Thanks for comments!

Not sure if I made it clear, I'm looking for any relevant advice I can get!

I am fairly experienced now at using sketchup to design and build my custom cabinetry. I can see the potential of dynamic components to help me work more efficiently. I am researching the resources out there and these 2 look good:
http://sketchdata.com/
http://www.sketchkey.com/215900/What-is-it-all-about

I could use some guidance though. I want cabinets designed for metric sizes, 18mm board etc.

I would also like to learn to make my own dynamic components.

I think I'm going to start using this forum more. Tremendously useful and generous of you to provide these, thanks!

I can't get these to work. Followed your instructions for the zip files, my mac archive utility just creates a file called 'kentimpex.zip.cpgz'. Can't do anything with the .rar files either.

Please help.

on Mac 10.5.8

Thanks

exactly what I've been looking for, THANKYOU

OK so I think my problem (which was: super slow sketchup performance even drawing the first rectangle in a new document) is not due to Leopard but due to my hardware. I have a white macbook with an Intel GMA X3100 graphics chipset. To be honest this doesn't mean much to me but after looking at some forums I know it's not particularly good. But performance seems ok now after I unchecked 'use fast feedback' in the openGL settings under Sketchup preferences.

If someone could give me an idiots guide to graphics chips and openGL, and the pros and cons of having openGL settings on or off, I would appreciate it!

Otherwise I will just continue kicking myself for ignoring my better judgement by getting the cheaper macbook instead of macbook pro to replace my knackered old powerbook...

Hi, I am trying to run sketchup in Leopard on a macbook and it is crazily sow - freezing up and getting the spinning ball even when starting drawing a basci model. Where is the form where people were talking about this?
thanks

It's me again. Tell me if I should be starting a new thread or something with this...! I thought I'd share with you all the email exchange I just had with a guy from hyercosm (you can find his email on their website) because it contains some interesting links

I said to him '...Am I right in understanding the user has to download your viewer in order to view the models on a webpage? Is it possible to have a simple interactive 3D model which can be viewed via flash? Simply to give the impression of rotating the model. I'm just thinking of maximum accessibility, not requiring the user to install something new.'
and he replied:

It would be great if you didn't have to install a viewer of any kind,
but unfortunately, without a player the only things that you have
available to work with are: (1) Flash, (2) Java, and (3) Javascript.

People have tried for years to create 3D viewers using all three of
these technologies, but they are all much too slow. You can create toy
demos with them, but you can't view the types of 3D models that are
useful. For that, you need access to your machine's video card, which
requires a player.

Here are some examples that you can try out to see what I mean:

1. Flash
   http://www.flashsandy.org/demos
   http://www.cleoag.ru/labs/flex/parkseasons/
2. Java
   http://www.frontiernet.net/~imaging/java3dviewer.html
3. Javascript (the slowest of them all)
   http://www.uselesspickles.com/triangles/demo.html

-abe

Hi Remus thanks for the reply. Hypercosm seems to be roughly what I was looking for except as far as I can see it requires the user to download their player so is not hugely accessible. Also it is only for windows and I am a mac user. They say on their website to tell them if you want it for mac and if there's enough demand they might release a version - so I did.

As it happens I'd had a similar idea to the other alternative you suggest and I gave it a quick go using apples' iweb. I simply rotated the model incrementally and exported screen shots as png files using sketchup's own export facility, then put them in a folder numbered in order. I then imported this as an album into iweb. iweb creates an album preview image that, as you move your mouse across it, flicks through the images in that album, so immediately you get the effect of rotating the model, faster or slower depending how fast you move the mouse. So this is a pretty good option, except that it is possibly a bit clunky and high on memory, as web sites go, like most of iweb's end results.