Save As questions

ussmex · 14 Jan 2016, 19:19

Greetings,

I have two questions:

I have a folder where I save Sketchup component files. If I open one of those files and modify the component, what is the method to save it so that it "stays" a component, instead of becoming a model?
In my previous attempt to save components it seems that I may have been saving components within models. After bringing them into a new model all of my components were nested inside other components with the same file names in the Outliner window. In order that they act as single components I had to Explode either the parent or the child, then right-click "Save As", overwriting the component in my component folder.

That seemed to work. However, the example in the screenshot is stubborn. When I right-click Save As to the component folder, and overwrite the existing file, it saves the geometry but not the component. A single click allows editing of the entity.

Could anyone suggest why this may be happening? In the tutorials I've watched, right-clicking a component in a model and selecting "Save As" saves the entire component to your folder. What am I doing wrong?

Thank you.

TIG · 14 Jan 2016, 19:37

1). If you inserted a SKP [aka Component] from a folder, then saving that Component [edited] SKP back to that original folder, using the same name etc, will update it - whether it's a Component or it's a vanilla-SKP.
After the update of a 'Component' [SKP]... if it has been inserted into any other models, then you MUST use the Context-Menu 'Reload', to update it from the latest saved file - otherwise it's assumed you want it to remain 'separated'...

2). If you have a Component that exists within a model, then to update any 'external' version to it [if there is one] you need to use the Context-menu 'Save_As' and overwrite the original SKP
[if there is one]...

ussmex · 14 Jan 2016, 20:50

Please see the screenshots. I inserted "Nancy" into a model from a folder. In that model she is a full component. From that model I right-clicked her, and did a Save As to my components folder.

It didn't save her as a component. It saved her as a model with nested components. For example, when I single-click her face it is editable.

It was my understanding that when you save an in-model component to your folder it stays in the form of a component. Am I misunderstanding a Sketchup concept?

slbaumgartner · 14 Jan 2016, 21:36

What you are probably missing is that you bring a component into the model by locating it in the component window, selecting it, and then placing it in the model. If you just open a file in which you saved a component, it opens as a model.