Hello,

When I use SketchUp, I use many components and I find it very convenient to hide individual components when I'm working on others. It turns out that the window that pops up when I right-click a component has a number of very useful commands, including "erase","hide", and "lock". Unfortunately, having the "erase" next to the "hide" can be problematic because there is no visual difference between erasing a component and hiding it. I usually have outliner up, so I can double check, but when I'm in the thick of things, I sometimes forget, and naturally I click "erase" when I really want "hide". Not great if you've spent a hour working on a component and have to start from scratch.

My suggestion is to change the order of the menu to "erase", "lock", and "hide". By placing "lock" between "erase" and "hide", there is less chance of a stray mouse click erasing your work instead of hiding it.

Thanks!

Frank Borik

Finally got my new machine from JNCS. As expected, it was thoroughly checked, and the difference in quality from the bum version I got a couple of weeks ago was, well, can you spell "night and day"?

Everything was great from the get-go, and all is forgiven for the poor quality of the first build. JNCS paid a lot of attention to the nuances which included overclocking and a 36 hour stress test (which I didn't ask for, but they graciously incorporated), comprehensive installation of all required drivers, a QA checklist, and a power cord to boot!. (OK, I make fun of the missing power cord from the first delivery.)

As an aside, the owner of the company spoke to me again, and he told me that they "released" the person who did the original build for me. Apparently they had noticed a few performance problems with this individual previously, but this was the straw that broke the camel's back. Too bad I was the test case (on both sides).

Nevertheless, I am extremely pleased with the end result, and, in the end, I did't mind the wait. Hopefully more of you who read this will be similarly encouraged. A co-worker who looked at the specs and the price said I was getting a supreme deal. So be it!

Go forth and purchase!

Frank.

Thanks Csaba and Dave for your help. I found the Fine Woodworking article very useful. Turns out that I was in need of a good technique for accurately locating hardware on my doors and drawers. I ended up drawing a rectangle and "sticking" it to my handle component as a guide, and then deleting the guide after placement. But the axis location idea is way better and I'll do it that way from now on.

Thanks again!

Thanks, Dave. Turning on the hidden geometry in the view menu did the trick. It turned out that the model I was working on was in import from a CAD model I got off a manufacturer's website. I remember trying to get rid of all of the loose geometry by hand and I gave up -- ended up modeling the applicance from scratch using the owner's manual and installation manual that I got online. I guess I didn't do as good as a job as I thought I did erasing the original.

Good point about making sure your axes are always set correctly. I'm still a little confused about how to orient the axis when I change it. It seems a bit finicky to get it to align the way I want to. I probably just don't know the trick (yet).

Much appreciated.

Hello,

Whenever I select a component, Sketchup conveniently outlines the extent of the component in a blue wireframe box. While the majority of my blue boxes nicely conform to the component of interest, some of them are way big. I mean huge. I notice this particularly if I have imported somebody elses model. I try to hide layers (I'm getting really good at working with layers now), and I try to see if there is any stray geometry. Are there possibly "hidden" things that I don't know about? Just want to see if there are some routines that I can use to track down what's causing the disparity in the size of the blue wireframe box as opposed to the size of the component of interest.

It's a minor inconvenience until I try to nest components in a hirearchy. Then this really starts to play havoc on relative axes locations, and thereby other components that I have constrained to specified positions.

Thanks!

Update on the JNCS saga: I sent a carefully worded e-mail to thier customer support, asking for help in running all of my problems to ground and getting me a machine that would be reliable and would perform as expceted. Within 20 minutes, I got an e-mail from one of the co-owners of the company, apologizing for the incident, and offering to start from scratch with a new build. I spoke with him today to follow up, and we both agreed that trying to go through a troubleshooting and fixing routine remotely would not be wise, and that the best thing to do would be to start anew. The biggest concern that the owner had was the fact that the hard drive came loose, and if it got banged around with enough force to bend the mounting frame, then the liklihood of premature failure was high, and neither of us wanted this machine to be a constant source of frustration going forward.

