Posts made by aadbuild

HI Chris Christmas has come upon me and I have had no time to do any more work but I will get to it as soon as I can. I have spoken to mIke and we will have a seperate forumn for the estimating ruby in the new years. Ther ewill be a preliminary beta test. I am alos working on a yotube ppresentation to show what we are doing and how we are doing it. I hope to get much feed back from yourself and the Sketchup community.

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Thanks Chris I do like the way name sets makes it easy to organise components, layers and variable tasks. I am still trying to figure out where the web dialogue box fits in. I guess my need for a BOM is to know which components are in the model and have them in a way they can easily be grouped acording to supplier and the job progress. I do this by using layers (more of a named group) as the job stage. It would probably be easier to do this with namesets but I have not spent enough time lookig at how it would go together . I guess the only way would be to give it a go...
would you lke a model example? and we can compare notes. Your way verses mine?

@unknownuser said:

If you explain exactly where you want to end up, and where you are starting from, then the solution might be more obvious, or at least clearer...

Sorry if I sound a little vaigue. basically, from start to finish:

1. I have my own library of components that I use for all my models.
   2.I place the components in new models and I report the components by layer ( with a ruby).
2. The problem for me is: when I import a new component from my collection I have to go and manually change from layer 0 (the "correct" layer thanks TIG) to the layer I initially saved it on so that the component is where I want it to be in the report.

There could be 500 components which takes some time to adjust even If I do it in outliner. It also brings a lot of human error into the mix.

A 'component-inserter' browser is above our ability and probably more complex than I have time to tackle. Thanks I appreciate the suggestion though.

oh and plot paris I like the dirty idea, thanks. it will get me out of trouble until I come up with some thing new

Oh and Tig I am not disputing that layer 0 is not the correct layer for componets to be placed on. I am simply asking if it were possible to have it on the layer I decide not the layer Sketchup decides.

I agree the auto render should probaly be turned off by default and only turned on when doing small jobs. Sometimes I find my self going through adding elevations and plans by scene with the render off. i get them roughly where I want them and then turm auto render on. go get a coffee come back and turn auto render back off. This makes ite easy and also gives you some time out from the screen. Good luck.

thanks for all the replies, I can see why it is standard this way and for good reason. Say I take the egg example\

@unknownuser said:

so if you want the eggs to be red and wrapped in carton, you have to store them that way - a carton with red eggs inside.

I guess what I am asking is... Is it possible to get the chook to lay the right colour egg genetically.(ruby?) Or is it possible to tape a red bucket of paint to the chooks bum?
I am not suire if you guys have read my other posts but I am trying to piece together the BOM puzzle and if it where possible to save a component to a layer and have all the componet be on the layer it would help me coalate the information with out manually going and changing it to its own layer. SOmetimes a model will have 500 components. If i had say: all the toilets on 1 the pc layer, when I did the take off I would know i had 30 toilets to order (preferably without having to manually having to change them to the correct layer).
When i first started this post i thought i was doing something wrong. I do remember downloading componets from 3d warehouse and they were on there own layer. may be it was just the geometry. Has sketchup changed the way it does this between su 6 an su7?

HI all I tried your solutions unfortunately with no result. I have made a component on the layer that I want it to be on I then saved it to components folder in Su7 . I then reloaded it and it still is on layer 0 . It will creaet a new layer and when I open the component on layer 0 it shows that the geometry is on the correct layer but the actual component is not. This makes it dificult for reporting componets by layer.
I have attched a simple component for you to have a look at and a wmv. showing you how I created it. this is a quick example of how I am creating the desired component
I ahve also edited the component in Su7>componets>and came up with the same result.
SOrry for taking so long to get back. I have been try several methods to do this.
thanksbasic component as per wmv

I have been thinking about the naming of components and I dont think that the name is the key. I think the layer the component is placed on is what will solve the problem ( as per tigs suggestion . Thanks Tig) of organising components for an organised estimate (BOM). We have been working on a ruby that will actuauly take off square meters, lineal meters and componets all in 1 go. It is very efficient and will do a 5+ meg model in seconds. There are a lot of bugs and things to sort out and it is not yet ready for public consumption but I think it will be in the next couple of months or so.. fingers crossed see how I go with my busy work flow (out side Sketchup that is).
standardisation when it comes to layers a at this stage it is not important. Changing of names can be done by the individual user to suit there own needs if the UK and the US can not agree. Us damn Aussies will probably come up with some other rediculous method that will have some relation to beer some where. I guess the main thing is the job gets done efficiently for end users.
If designers and architects dont draw custom components and use 3d warehouse or formfonts it will be necessary to re assign a layer to component anyway. The ruby I have been working on does not require standardisation as it looked as though no one would agree 100% any way.
I shall keep you all posted on my progress.

Hi everyone,

I have encountered a small glitch and I'm sure there is a very easy way around this but I don't seem to be able to get it right. I think I have done it before but can't retrace my steps.

I am creating a custom component collection and I want to be able to drop a component into any one of my models and for that component to automatically create its own layer in my layer manager. I have tried drawing the component and assigning the appliances layer to it before it is saved in the collection however when the model is placed within a new model it will always be assigned to layer 0. But when the model is exploded it is on the right layer. I have also tried just drawing the component on the desired layer and saving it to the collection however, that has not worked either.

