I have to say the subscription model and cost have put me off too. I am managing ok using proxies etc. I also have to ask myself why do we have to constantly pay more for plugins to compensate for the shortcomings of Sketchup itself. Tremble should just give you a million bucks and incorporate your functionality into the program.

I really liked the improvements in the last release. I am also looking forward to the next one. The improvements to reports and section fills were right in my wheel house.

@hectormc said:

Hi i just bought profile builder but have not yet learned to do diddly squat with it.
how do you use these profiles to make lines?

@ccaponigro said:

So here are the .skp files. This only works with Profile Builder 2 Assembly tool.

I made dashed, hidden, center, phantom and even batt insulation.
They only use a couple components and just repeat them so I'm guess not much in terms of computer load.

The center and phantom have to be a specific length or they will finish short or long of the definition line.(I'm going to work on this some more. I really spent very little time trying to tweak them. But for me being able to keep things coordinated right in sketchup is worth a little fuss. I was really surprised at how easy the batt insulation was.

I also like dropping in center lines on my openings so I know exactly what I'm snapping to in layout.

They are not profiles but assemblies. Use the assembly tool in the same manner you would any assembly. Draw with the path tool or select a path and apply the assembly. I should say I have switched to doing all my linework in Layout. The new make scale drawing has made it soooo much easier.

I originally brought them in from an autocad file. I just created one from scratch and it still does it. The bizarre part is that it works fine in the scrap book file.

Looking for some layout help here. I'm creating scrap books for electrical symbols. When I rotate the symbol in the native scrapbook file it work perfectly but when I bring it into the project file and rotate it the text parts are moving all around. It's driving me crazy.

I’m getting soooooo excited!

So I thought I would share a little of my quest to work without CADD. One big thing for me was having to give up automated Door and Window Schedules and Room Finish Schedules fed by objects in the model with attributes assigned.

So The Door and Window schedules are created by just isolating the objects and then numbering them sequentially with the help of the outliner. And then run the report generator save the cvs file and import to layout. In layout the label tool reads the instance number so the plan reads out the correct number and it is linked to the model. The reason the door labels are on the door knobs is because you don't have a problem selecting the door instead of the section cut.

The Room Finish Schedule is generated by Isolating a set of components. One for each room that is painted with a material called "AREA" I just copy the component with the attributes and make unique and then edit the face size. You can paint the hidden side so it does not interfere with your floor color because the formula only picks up the area of the "area" material.

Also all the dashed lines are directly in the model on the 2d layer and are created quickly using Profile Builder 2.

I know it's rudimentary but it's pure Sketchup and layout and it is all linked to the model. And I know most architect types will be looking for symbols around the Door and Window numbers. You could just scrapbook some in. I decided I like just the bold font. I'm very lazy.

Love to hear some feedback Thanks!

FLOOR PLANS

I have to say I've used a bunch of plugins but always came back to doing a somewhat schemtic but code compliant model myself and then call for stair shop drawings. Which will inevitably be different then what I draw. I find the same thing to be true with cabinets. You can spend a lot of time agonizing over the details and it gets handed to the cabinet or stair maker and all bets are off.

The other thing is the simple stairs are so easy to model you hardly need a plugin and the complex and unique ones are usually beyond any plugins capability.

Now that I wrote this I feel like it's to negative but that's my reality.

Thanks that was really helpful. When I force the component redraw it's all good.

Thought I would say in closing... I wound up bitting the bullet and bought a Boxx. Runs quite, cool and fast. So far so good.

I am trying to create a room finish schedule from components with just a face and some attributes. It is working fairly well. The idea is that the component carries all the attributes I want and I just copy it and make it unique then alter the shape and attributes. The problem is the FACEAREA attribute does not update until you go into the attribute and reapply the FACEAREA formula each and every time you change the face area. That's a pain. Is it me or is the a bug?

FLOORS.skp

Thank you Rich,
I created the report from scratch and it seems to work consistently now. I too thought it was odd that the default includes the definition name even if it is excluded from the selection side box.

I placed the entity name first and now I'm getting what I wanted which is an entry for each instance sorted by the entity name. I am using this to report directly to the label tool in Layout.

@unknownuser said:

No idea.....other than upper case X between door width and height in one instance (exterior door) and lower case x in interior door instance.

Thanks Charlie. excellent attention to detail. But that's not it.

Can anyone figure out why these 2 reports generated with the exact same template are handled differently. Look at the Entity Name Column one makes an entry for each instance and the other makes an entry for like definition names. I can't figure it out!

Nice!

Here is what you can expect from the Plugin. I was using them and had started a library. I ended up creating my own simple generics because I felt the where just to heavy. I would only use them for a detail one section.

AW-400-WR-DH400-34x72-4over4.skp

I thought you were looking for something more like this.

If you want to make your life easy get Profile Builder 2 and use the revolve function. Not to mention the million other things you will love about it.

You could just do a level return and allow the overhang to vary.

I am watching this thread closely. I am on the verge of replace it my HP Elitebook 8730w moble workstation. It runs SU and Autodesk apps like a powerful desktop. Here is the rub. It's heavy, big and runs hot hot hot, and kills a battery in about 20 min.

I have looked at HP, Boxx, and Surfacebook. If I configure any of them to a specification I think will perform I get into the $4000.00 to $5000.00 area. OUCH.

I really want something small and light with ultimate power and good battery life. Maybe it's just not out there yet for a reasonable price. Please keep the information coming about your experiences.