like this...

john

cheers Dave, how did you make that?

I did some with just this and moving grouped copies, exploding, but did you use a second plugin for the surfaces?

john

@ Dave you had the pre v6 mod, which was just a typo, but it also has the 'PC' png icon instead of the pdf mac one I started with...

@Pete I updated the rbz...

john

cheers Pete, I chucked that in at the last minute incase 'someone' wanted to test it on SUv6, I'll revert to what was working >>> give me a minute...

john

it's coming along, I'll send you both a demo version...

Dave can try some intricate wood turning...

john

not sure if the OP will return, but I made that with a plugin I adapted...

so far it only makes a welded sinusoidal circle, that you can set the segments, height and frequency of...

by moving and scaling copies, you can replicate the results in the video...

just takes a bit longer...

john

to do this sort of thing?

john

Sam's was the basic that you should get working first...

mine was an elaboration to show passing the the pts to something else...

have a look at the query tool in the examples folder as well...

john

@deanby7 said:

...I'm running Version 8 Sketchup

Sketchup.active_model.tools.active_tool_id has been around since v6?

try it in Ruby Console after a tool change, does it fail there?

but, I agree with Garry on linetool.rb, I made a few tools based on it...

john

you have a few things going wrong there and it's easier for me to add some note to one that works...

the main one is you need to get your own copy of the class variable and ruby doesn't wait when you call the tool, so you have to...

this one adds a timer, and adds your method into the same namespace as the class...

module BbN # namespace it so it doesn't clash
  extend self

  # avoid common names for methods
	def bd_pick
	n = 5
	# call the tool
	Sketchup.active_model.select_tool BbN;;Pick_Points.new(n)
	# get it's id 
	tool_id = Sketchup.active_model.tools.active_tool_id
	#create a timer and use the id to know if it's finnished
	wait_for_tool = UI.start_timer(1.0, true) do
		if Sketchup.active_model.tools.active_tool_id == tool_id
		else 
		  # this is the 'pop' back, we retrieve the values from the @@var
			result = (BbN;;Pick_Points.class_variable_get(;@@pts))
			# I prefer p over puts as it shows a usable array
			p result[0]
			p result[1]
			# clean up
			UI.stop_timer(wait_for_tool)
		end
	end
	end

	class Pick_Points
		def initialize(n)
			@ipt = Sketchup;;InputPoint.new
			@@pts = []
			@count = n
			@tally = 0
		end

		def onLButtonDown(flags,x,y,view)
			@ipt.pick view,x,y
			@@pts << @ipt.position.to_a
			p @tally += 1
			if @@pts.length == @count
				p 'done'
				Sketchup.active_model.select_tool(nil)
			end
		end
	end
	# add menu , toolbar or shortcut key cmd
	unless  file_loaded?("dbpick.rb")
	  cmd = UI;;Command.new(BbN;;bd_pick)
    UI.menu("Plugins").add_item("dbpick") {cmd}
  end
end

also, use code blocks in the forum, it's in the toolbar...

john

expanding on Sam's example, if you want something more flexible...

module SaM # namespace it so it doesn't clash
class Pick_Points
  def initialize(n)
    @ipt = Sketchup;;InputPoint.new
    @@pts = []
    @count = n
    @tally = 0
  end
  def onLButtonDown(flags,x,y,view)
     
      @ipt.pick view,x,y
      @@pts << @ipt.position.to_a
      p @tally  += 1
    if @@pts.length == @count
      p 'done'
      Sketchup.active_model.select_tool(nil)
    end
  end
end
end

and run it from your code with..

n = 5 # any number
Sketchup.active_model.select_tool SaM;;Pick_Points.new(n)

then retrieve it's values with...

