@gaieus said:

I don't know what help gives that suggestion (maybe that's for the Mac). Use the Ctrl key to modify the Move (or Rotate) tool to not only move (rotate) but also leave the original in place (i.e. "Move-copy" or "Rotate-copy") on Windows.

Thanks, right after I posted, I finally noticed the context-sensitive key suggestions bottom left and noticed the Ctrl key hint.

This is the quote from the offical Help page at http://sketchup.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=94866

"Making copies. As mentioned previously, the Move tool can be used to make copies of entities within your model. To make copies of an entity using the move tool:
Select the Select tool (). The cursor will change to an arrow.
Select the entities to be copied.
Select the Move tool (). The cursor will change to a four-way arrow.
Press and release the Command (Microsoft Windows) or Option (Mac OS X) key on your keyboard. The cursor will change to a four-way arrow with a plus sign. This action informs Sketchup that you want to duplicate the selected entities."

I am frustrated by little puzzlers getting onto the SU learning curve. I made a rectangle, pulled it into a solid 3D shape, and then converted it to a component. Now I want to copy it and move the copy precisely 2 feet away on the green (Z) axis.

1. I clicked on the arrow to change the cursor to an arrow.
2. I selected the component.
3. I clicked on the 4-way Move arrow to change the cursor to that.
4. Then, according to Help, I can click the Windows Command button to add a "+" sign to the 4-way arrow cursor. But when I click the Command button, all I get is the usual Windows Start pane (or whatever it's called).
5. ??? Thanks.

Dave: Excellent. That gives me the legup I need, I think. I'll work through that approach.

I've been struggling up the initial learning curve with Sketchup. I've decided to bear down and learn SU properly by drawing a bedside table plan.

What is the best way to organize the Sketchup file for the main components of the bedside table? Scenes? Layers? That's the part I can't seem to grasp. It makes sense to me to draw the six faces of the endtable in six different sub-places of the SU file, rather than all in one 3D image space. Would that be six scenes? Each face of course has different cabinet sub-components, too. Any pointers to get me learning in the right direction?

Update: I am blogging my learning curve in the post "Bedside Table", in case that helps anyone at a similar stage. http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=183&t=27728

I registered and logged in. When I return to the SketchUcation page, the only place I can see the Woodworking link is in a box at the bottom of the page. When I click that link, I get "You are not authorised to read this forum." What is the fix? Thanks.