So, today, they will begin a new build and do the proper testing and quality assurance checks prior to shipment (the owner said this would the most scrutinized build that they've done in recent memory). They will send it to me second day shipping, and they will also pay for shipment of the original machine back to them. They also will give me an extended warranty of 3 years on the new machine.

So, you were right, they are a solid company and take customer satisfaction seriously, and I think they responded in the best way they possibly could have. While the overall experience for me was not great, what is past is past and it's time to turn the page and move on. I'm sure I'll like the machine very much once it gets to me and I can get it up and running.

Thanks for all of your comments and support.

Frank.

Hi Dave,

Glad you didn't have the problems I had. I found that I probably didn't need to go online to get the drivers as the package came with CDs for the motherboard, graphics card, and the SSD.

I'm wondering how JNCS is going to make this "good"? I'm up and running, so I don' think that I need any more help. What I'm contemplating is (a) a cash refund for the $11.98 power cord and a one year extension on the warranty (for a total of 2 years).

I'll let you know what they say.

Frank

OK, I've made great progress but at a cost, primarily of my time and patience. Here's the run-down:

I seemed to remember when I ordered the computer that it was wireless capable, so I checked out all of the components ahead of time(i.e., the motherboard) and remember that the Intel site said that the DX79SR had a bluetooth and wireless module included. Fortunately, JCNS packed all of those "ancillary wires" in the original package for the motherboard, so there it was right on the front: "Bluetooth/Wi-Fi module included. Hmmmm.... I wondered if this module was included in this bag of parts. I looked it up on the Interned (fortunately I still had my "old" computer up and running), and located the technical manual on the Intel site. Sure enough, there was this funny looking thing that looked like the Bluetooth/Wi-Fi module in the picture, and upon closer inspection, I saw that it had MAC addresses printed on it, so I was making headway. But I also needed a cable to hook it up. Fortunately, there were lots of cables in my now handy bag of parts, so after some easter egging, I found what i neeed. Good thing I didn't toss the parts as I had originally planned! So with all parts in hand, a screwdriver, and the factory installation instructions at the ready, I was all set.

I unhooked the computer, hauled it out, and took off the top. Well, it's a good thing I did because, lo and behold, the HDD and hard drive had completely come loose from the chassis and were banging around in the bottom of the cabinet! I thought that I heard something rattling around when I first pulled out the computer from the packaging, but I attributed it to the DVD-ROM drive. The hardware was so banged up that the mounting frame holding the SDD was bent. Since I had previously started up the computer, I figured there was no actual damage to the hardware, but I couldn't get the SDD off of its mounting frame (they used some kind of stick-um, probably for heat dissipation purposes). So I had to bend the mounting frame back into shape, and after a fashion, I was able to get it to lock down.

With that straghtened out, the installation of the wireless module was fairly straightforward. Just peel off the backing from the double sided tape, stick the module onto an empty slot at the back, and plug in the USB wire to an unused USB plug on the motherboard. I put the computer all back together, fired it up, and looked to see if I now had a wireless. It was a no go, but the I realized that I didn't have the driver. Duh-oh! So, back to the Intel website to grab the driver and get it installed. Now things are working fine. My wireless keyboard and mouse are OK, and I can get on the Internet (I'm writing this from the new rig right now).

So, if you get your rig in the state mine was in, I highly suggest that you open it up to check it out, and don't be surprised if you have to do your own wireless module installation with all the trimmings (hunt for the parts in the parts "bag" that you'll get, look up the instructions, and download the driver from Intel on to a USB stick). Better have a second computer up and on the Internet so you can get everything you need. And if you aren't comfortable working on the inside of a computer, then you may be in for trouble!

I guess I'm going to have to send JCNS a nasty gram telling them that their quality control sucks and that they owe me $11.87 for the power cord that I had to buy separately. Just to show them what a nice guy I am, I won't charge them for the 5 hours of labor that I wasted doing their job and transforming my newly purchased $2700 computer from the brick they sent me into a workable device.

I'd definetely be interested if anybody else has these kinds of problems.

Thanks for listening.