SaM;;Pick_Points.class_variable_get(;@@pts)

john

dimension first then try

dims = Sketchup.active_model.entities.grep(Sketchup;;Dimension)
i = 0
dims.each do |d|
i+=1
d.text = "D#{i}"
end

it hard to do a sort, but maybe the order of dimensioning will be honoured...

john

Theoretically, you could write a ruby to make the dynamic component for single session use...

when the user saves or closes the model, the dynamic attributes could be stripped or nobbled...

if reopened on the same or another licensed computer, the plugin could restore the attributes...

but, I'm only thinking out loud...

john

@gentlemanjosh said:

... all of my plugins have a .plugin extension ...

you are looking inside SketchUp.app contents and the .pluginsare all compiled C code, not ruby...

don't put anything into the app, unless you 'really' know how to bypass issues...

always make sure your using the User/<your_name>/Library/... until you know how it all works...

john

this is where I recently read about admin permissions issues...

Drag and drop png from an internet browser to sketchup fail

If I drag and drop a png from the internet directly into sketchup 2016 it doesn’t get in the model. I was under the impression this used to work on previous versions: The following gif shows the issue: 1 - Drag and dro…

SketchUp Community (forums.sketchup.com)

I'm not sure it will ever work with pasteboard though...

john

hi John,

can you not 'Save As' a png/jpg into a watched folder that triggers an SU import?

or maybe just an unwatched folder and a ruby button/shortcut to import last item in that folder?

I think the problem with Pasteboard on both platforms is a permission issue with a raw binary stream...

i.e. it could be anything, so it gets blocked...

john

are you using Capitals for method names in your real code?

You need to post the full example for anyone else to find the problem...

if you do, wrap it in a 'code' block so it's easy to read and copy paste for testing...

webDialogs normally work fine...

john

I use

 c = (Sketchup;;Color.new 'blue').to_a
# => [0, 0, 255, 255]
 c.dup
# => [0, 0, 255, 255]

can't remember why, but maybe for the same reason...

john

does this work in v14 and above?

I don't use PC's but I'm looking for code that does something similar to this...

require 'win32ole'
val =  48

circle_first = UI.start_timer(1.0, true) do
	if Sketchup.active_model.tools.active_tool_name != 'CircleTool'
		Sketchup.send_action('selectCircleTool;')
	else # run the script
		WIN32OLE;;new('WScript.Shell').SendKeys("#{val}{ENTER}")
		p "#{val}{ENTER}" 
		UI.stop_timer(circle_first)  
		arc_next = UI.start_timer(1.0, true) do
			if Sketchup.active_model.tools.active_tool_name != 'ArcTool'
				Sketchup.send_action('selectArcTool;')
			else # run the script
				WIN32OLE;;new('WScript.Shell').SendKeys("#{val/2}{ENTER}") 
				p "#{val/2}{ENTER}"
				UI.stop_timer(arc_next)
			end 
		end 
	end 
end

john

it's been a while and maybe everyone has lost interest, but I found a few more for the mac list...

the big question is, how many of these run on a PC?

single # denotes a Menu Title, ## Item Title, ### hard coded shortcut combo...

