Is there a plug-in that shows the progress of an operation? SketchUp's default indicator just shows the circle going round and round but doesn't really give you a clue of whether the command is progressing or that SketchUp has actually locked up.

If a model has numerous components such as items on a shelf or lots of chairs in a dining room does it reduce SketchUp's workload or reduce the file-size and speed up rendering to turn those items into a single component of their own?

Is it more efficient to place SU components that I make in the Components folders at theGoogle/SketchUp/ location or to have a folder on my harddrive that contains 3d models. Does having the larger collection in the components folder slow SU when its loading or operating?

Same question when it comes to textures?

Thanks TIG
What is a colorized texture?

My materials list includes non-alphabetic or numeric characters. For instance, there is the color Beige but there is also <Beige> and [Beige]. What is the significance of these additional naming protocols?

UhOh - if you don't know these things it seems that much more daunting!

I got it to work! Thanks THomThom - your posts have been a big help and I've gotten closer to mastering this skill.

I'm still left trying to understand all the many parameters available in the materials panels. The TexNoise, TexBlend etc have so many posible variables and the operator manuals I've read don't address them all. (things like amplitude, frequency, persistence, inflection, bias, etc)

Can anyone recommend resources that help to explain the vray materials and texture panels parameters fully?

I need to set the UVW Type to UVWGenPlanarWorld for both Texture A and Texture B?

For Texture A use the default Noise settings? There are so many I'm a little perplexed by them.

Use the default Bulge settings in Texture B?

@thomthom said:

A slight variation:
Bumpmap: Blend
- Texture A: Noise - Size: 50
- Texture B: Bulge
Blend Ratio: 0.25 (75% Texture A)

This just add the slight bulging which you often see in windows.

What layer are you placing this bumpmap to? I've looked through this thread and I haven't been able to find it exactly. If there is another thread which explains it I'll gladly go there.

That's what I thought too Dave, Thanks for your reply. I'll work on this and post the results for future reference.