Reloading components
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well, I am not exactly a newbie but my question feels like one. here it goes. I have this townscape project I am working on, in which a number of benches were placed on the sidewalk, not always facing the same way. the bench is a component.
when I decided to try it with a different bench I replaced the first ones using the reload feature (chose one instance of the existent component, right clicked, chose reload, chose the new component). however, all the new components were placed in the same position in which they were first created, not facing the same way as the replaced components, as I expected. this would mean that I would have to reposition the replacing components one by one. very impractical, I would say.
my question: is there way to replace components so that they just occupy the same position as the replaced ones? it works that way in the other app I use (vectorworks).
thanks in advance.
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Well, I think, and I hope I am wrong, that reloading components usually entails repositioning and/or resizing of the new component. It seems like sometimes they come in properly oriented, but I think that is more coincidence and luck.
Hopefully someone else knows something more.......
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Edson,
If you right click the component in the browser and select "select instances", then right click there again to do your "replace" the new component will come in rotated and scaled correctly for each instance...but:
no telling if the original and new axis' match, or if the stuff within the new component definition is positioned where you'd want it in relation to the old. So:
I usually place another of the old component somewhere off to the side, edit it by placing the new component (exploded stuff only) inside, and erasing the old stuff once every thing looks good. This way all your prior hard work isn't even touched.
One man's solution...bet there are many others, Tom.
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hi tom,
thanks for the tips. when I had the problem I ended up doing like you usually do. but I will certainly try the other way. I somehow thought that I would have to select every single instance of the component to "replace selected instances".
regards.
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Well, this is just newbie helping newbie, 'cause I just a few weeks ago discovered "select all instances" in the materials browser and remembered about the same feature in the components browser...both have cut some major number of steps while making my trees!
Best, Tom.
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Guys,
If you just right-click the component in the In Model tab and choose Reload it will replace all instances of that component, throughout the model, with the new file you choose....all correctly rotated and scaled. (assuming that the component axes are the same in both)
All instances also includes the one in the browser. So if you want to use the original component somewhere else, it will need to be re-imported.poster-Alan Fraser
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I guess the kicker is as long as the component axis are the same
I use reload extensively and I am usually having to fiddle with the new component to get it right even though the original was how I wanted it.
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I don't use the reload feature much but when I do it has always worked well. My most common use of it relates to trees & place-holders. I will create a simple component - like a vertical line - that represents the trunk of a tree. It will be a place-holder that I can later replace with the tree via reload. I then just position the place-holders everywhere I want a tree without any performance hit in SketchUp. Later they are switched to the trees in one reload.
I never have problems with the axis because I typically start by inserting one tree. Once in the model I do a save as on that component so it is in the same folder as my current SU model file. (I just find keeping them together works well for file management). I then select the in-place component of the tree, make a copy, and make it 'unique'. On this new unique version I then edit it by eliminating all the geometry and put in the basic geometry I'll use as my place-holder. For a tree that could be just a short vertical line but for a car it might be a simple box. Upon completing that component editing I then do another save as on that component giving it a name like "tree-placeholder.skp". As before, I save it to the same folder with the overall model. Now I have a placeholder with the same origin as the tree component. I can then position copies of that place-holder anywhere I want trees. The last time I did this I put in a few hundred of the place-holder -- with the model being much-much easier to work with than if it had all the trees in it. I've also done the same thing for parking lots with dozens of cars. Note that if you use a line as a place-holder for a tree, you can have that line's height match that of the tree it will be switched with. Then it is very easy to scale some of your place holders for variety when the trees are loaded.
Regards, Ross
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I first used this when was working on a visualization project of the 14th century "reconstruction" (of the major buildings) of my home town. You can imagine some dozen of complex models (Gothic churches - modelled from inside, too -, monasteries, bishopric palace etc.) plus town walls, gates, terrain, everything. I could've hardly manage the whole stuff.
So I started with placing the objects ("basic floor plan", adjusting to terrain etc.) then made a component of them, loaded them into a new file and elaborated the details there - allowing different layers for vaults, windows, walls - all these complex structures. (In the meanwhile I just "developed" my original components to some "boxes" - like Ross his cars - to be able to see the hight, basic shape etc. in the final, big model)
Finally made copies of these files, moved everything to a layer named after that particular church for instance and used this copy to "reload" it into the final version (where I can now individually toggle each complexes on/off now - for they "inherited" the layer name).
This is basically the same as Ross used this feature for - and (with keeping the component axes) particularly the same method I guess - and this latter one is the most important part of it.
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tom, alan, chuck, ross and gai,
I can only thank you for your kindness in taking your time to help me with this doubt. each contribution takes my understanding of the issue a little further.
I really appreciate that and the feeling of being among peers, no matter how far they live.
a very good week to all of you.
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