# SketchUp
  Sketchup.send_action('showAboutBox;')  ## About SketchUp
  Sketchup.send_action('showSketchUpPreferences;')  ## Preferences...
  Sketchup.send_action('manageLicenses;')  ## License...
  Sketchup.send_action('checkWebUpdate;')  ## Check Web for Update...
  Sketchup.send_action('hide;')  ## Hide SketchUp  ### ⌘H
  Sketchup.send_action('hideOtherApplications;')  ## Hide Others  ### ⌘H
  Sketchup.send_action('unhideAllApplications;')  ## Show All
  Sketchup.send_action('terminate;')  ## Quit SketchUp  ### ⌘Q
# File
  Sketchup.send_action('newDocument;')  ## New  ### ⌘N
  Sketchup.send_action('openDocument;')  ## Open...  ### ⌘O
  Sketchup.send_action('clearRecentDocuments;')  ## Clear Menu
  Sketchup.send_action('performClose;')  ## Close  ### ⌘W
  Sketchup.send_action('saveDocument;')  ## Save  ### ⌘S
  Sketchup.send_action('saveDocumentAs;')  ## Save As...  ### ⇧⌘S
  Sketchup.send_action('saveCopy;')  ## Save A Copy As...
  Sketchup.send_action('saveAsTemplate;')  ## Save As Template...
  Sketchup.send_action('revertDocumentToSaved;')  ## Revert
  Sketchup.send_action('sendToLayOut;')  ## Send to LayOut
  Sketchup.send_action('importFromGoogleEarth;')  ## Add Location...
  Sketchup.send_action('clearLocation;')  ## Clear Location
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleTerrain;')  ## Show Terrain
  Sketchup.send_action('browse3DWarehouse;')  ## Get Models...
  Sketchup.send_action('shareWithGoogleEarthCommunity;')  ## Share Model...
  Sketchup.send_action('runImporter;')  ## Import...
  Sketchup.send_action('runPageLayout;')  ## Page Setup...  ### ⇧⌘P
  Sketchup.send_action('runDocumentSetup;')  ## Document Setup...
  Sketchup.send_action('printDocument;')  ## Print...  ### ⌘P
# Edit
  Sketchup.send_action('editUndo;')  ## Undo  ### ⌘Z
  Sketchup.send_action('editRedo;')  ## Redo  ### ⇧⌘Z
  Sketchup.send_action('cut;')  ## Cut  ### ⌘X
  Sketchup.send_action('copy;')  ## Copy  ### ⌘C
  Sketchup.send_action('paste;')  ## Paste  ### ⌘V
  Sketchup.send_action('pasteInPlace;')  ## Paste In Place
  Sketchup.send_action('editDelete;')  ## Delete
  Sketchup.send_action('eraseConstructionGeometry;')  ## Delete Guides
  Sketchup.send_action('selectAll;')  ## Select All  ### ⌘A
  Sketchup.send_action('deselectAll;')  ## Select None  ### ⇧⌘A
  Sketchup.send_action('editHide;')  ## Hide  ### ⌘E
  Sketchup.send_action('editUnhide;')  ## Selected
  Sketchup.send_action('editUnhideLast;')  ## Last
  Sketchup.send_action('editUnhideAll;')  ## All  ### ⇧⌘E
  Sketchup.send_action('editLock;')  ## Lock
  Sketchup.send_action('editUnlockSelected;')  ## Selected
  Sketchup.send_action('editUnlockAll;')  ## All
  Sketchup.send_action('makeComponent;')  ## Make Component...  ### ⇧⌘G
  Sketchup.send_action('makeGroup;')  ## Make Group  ### ⌘G
  Sketchup.send_action('closeGroupOrComponent;')  ## Close Group/Component  ### ⇧⌘G
  Sketchup.send_action('intersectWithModel;')  ## With Model
  Sketchup.send_action('intersectSelected;')  ## With Selection
  Sketchup.send_action('intersectWithContext;')  ## With Context
# View
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleToolPalette;')  ## Large Tool Set
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleSolidModelToolPalette;')  ## Solid Tools
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleGoogleToolPalette;')  ## Location
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleWarehouseToolPalette;')  ## Warehouse
  Sketchup.send_action('togglePageTabsDsiplay;')  ## Scene Tabs
  Sketchup.send_action('viewShowHidden;')  ## Hidden Geometry
