(using sketchup 8.0.16846 on windows 7. have firefox installed and used as my default browser)

halroach

I'm trying to figure what are the benefits of working with this layers system are over working without it. It looks nice... but not sure if it's good for me.

In my workflow on a model with various versions of a building, I save various scenes. In each of the scenes I have a set of layers that are on and off accordingly.
(Of course all geometry is on Layer0 while only groups and components are tagged with different layers).

Now if I try to implement this Layers Panel plugin I am basically losing the ability to save scenes with different layer visibilities...? unless I am not understanding something.

The groups are helpful in that I can turn on and off different groups of layers, but the Sketchup scenes do not save that information of what is on or off, right? So I have to manually select each layer or group of layers visibility for each of scene... It kind of defeats it's whole purpose in my opinion, unless again, I am not understanding something.

TIG

@Hal
I think you are correct... in the current version of this tool changing the layer states messes with the current scene-tab's layer settings, without you having any control over this...
This is not good.
I know the author is striving to resolve this... so that once you have a set of layers setup as you want, then you choose which scene-tab[s] get[s] that current layer setup applied, as in an 'update', and not decided on by this tool !
I do think that this is single biggest issue with this tool... but once the user regains control over the application of the tool's layer-sets to his scene-tabs, then it will become so much more powerful and useful

jiminy-billy-bob

@halroach said:

Now if I try to implement this Layers Panel plugin I am basically losing the ability to save scenes with different layer visibilities...? unless I am not understanding something.

TIG has it right. Although, the scenes still save layers visibilities, but it's an auto-save ! Every time you change the visibility of a layer, the layers state is updated for the current scene.
So it's like clicking on "update" every time you hide or show a layer, but you still can have different layers visibilities for different scenes.

But yeah, I'm working on this

jgb

@jiminy-billy-bob said:

Every time you change the visibility of a layer, the layers state is updated for the current scene.
So it's like clicking on "update" every time you hide or show a layer, but you still can have different layers visibilities for different scenes.

But yeah, I'm working on this

Now that explains why my scenes keep screwing up every time I make a layer change while editing. That "current" scene takes on the editing only visible layers, in addition to the layers it is supposed to show. In effect I get the editing layers superimposed on the scenes defined layers.

In the particular model this was happening, I did not and was not using JBB's layers at all, although it is loaded in SU.

To get around this I had to create a "working scene" just to edit and change layers to do so. Then I had to remember to ensure the scene that was edited had all the required layers open and updated (through Scene Mgr) before turning on the actual scene tab. A real pain.

tt_su

SketchUp makes use of the OS render engine - under Windows that means IE and under OSX that is WebKit. Many other applications also uses embedded web controls - which will mostly mean IE. So keeping IE up to date is important - because it affects not only the browser but IE as a development platform. Ensuring you have the latest IE also makes your system more secure as IE is deeply embedded into the OS.

jiminy-billy-bob

@jgb said:

Now that explains why my scenes keep screwing up every time I make a layer change while editing.

There has always been a warning about this in the first post.

I'm working on a fix.

monmonred

can you also make an evident distinction between a folder and a layer? perhaps bold the letters of the folder name or highlight the folder with a different color or something. it gets confusing when i have all folders un-collapsed.

thanks so much!

Bob James

@monmonred said:

can you also make an evident distinction between a folder and a layer? perhaps bold the letters of the folder name or highlight the folder with a different color or something. it gets confusing when i have all folders un-collapsed.

thanks so much!

+1

jgb

@bob james said:

@monmonred said:

can you also make an evident distinction between a folder and a layer? perhaps bold the letters of the folder name or highlight the folder with a different color or something. it gets confusing when i have all folders un-collapsed.

thanks so much!

+1

Me2

tomot

@tt_su said:

SketchUp makes use of the OS render engine - under Windows that means IE and under OSX that is WebKit. Many other applications also uses embedded web controls - which will mostly mean IE. So keeping IE up to date is important - because it affects not only the browser but IE as a development platform. Ensuring you have the latest IE also makes your system more secure as IE is deeply embedded into the OS.

My computer runs Win7 64 and receives updates, from Microsoft and has done so automatically since I installed this OS several years ago. I would have thought it updates I.E. as well, even though I might not use I.E. as a browser.

Is my assumption right?

dancho

After opening a second, third etc. sketchup windows I'm receiving a script error message.

IE 10, Sketchup 2013, Windows 7 Home Premium x64

Script error

jgb

@tomot said:

I would have thought it updates I.E. as well, even though I might not use I.E. as a browser.

Is my assumption right?

Probably not.

IE was mandated as a standalone product long ago and receives its own updates somewhat independent from Win OS. Therefore, in theory, you don't need IE on your PC. Yeah, right!

That being said, IE functionality is INTEGRAL with the WIN OS in the way the OS handles IP processes, but not the actual browser application that we commonly refer to as IE.

So if an app, whether it be SU or a Ruby script or even Firefox, needs to get to the web or exploit some IP type functions, it must utilize IE type calls to the OS. And if the developer does not stick to exact protocol, by trying a shortcut or doing something really clever, problems will ensue.

Which is another way of saying what TT said.

Since IE and WIN OS share many DLL's that contain these calls, an update to an IE DLL will update an OS DLL, but not necessarily vice versa. The app developer WILL have the latest IE on his system, and may use an "updated" OS call, but if you have an older IE, that call may fail.