► I found a trick to keep downloading 3D Warehouse models for 2017, for 2018 it doesn't work for everyone. ► The solution can be found in the video here: https://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=79&t=74166

take a look at Podium a well, decent output for the money... I've moved onto Indigo from Podium and Lightup, price is 595 euro for full version or 145 euro for "RT" version...

Make sure that you choose "save as" and change to version 8. Don't hit "save" afterwards in SU again, because this will overwrite the file with a 2013 version.

Hi Edwin, I may be wrong and hope that I am, I use VRay and I have check every time I update SKU to a newer version if it will be compatible. If it is I'd check out this tube video, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9mkJOvXSDc

Just turn the passes down so that it completes a quick render in a few seconds. You could use that as a quick preview before upping the detail

Screen shots please? Did you create a scene with the section cut in SU? Did you update the style to include the section cut? See also: http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=12&t=46361

@unknownuser said: Jim, I am trying to add a plugin made by TIG into sketchup. Excuse my novice question, but since I am not the most adept at these things I need some help adding the plugins. Basically how do I a plugin to my sketchup? First I recommend that you post the question in the thread relating to the actual tool itself - you're more likely to get a response. Then explain what your problem is - currently we don't know what tool you are trying to install, or what problem you are having... Most plugins come with some simple installation instructions... Very simple plugins [e.g. single files ending in .rb] are simply placed in the Plugins folder of Sketchup. [Tip: ensure you have full access-rights on your PC to write to folders within the Sketchup folder as you will often want to 'save' plugins, components, materials, styles etc]] When you restart Sketchup the new tool will auto-load and be available to you... You need to read the tool's download page on how you use the tool. Some are support for other tools - e.g. Smustard.com's 'offset.rb' - and do nothing on their own, rather they offer additional methods to several other tools. Some rarely used tools run by typing a short command into the Ruby Console. Some add a menu item to the Plugins menu that then runs the tool. Some add the item to another menu like Tools or Draw. Some add submenus will drop-down items to choose from - e.g my 2dTools. Some only work through the right-click context-menu - e.g. my SectionCutFace or HolePunchingTool - if certain conditions are met - e.g. you have selected a Section-Plane... Some have a toolbar that is activated from the View > Toolbars menu. Some tools [none of mine] are 'extensions' and need activating [just the once] from the Window > Preferences dialog > Extensions menu [then you'll its get toolbar/menu options until it is deactivated sometime in the future...] Some tools are more complex than one simple file ending in .rb and require you to download a collection of files, usually in a single zip file format. Typically there are one or two 'loose' .rb files in the zip that 'load' other files. and subfolders [one or more] containing several other files needed to do things like make the toolbar icons, make web-dialogs etc or do the complex coding for the tool[s]: there are always clear instructions for this type of download - typically you need to extract the files from the zip file, maintaining the subfolder structure and put everything into Plugins in the same relationship - i.e. never move files out of their subfolder - they are in there for a good reason! ... Note that some complex tools also need you to download the author's supporting 'Libraries' separately, in which case it is clearly explained and linked to: some even need you to get a 'helper' plugin - like 'progress.rb' available free from Smustard.com and used by some authors to show their tools progress while it's doing complex calculations etc... Note that as well as .rb files there are some un-editable 'compiled' scripts ending in .rbs which usually for part of a more complex tool - these are treated in the same way as .rb files...

Edwin I've answered you in a PM... but it might be useful to 'all'... What you want to do can be achieved by hand because the elements are nice and straight [I'll cover the general 'complex' case later] - just think of it as a weird 'spiral-staircase' laid on its side... Make a grouped beam and a grouped rafter - each drawn flat and somewhat longer than the actual length you need [we'll trim them later]. Draw the four edges of the roof-form at the appropriate angles/flatness [inside their own group too]. First let's do the beams [long side]. You can calculate how many copies of the initial flat beam you want from the roof's length and the beams' required centers... Choose the orthogonal-view that lets you see it in end elevation. Select the flat beam. Activate the Rotate Tool, locked in the plane of the view, press Ctrl to enter its copy mode. Start the rotated-copy horizontal and end it so the copy is at the maximum angle [snap to the angled end], immediately type in the number of copies required thus /7 and the intermediate copies will be made divided evenly into that angle. These beams are currently all at the start of the roof. Change your view so that you can select all 7 copies and use the Move Tool to locate them along the roof at the first center distance. Deselect the lowest angled beam that is the remain there [Select+Ctrl+Shift to remove the picked object from the selection]. Use the Move Tool to move the 6 to the next center etc, repeat removing a beam from the selection and moving what's left until you have relocated all of the beams at the expected centers. I suggest that you select all 8 beams and group them for ease of editing later... Now repeat the process to copy and move the rafters... You now have a set of purlin groups and rafter groups inside their own 'container' group. They are now too long on the up-slope end and need trimming to suit. If you want square-cut ends to all of them simply edit each group in turn and PushPull the end face until it aligns with a roof-edge line you drew earlier. If you want angles ends then do this... inside the containing group, draw a large vertical rectangle aligned with the appropriate roof-edge line, group it and move it so it intersects the ends of the all of the grouped beams/rafters. Select the grouped face and use Edit>Cut to move it onto the Clipboard. Edit a grouped let's assume it's a 'beam'] and use Edit>Paste_In_Place to add the grouped face into the beam's entities. Select All and right-click context menu Intersect with Selection. The grouped face will slice through the beam's geometry. Select the face-group and Edit-Cut it again. Now use Erase to remove the unwanted end of the beam you've just sliced off - you will need to draw over one edge of the cut end to get a closing face to form... Repeat the process editing each group and pasting the face-group in place until all ends have been sliced off. Repeat for the rafter groups with the face-group rotated 90 degrees in plan... Explode groups of things as desired - it's recommended that you leave the individual rafters etc as groups as it makes moving/editing them easier as they won't stick to other adjacent geometry... Now... let's assume that the verges/eaves weren't straight lines... It means each member needs an individual rotation etc and then you can use the EEby* tools... [you could use them for the roof you illustrated too - simply Divide the four roof-edges in turn to suit the number of centers then use Weld to make Curves - use the 4 curves as profiles/rails in EEbyRails to make the roof-surface (later use JointPushPull to add thickness to it), then use EEbyLattice with just Rail and just Profile to make the center-lines of the beams/rafters (do some exploding of nested groups etc), then use EEbyFace to extrude a pre-drawn profile for the member along each of the lines you've just made - the beams/rafters will always have square ends...] For a roof like a 'hyperbolic-paraboloid' the four edges are curves and each member is itself curved...[image: S7Pg_Capture.PNG]