  Sketchup.send_action('sectionToggleDisplay;')  ## Section Planes
  Sketchup.send_action('sectionToggleActivation;')  ## Section Cuts
  Sketchup.send_action('viewShowAxes;')  ## Axes
  Sketchup.send_action('viewShowGuides;')  ## Guides
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleShadows;')  ## Shadows
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleFog;')  ## Fog
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleDisplayEdges;')  ## Edges
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleDisplayBackEdges;')  ## Back Edges
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleProfiles;')  ## Profiles
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleDepthQue;')  ## Depth Cue
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleExtensions;')  ## Extension
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleGlobalTransparency;')  ## X-ray
  Sketchup.send_action('renderWireframe;')  ## Wireframe
  Sketchup.send_action('renderHiddenLine;')  ## Hidden Line
  Sketchup.send_action('renderShaded;')  ## Shaded
  Sketchup.send_action('renderTextures;')  ## Shaded With Textures
  Sketchup.send_action('renderMonochrome:')  ## Monochrome
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleHideRestOfModel;')  ## Hide Rest of Model
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleHideSimilarComponents;')  ## Hide Similar Components
  Sketchup.send_action('pageAdd;')  ## Add Scene
  Sketchup.send_action('pageUpdate;')  ## Update Scene
  Sketchup.send_action('pageDelete;')  ## Delete Scene
  Sketchup.send_action('pagePrevious;')  ## Previous Scene
  Sketchup.send_action('pageNext;')  ## Next Scene
  Sketchup.send_action('slideshowStart;')  ## Play
  Sketchup.send_action('pageOptions;')  ## Settings
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleToolbarShown;')  ## Hide Toolbar
  Sketchup.send_action('runToolbarCustomizationPalette;')  ## Customize Toolbar ...
# Draw
  Sketchup.send_action('selectLineTool;')  ## Line  ### ⌘L
  Sketchup.send_action('selectFreehandTool;')  ## Freehand  ### ⌘F
  Sketchup.send_action('selectArc3PointTool;')  ## Arc  ### ⌘J
  Sketchup.send_action('selectArcTool;')  ## 2 Point Arc
  Sketchup.send_action('select3PointFitArcTool;')  ## 3 Point Arc
  Sketchup.send_action('selectArcPieTool;')  ## Pie
  Sketchup.send_action('selectRectangleTool;')  ## Rectangle  ### ⌘K
  Sketchup.send_action('selectRectangle3PointTool;')  ## Rotated Rectangle
  Sketchup.send_action('selectCircleTool;')  ## Circle
  Sketchup.send_action('selectPolygonTool;')  ## Polygon
# Camera
  Sketchup.send_action('viewUndo;')  ## Previous
  Sketchup.send_action('viewRedo;')  ## Next
  Sketchup.send_action('viewTop;')  ## Top  ### ⌘1
  Sketchup.send_action('viewBottom;')  ## Bottom  ### ⌘2
  Sketchup.send_action('viewFront;')  ## Front  ### ⌘3
  Sketchup.send_action('viewBack;')  ## Back  ### ⌘4
  Sketchup.send_action('viewLeft;')  ## Left  ### ⌘5
  Sketchup.send_action('viewRight;')  ## Right  ### ⌘6
  Sketchup.send_action('viewIso;')  ## Iso  ### ⌘7
  Sketchup.send_action('viewParallelProjection;')  ## Parallel Projection
  Sketchup.send_action('viewPerspective;')  ## Perspective
  Sketchup.send_action('viewTwoPointPerspective;')  ## Two-Point Perspective
  Sketchup.send_action('cameraMatchNewPhoto;')  ## Match New Photo...
  Sketchup.send_action('editPhotoMatch;')  ## Edit Matched Photo
  Sketchup.send_action('selectOrbitTool;')  ## Orbit  ### ⌘B
  Sketchup.send_action('selectDollyTool;')  ## Pan  ### ⌘R
  Sketchup.send_action('selectZoomTool;')  ## Zoom
  Sketchup.send_action('selectFieldOfViewTool;')  ## Field of View