Frank.

I got my computer today and it was kind of a downer. First, it came sans power cord (although JNCS provided all of the ancillary cables they didn't use that came with the individual parts -- not sure exactly what I will do with this other than toss them). So I had to go to Radio Shack to get a power cord so I could turn the computer on. Since this is the first time that I bought a custom built rig, maybe I had unrealistic expectations about the power cord. Sort of like buying a printer and expecting it to come with a cable (not).

So I finally turn the machine on, and after fiddling with the monitor connection, (the DP connection didn't work so I had to switch it out with DVI), I get the start screen. Now I'm having problems with the new wireless mouse and keyboard that I bought, so I hook up a USB mouse and keyboard just to keep plowing through in hope that I can get to the Internet and start getting the drivers that I need. However, when I try to get the wirelss to work to connect to the Internet, I find that the machine doesn't appear to be wireless capable. Either that, or I am extremely stupid and can't find it no matter where I look in the hardware setup. I also get a hint that there is no wireless because the connection wizard does not offer a choice for a wireless device (it says "hook up an Ethernet cable"). Plus, it might explain why the wireless mouse isn't working. So I guess I'm going to have to get a USB wireless adapter.

I was seriously hoping I could say what a great machine this is, but for the moment, it's a brick.

Hello,

My name is Frank, and although relatively new to the sketchup community, I have taken a keen interest in dynamic components. One thing I'm trying to design is a clock that will show the time based on the time of day used by the model for the shadow settings. I actually tried to "reverse engineer" a solution using SUNANGLE, SUNELEVATION and LAT (which with a bit of knowledge of speherical geometry and celestial navigation, one can derive the time of day). Alas, these sketchup functions do not update automatically when you change the model time of day. So I figured if I had to go in and get (or make) a script to take care of this automatic update problem, I may as well go after the data I want directly -- model time of day.

So, if anybody knows of (a) an existing plug-in or script that has, or could be adapated to make, the functionality of retrieving model time of day and making it available as a "custom" sketchup function for use in DCs, or (b) point me in the right direction, I'll head down that path.

Thanks!

Frank Borik

I'm getting close to the solution here. I think I can figure this out using the SUNELEVATION, SUNANGLE, and LATITUDE functions (I'll have to dust off my spherical geometry and celestial navigation skills). I do have one follow-on question: How do you get a dynamic component to continually update based on changes in the model? In other words, how do I get SUNANGLE to update if I change the Time of Day in the Shadows menu?

Thanks for your help!

Frank.

Hello,

I'm working on a DC that could benefit from the time of day of the sun. I was wondering if there was a way to get it as a DC function, or another way to get it into my DC so I could use it as a number.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Frank Borik

Thanks, Gai, for the advice. I'll definitely check out TIG's tool to snag the loose geometry, which I'm SURE I have (I just can't find it easily). Sounds like a good plug-in to run periodically for good model maintenance.

Hi Dave,

Yes, only groups and components go to other layers, and Layer 0 is where you do the work with "loose" edges and faces. In reading Adian Chopra's "Sketchup for Dummies", he warned very strongly against being "loose with your layers" because, basicllly, if you screw up which layer you're working on, you can easily destroy your model. I guess it was that warning that made me reluctant to use layers to begin with. But now I'm getting a little more familiar with how they work, and as long as I remain disiplined in keeping layer 0 straight, I can see where layers will be extremely useful.

Thanks for your post!

Hi Peter and Gai,

The third layer worked! I needed to figure out that Layer 0 needs to be visible at all times to prevent the unintended flipping from layer to layer between scenes, but since Layer 0 is your drafting layer, nothing should be on it unless you're actively working it. Now the scenes work exactly as intended.

The other thing I noticed is that hiding the layer also hides all components on that layer in the outliner view. My outliner is getting pretty long, so I think as I gain a better understanding about using layers, and in combination with outliner, I'm going to maintain a well organized model that should be easier to work with.

Many thanks, and I sincerely appreciate your help!!

Frank.

