Posts made by ericschimel

There is a lot of repetition in this model, they aren't all the same, there are about 3 different varieties of holes so this sounds promising. Is outline component a plugin?

Yeah, I've tried it, works well for 2D objects that you're pulling up into 3D, but all my "holes" are already 3D. Using that tool not only wrecks the 3D model, but makes more clicking then just starting over from scratch.

Hey all, I am working on making a CNC milled shed using Sketchup. You can check out the project here:

http://sketchthis.net/the-wikihouse-project/

I am at the point where the model is just about ready for CNC milling, and I am struggling to find a way to efficiently add clearances for parts and add the dog bones for milling. This probably doesn't make a lot of sense, so I did a quick screen recording to explain it:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/bgk8d9zpdhh6xxe/Wikished%20slots.mov

All of the tools are there to do it, I just have to go through each and every rectangle manually, there's got to be a way to speed this up.

I've tried Milling Tools, which works if you're starting from a flat, non 3D object, but it kinda wrecks a 3D shape and causes just as much clicking and work.

I almost need something that does the opposite of what "Round Corners" does. (I did try to give Round Corners a negative value and it didn't work)

Mine's enabled as well... It always has been....

So some of that was over my head, but if it helps at all, there are other plugins that are failing in the same way as well, try KeyFrame animation and attempt to start a trial by using their web dialog, it also fails...

Thanks Chris, so I may have something helpful, just bear with me because I am not a programmer...

TIG is the guy who writes my plugin (and he does a fantastic job)

I was talking with a friend of mine who's a software developer and he wanted to take a crack at solving the problem, and while he didn't get it, he thinks he may have something that will shed some light on the subject. Again, please bear with my elementary description:

My plugin downloads content from the web, Sketchup files to be exact. Since the Mavericks update, it's broken.

TIG had written a small plugin that could test the way links were formed in Mavericks. My friend took that plugin and tried testing a local VS remote web page.

So what we proved (I think) is that a link is properly passed to Sketchup when the page is saved on the local machine (in the plugins folder) but when the link is to a page that is remote (on the web) it fails.

So while that's not an answer, it appears Mavericks is blocking this somehow. The attached test code proves this. Take a look at the Ruby code, and you can fire up a local or remote test by typing in "TIG.local" or "TIG.remote" into the Ruby console.

I have the remote page in the code hosted on a public Dropbox folder (with a proper public link) and I will leave it there for testing.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/gprwg3lolzxnp39/TIG%20This%20Test.zip

I hope this somehow helps.... (And that I've explained it properly)

Nope, we haven't re-written anything. As TIG says, it works fine on the PC, and the Mac pre Mavericks. For some reason it just won't work on Mavericks. TIG developed the Ruby for me, and I have web developers that built the website portion of that, as I said, we haven't changed anything.

I just downloaded the trial of Keyframe animation from the Extension warehouse, and it has the EXACT same issue on Mavericks that my plugin has. Watch the Ruby console and you'll see the same error that my plugin has when you try to hit "Insert into model"

It would appear that this problem isn't just limited to my plugin, so there are potentially a fair number of plugins out there that could be broken.

While I'm not much of a programmer, (that's why I've got TIG!) I am pretty good with testing things and using debug tools, so if there is anything I can help the community out with, I am more than happy to do that.

If it's any help, here's a video of me trying to see if it was a web traffic issue:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8l4yt6bswy22b80/Mavericks%20SketchThis%20Bug.mov

And here's a screenshot of the ruby console error from my plugin:

http://note.io/1a5H9F5

And here's a screenshot of the same error in Keyframe animation:

http://note.io/1gNdwlo

Again, if there is anything I can do to help out, please let me know.

I am not sure what part you're disagreeing with, it sounds like you're agreeing with me...

Actually, I think there are a few good solutions in there. Don't forget everyone here is volunteering to help each other out with problems. Using the trackpad on the Mac is fantastic, and a great way to use Sketchup.

To answer your question directly:

When using the scroll wheel on the PC, AND pushing shift to lock an inference does work at the same time, on the Mac, pressing the shift key during a zoom operation using an external mouse with a wheel does cause the zoom operation to stop. If you do it with the Mac trackpad, you can zoom and press shift at the same time.