  Sketchup.send_action('selectZoomWindowTool;')  ## Zoom Window
  Sketchup.send_action('viewZoomExtents;')  ## Zoom Extents
  Sketchup.send_action('viewZoomToSelection;')
  Sketchup.send_action('viewZoomImage;')  ## Zoom to Photo
  Sketchup.send_action('selectPositionCameraTool;')  ## Position Camera
  Sketchup.send_action('selectWalkTool;')  ## Walk
  Sketchup.send_action('selectTurnTool;')  ## Look Around
  Sketchup.send_action('selectImageIglooTool;')  ## Image Igloo
# Tools
  Sketchup.send_action('selectSelectionTool;')  ## Select
  Sketchup.send_action('selectEraseTool;')  ## Eraser
  Sketchup.send_action('selectPaintTool;')  ## Paint Bucket
  Sketchup.send_action('selectMoveTool;')  ## Move  ### ⌘0
  Sketchup.send_action('selectRotateTool;')  ## Rotate  ### ⌘8
  Sketchup.send_action('selectScaleTool;')  ## Scale  ### ⌘9
  Sketchup.send_action('selectPushPullTool;')  ## Push/Pull
  Sketchup.send_action('selectExtrudeTool;')  ## Follow Me
  Sketchup.send_action('selectOffsetTool;')  ## Offset
  Sketchup.send_action('selectOuterShellTool;')  ## Outer Shell
  Sketchup.send_action('selectUnionTool;')  ## Union
  Sketchup.send_action('selectDifferenceTool;')  ## Subtract
  Sketchup.send_action('selectDifferenceNDTool;')  ## Trim
  Sketchup.send_action('selectIntersectTool;')  ## Intersect
  Sketchup.send_action('selectBooleanSplitTool;')  ## Split
  Sketchup.send_action('showSolidModelToolsMenu;')  ## Split
  Sketchup.send_action('selectMeasureTool;')  ## Tape Measure  ### ⌘D
  Sketchup.send_action('selectProtractorTool;')  ## Protractor
  Sketchup.send_action('selectAxisTool;')  ## Axes  ### ⌘F
  Sketchup.send_action('selectDimensionTool;')  ## Dimensions
  Sketchup.send_action('selectTextTool;')  ## Text
  Sketchup.send_action('doThreeDText;')  ## 3D Text
  Sketchup.send_action('selectSectionPlaneTool;')  ## Section Plane  ### ⌘Y
# Window
  Sketchup.send_action('performMiniaturize;')  ## Minimize  ### ⌘M
  Sketchup.send_action('performZoom;')  ## Zoom
  Sketchup.send_action('showModelPropertiesPanel;')  ## Model Info  ### ⇧⌘I
  Sketchup.send_action('entityProperties;')  ## Entity Info  ### ⌘I
  Sketchup.send_action('orderFrontColorPanel;')  ## Materials  ### ⇧⌘C
  Sketchup.send_action('showComponentBrowser;')  ## Components
  Sketchup.send_action('showStyleBrowser;')  ## Styles
  Sketchup.send_action('showLayerPanel;')  ## Layers
  Sketchup.send_action('showOutliner;')  ## Outliner
  Sketchup.send_action('showPagePanel;')  ## Scenes
  Sketchup.send_action('orderFrontFontPanel;')  ## Show Fonts  ### ⌘T
  Sketchup.send_action('showRubyConsole;')  ## Ruby Console
  Sketchup.send_action('showShadowsPanel;')  ## Shadows
  Sketchup.send_action('showFogSettingsPanel;')  ## Fog
  Sketchup.send_action('showPhotoMatchPanel;')  ## Match Photo
  Sketchup.send_action('showSoftenEdgesPanel;')  ## Soften Edges
  Sketchup.send_action('showInstructor;')  ## Instructor
  Sketchup.send_action('browse3DWarehouse;')  ## 3D Warehouse
  Sketchup.send_action('browseExtensionStore;')  ## Extension Warehouse
  Sketchup.send_action('toggleInspectors;')  ## Hide Dialogs
  Sketchup.send_action('getPhotoTexture;')  ## Photo Textures !!!!!!!!!!!! not working
  Sketchup.send_action('arrangeInFront;')  ## Bring All to Front
# Help
  Sketchup.send_action('showWelcomePanel;')  ## Welcome To SketchUp…
  Sketchup.send_action('showOnlineHelpCenter;')  ## Knowledge Center
  Sketchup.send_action('contactUs;')  ## Contact Us
# Orphans
  Sketchup.send_action('fixNonPlanarFaces;') ## Model Info >> Statistics >> Fix Problems  

I may have missed some...

john