Hello,

My name is Frank, and I'm stumped by layers. What I'm trying to do is to make an "electrical" layer for the model of my house so I can (a) reconstruct my existing electrical system and (b) plan a revision for a remodeling project. My approach was to first get a plan view by generating a horizontal section cut, making a group out of the section, then changing it to a component and putting that on a layer separate from the main model (called - well - "electrical" -- pretty clever, eh?). Then I wanted to make it as a separate scene so I could import it into Layout and do actual schematic drawings. I read Aidan Chopra's "Sketch Up for Dummies" and Bonnie Rokses' "SketchUp 8 Hands On :Layout 3" and thought I had this down by simply hiding all but the electrical layer on the scene that I wanted to import into Layout. But, when I move from scene to scene, whenever I get to the scene with the electrical plan, layer 0 always pops up again! I made sure that I had the "Visible Layers" checked in the Scenes dialog box, and I saved the scene with only the electrical layer visible. No go. I turned off the electrical layer in my other scenes, and that seems to stay off when I run through the scenes. My work-around was to hide all of the other house components using the outliner, and that seems to work, but I'm flummoxed by the behavior of the hidden layer that won't stay put.

So -- why is layer 0 insisting to become visible in my electrical scene?

I only have two layers in the model (layer 0 and "electrcial") so maybe that has something to do with it. But that wasn't obvious in my readings.

Any help you could provide would appreciated.

Thanks!

Frank.

Thanks, Pete. I'm on it.

Sending my order now....

Hi Pete,

I plan on going with option #2, however I'm a bit of a newbie to sketchup (and CAD-CAM in general), so I'm looking for some recommendations for a replacement monitor. My current setup is a 3 year old HP that is theoretically designed for "games and video", but it really isn't a serious graphics computer. I'm going to give this one to my wife (and she is OK with me getting a new one because I'm hogging the computer as of late), so now is a good time. More importantly, my sketchup is bogging down, and I haven't even started rendering yet, so I figure I need the right tool for the job.

Other than some "standards" like a mouse, keyboard, and speakers (and the monitor), is there anything else that I would need?

Thanks for setting all of this up for us!

Frank

Hello,

My name is Frank, and i've recently been working with components for a residential electrical system. I'm also a woodworker and have designed new kitchen cabinetry in sketchup. Although I have not "componentized" my cabinets (yet --I want to do so in the future to get better material estimates), I have learnd a few things about components in my electrical system design efforts.

First, some disclaimers:

1. I'm working on a Windows 7 machine with SketchUp Pro v 8. Not sure if my experience will be of use to you in a mac/SketchUp 7 environment.

2. I only did a few indentures of components (only 3), so my experience does not extend to multiples of sub-components past the third sub-component.

Having said that, the thing that helped me out the most was to use the native reporting function in SketchUp to see what all of my components were doing and how they related to eadh other. While you can do this in the outliner, it is denfinitely helpful to see the data dump of your components in the report.

The key field is called "path" (the first one) that will tell you how each component and sub component relates to each other within SketchUp. What I would recommend is that you select all of the troublesome components and make a report (File-> Generate Report) and see if the "path" gives you some insight into why your components are crashing together. I think this will help in evaluating how your component orgainzation is strutured, which may assist in solving your problem.

Please let me know how this works out. I'm getting ready to undertake a simlar project with my own kitchen cabinetry, so any information I can get will be very helpful to me.

Thanks!

Frank Borik

All,

Thanks for the advice on the .csv file. I'm pretty familiar with excel and its capabilities, and what I have works OK, but I have to do a lot of fiddling with the spreadsheet before I can get it into a useable state. What I found works really well is to pre-format a blank worksheet with all of the headers and column widths the way I want them, then hide the columns that I won't use. I then copy and paste the data from the .csv into the blank (cntrl+shift+end from the first cell of the .csv, then cntrl+V into the first cell of the .xlsx). So, no problem with getting the results I want after a few steps. I was just wondering if a plug-in existed that would do all of that output management up-front so I could export exactly what I want into the spreadsheet and save a few steps.

Thanks, again, for your help!

Frank