It looks like this is by design, I cannot see any way to change this.

My recommendation, use the arrow keys to lock an inference, not the shift key. Left and right are red and green, and up or down is blue.

If that's not acceptable, a 3D Connexion 3D mouse is a great way to be able to zoon during any command.

Lastly, you could just adapt to what is a really minor change. I use Mac's and PC's all the time. Some with trackpads, some with mice, some with 3D Mice. They all have their advantages and disadvantages. Rather than letting a minor detail slow you down, learn to work around it and you'll become a better modeler for it.

Does this help?

I think unless you have a multi touch trackpad on your PC Laptop, you're out of luck... The whole trick on the mac is based around the gesture (two finger) scrolling...

A lot of the new PC laptops coming out have multitouch, but I haven't played with one yet to know if Sketchup supports it.

Ok, so I have a Sketchup plugin that I am trying to distribute, and I am having trouble figuring out what is the best way to "package" it. This is a thread I have going on Stack Overflow: (I'll paste the link, and paste the text here)

http://stackoverflow.com/questions/11979834/mac-plugin-for-sketchup-should-it-be-an-app-or-a-package

Ok, so I have a bit of a quandry... First, allow me to describe what I am doing:

I have a plugin for Sketchup that I have created. This plugin consists of some Ruby scrips that need to be installed into the Sketchup directory, there is no actual "app" just these Ruby files. On the PC, I have created an executable installer that automatically takes these files and installs them in the correct directory, and has an update service that notifies the user of updates, and can push them if the user chooses to accept.

On the Mac, I have to take the same few Ruby files and have them copied into the Libray/Application Support/Google/Sketchup 8/plugins folder.

Previous to Mountain Lion, I had created a Package Installer to accomplish this. It worked nicely, although because my package didn't contain an "App" I was not able to use any of the third party update services for Mac to push updates...

So now, fast forward to Mountain Lion. Package Maker is no longer included in XCode, while you can still get it from Apple, it's clear to me that in the near future they don't want people using it. They want "Apps" and they want them in their app store.

I agree with them, and I WANT to be in the Mac App store. It'll get me good exposure, and I can push updates.

Here is the problem I am seeing, my plugin is a plugin for Sketchup, it's not an app, not even an official "Mac Plugin" it's literally a couple of Ruby files that need to go into the Sketchup directly (we do the rest in the cloud)

Another hurdle I rand into is that my package isn't "signed" so it's hard for Mountain Lion users to install it unless they know there way around the Security pane.

So here's the big question:

With the move towards sandboxing apps on Mac, and the Mac App Store, is my Sketchup plugin going to be rendered useless unless it's an "App"? With app sandboxing, will dumping files into the Application Support directory even be allowed?

These may be elementary questions, but I am a Sketchup guy, not a Mac developer, so any help would be greatly appreciated!

Im travelling at the moment, if you can post a link to the other thread, or email me I can help you out a little further....

Feel free to ask me here, or you can contact me through my website if the question isn't fit for this forum...

That DAE export thing isn't a bad idea, it would certainly be a good way to diagnose a bad model... I'll have to try that...

I feel my dream slipping away...

I wonder if you could do some crazy thing where each texture is deleted, the file is saved, size is calculated, and the texture is put back instantly...

That sounds really kludgy though....

I wonder how images are stored in a SKP, is it as easy as a LayOut, where it's actually a ZIP file?

That plugin looks like it just covers edges and faces... Something for materials and styles would be awesome....

Since I teach Sketchup, I often find myself helping others fix their models.

One thing I see a lot of are giant models.. I mean giant in terms of file size. This can happen because of too many faces or edges, or even huge texture images.

I know you can go into the model info and see what is going on, but especially when dealing with textures, it can be hard to identify what is really causing the giant file size.

I would love to see someone make a plugin that could really drill down into a file and visually show what is going on. Something with a pie chart, or graph like this iTunes screenshot that I attached....

Does anyone else think this is a good idea?

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Hey guys, I got some new information on Trimble:

http://sketchthis.net/more-information-about-trimble/

Nothing earth shattering, but the video is interesting. Worth a few minutes to watch.

I didn't realize how big Trimble is!