What am I doing wrong? Could someone point in the right direction? Is it the way I am saving these components that is wrong?

Thank you!

Great tool tig. It is actually helping me convert Auto cad users to sketchup

I have been doing some home work and I tend to agree that the naming of components & materials is a task that would be very difficult to achieve across the board. I have used a previous version of cutlist and yes it is a fantastic ruby, I guess what I am looking for is some thing that will do an entire estimate (square meters, linela meters, component report and a work flow shedule all in 1 go. I know that is a big call but I dont think it is unrealistic.

I have set my sights to get there and it may take me years buy I will get there. Nothing is imposible.

I have to agree with bjanzen.
Layout has come a long way and if you have not tried it you should give it a go. some of the new features are pretty cool. I only hesitate using LO when I have large models (over 8 meg). If you were just drawing say a 4 bedroom home in suburbia and you draw it using efficient methods LO will breeeze through, faster that Auto cad and will do a very presentable job for construction and council concent ( we do it all the time). The attached is all drawn in Sketchup and layed out in Layout 2.1. Layout will handle this type of work quicker than any other software we use. To any young drafts people that are considering learning Auto Cad for this type of work save your time the Layout, Sketchup combination will impress your customers by having a 3d model, it will help your builder estimate the quantities and it will be easier to create.
I have an example attached if you care to look

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42 Ettalong 30 OCTOBER.pdf

layout 2.1 is better than previous versions, it will handle larger models more efficiently but I have to say it still has a long way to go before it is perfect. Unfortunatly I have spent a lot of time with it and I dont want to go back. there are still issues with many things like saving large models is slow and sometimes does not work, I guees tha main thing that will make it work faster is reducing the resolution to low when you get over 10 meg in model. . I guess if you keep your model to a minimum it will help you out. My advice is to wait a little longer before you use LO full time. I must say it is 10 times better than it was though. If you want post a screen shot of the type of work you are doing. I may be able to give you a pointer or 2. No doubt other people would be interested as well.

Its unusual not to get a reply, I dont know what happened there.... your english is crap but my spelin is worsererer. hehe
I have always had a reply and I find the patients and help from all of the people here to be more than I could ever expect. I learned more sketchup skills here than any other tutorial I hope others learn from the result of this one.
My guess is that there is no easy way to do what we are talking of... thanks for everyones help
Sketchup is still the best

Hey Bep glad to see you had a crack at a ruby. I will have a play with it and see if I can improve it (remembering I am a builder. I work mainly with timber, bricks, roofing and sketchup)..
Can any one show me an example of a web dialogue? I will give that a go as well. It will help me get an understanding of the task at least.
Bep do you want to try post your ruby here. Attach screen shot or 2 of the the exported data. Or PM it to me if you please.

My wife is having a baby at 7 am in the morning (induced) so I may not get a chance to reply in the next couple of days. I hope its a boy.

@unknownuser said:

If you rely on definition names any inconsistent use of your naming scheme will break your application logic and you may end up with an incomplete/inaccurate report

It is difficult to get every one to name every thing the same but I guess it would be possible to at least group components ,100= say lumber (101 may be 24 102 34 (or in english 10050 or 10075mm), 200 concrete, 300 plumbing, 400 external linings & 500 roofing etc etc. how to group these simple things could not be too dififcult to get universal. Or maybe I need to sit back and have another thnk about a beter way to go...

thinking outside the box will be the key..

1. do these tutorials http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/gsu7/videos.html
   2.get a 3 button mouse
   3.ctrl Z will undo last action
   4.stay away from the move tool (like an X with arrows on the endes)to start with.
2. print the keyboard short cuts and put them in a place you can see until you get used to them
   6.get the book "Sketchup for dummies" big help.
3. learn about components Short cut is "G"
   Happy sketchuping.

1 extra option in the entity info box: Export quantities
I would like to be able to name and or save the layer and area result from entity info to a work book or a template? So that I can add quantities from several components or just quantites from simple models.
Sounds easy but must not be?

@unknownuser said:

You could of course make your own 'entity info' tool using a web-dialog to show the information...

Thanks TIG,
could you point me in the direction of an example of a generic web dialog so I can have a play. Forgive my ignorance I dont actually know what a web dialogue box is. I know only the bare basics of ruby. I m basically trying to increase my work flow by reducing the use of paper, human error & calculators..

Tomtom

@unknownuser said:

Nope! We have no control over the UI other than being able to add menus and toolbars.
I made a sugestion on Gaiueses topic what would you like to see in SU maybe the people at Sketchup may think about adding it???

@unknownuser said:

What values where you using?

I have an Area Reporter in the making. Halted due to some problems with Sketchup reporting incorrect area for skewed groups/components.

The values I am using vary, but a basic example would be square metres for rooves across 2 components. I would normally open component, select all faces, write down the total, then open the other component select all faces and add the totals. This is not too bad but seams cumbersome & unnecesary. I thought if I could name and save the totals / layer name I could go through and do the quantities on all similar components and then do all the working out/ pricing later on. that would be
The measures that i am writing down are not only area. I also write down lineal (line measures) Eg. ridge caping on the roof.