Wow! You guys are too cool. Thank you so much. I think I found a new bbs home. I guess I'll have to start spending some time here. My "usual" hangouts are getting a bit weary now.

Btw, I have to say, I LOVE SKETCHUP! After using Autocad 2d for so many years, and numerous failed attempts at using it for 3d visulization, I'm absolutely thrilled with Sketchup. What an amazing tool..AND community...AND resourse..like the Warehouse. Fantastic. Can't wait to start rendering things. Anyway, thank you again SO MUCH you guys. Hope I can contribute something here in the near future.
fitZ

I just remembered one more question. I WAS going to post this thread in the 'Woodworking" forum, but when I clicked to enter the forum, I got a prompt that said...You are NOT allowed to read this forum"..

Can someone explain why? Thanks

Hello Bob and thanks a million. I took a look and it looks like thats exactly what was hoping for. I downloaded it, but now.. I don't know what to do with it.
I've never used Rubyscripts and don't know a thing about them. Is this just a plugin that I drop into the Sketchup Plugin directory? I read the whole thread, but apparently these people know what to do with it once they download it. I'm actually a novice compared to most people here.

Thanks again
fitZ

Hello. Didn't know which forum to put this question in, but here goes.

When I draw an object made from materials such as wood, and then Section it, the materials are shown as hollow. Is there some kind of command or Rubyscript or plugin that will automatically fill these voids with a face. Complex assemblies become confusing when the sheetgoods look the same as the real hollow voids. Here is a section to illustrate my point. This is a section through a recording studio soffet and monitor.

Thanks,
fitZ

Hello again and thankyou. YAHOOOEE! I found the zoom window under Camera under the Toolbar under the View tab. When I clicked on Camera...VOILA! the whole "zoom" toolbar became available.. HIP HIP HOORAY for Gaieus!! Thanks a million!
I'm a happy Sketchup camper once again!

Hello again, and thank you all for the replys. Ok, got the scale fixed. As to the Zoom Window thing, I was aware of the ctrl+shift+w technique, but I was actually trying to find a command button in the tool bar, as I had in Pro 6. I don't know where I imported this from before, but I sure would like to find it again. I "zoom window" a lot, and the ctrl+shift+w is awkward every time I want to zoom. Any ideas where to download this or is there a tool option import or "turn on" somewhere in the program Thanks again.
fitZ

Hello. I'v worked in Sketchup Pro 6 all last year and had a Zoom WINDOW tool(don't remember where i got it), but now I'm working in Pro 7 and would like to have this tool available. Any ideas where or how to get it?

Also, I'm having trouble importing Autocad 2d files into Sketchup in Scale. I drew FULL scale in Autocad using inches as my dimensioning template, and have woodworking(inches) turned on in Sketchup. But the files seem to import at 12x the Autocad scale..ie..an item drawn at 6" in Autocad imports as 72" in Sketchup. How do I fix this? Thanks for any ideas.
fitZ

Hey heme, thanks a million. Although....aaaaaarrrrrgggggrrrrrr....I HATE COMPUTERS!!!!! BOTH my hard drives just FRIED!!! I lost EVERYTHING!! months ans months of work! I backed up to my second drive, but when I tried to dump the files to CD...ZAP!!! ..a chip fried. Did a search on data recovery...dang is this going to be difficult..if not impossible!
geeeezus I hate computers!

Thanks jolran

@unknownuser said:

Makes me wanna see this rendered
Me too I've done a few tests rendering in Kerithia(to lazy to check spelling_ . But it took so much time to change surfaces, and it was WAY too complicated for me. Got any suggestions for a renderer thats simple?
fitZ

@unknownuser said:

Hi Fitz! Nice tapemachine! I have one of those myself
Gonna build a recording studio myself some day.
Are you an architect or woodworker? Have you read this?

Hi jolran. Hey, thanks for the reply and the compliments. Yea, I love ANALOG stuff. My studio is based on a complete Tascam 32 track setup....M3700 64 ch. mixer with 2 MSR-16's synchronized via MTS-1000 Midizer.
Of course, I do have all the digital bells and whistles too...but only to get the audio into the digital domain. I can't stand ITB recording or mixing.

As to your question, no, I'm not an architect, but I am a designer. Worked for years in an architectural Millwork/Storefixture manufacturing company as a CAD detailer and earlier, as a journeyman Millworker(fancy name for fabrication specialist..ie..woodworker Thats why I can fabricate in many materials. Mainly because our main client was Macys. Designed, detailed and help build over 300 Macy store interiors and fixtures. And man do they use a LOT of different materials. Good training. I saved tons of leftover materials that you won't find anywhere. Plex, aluminum extrusions, veneers, laminates, hardwoods, special hardware...to many to list. And now I'm using them in my studio. Take a look at my overall design and you'll see. All the YELLOW stuff is Owens Corning 703 rigid fiberglass. It's for absorption in the room. AND, the tape machine soffet is only an option. Thats the point of the model. I actually have TWELVE options, which this model is one. I drew these to submit to this site for professional Acousticians to help me arrive at a decision on the distribution of the 703. I only have six, 4"thick x 4'x 10' panels. This stuff is expensive and I can't afford any more so I have to dispurse it wisely...hence the models for illustration of my ideas to the pros...
http://forum.studiotips.com/viewforum.php?f=1&sid=54f995ef8715bc4a12cd260abc0f547e

Anyway, thanks a mill for the input. Take a look at the ideas...which for all practical purposes..is only for the rear wall...the rest is ALREADY BUILT! Option 1 is the tape machine soffeted closet. Option 2 is the Skyline diffuser. Option 3 is the Pyramid diffuser. Option 4 is the..well, lets just call it a waveguide poly I won't post the rest.

and finally, the real thing one year ago. More is done now. But just like the drawings, its a work in progress
fitZ

Hello Dave, thanks for the quick reply. Well I just found a "reflection tutorial" in the Warehouse. Very cool, although it would take some experimentation for my model to make it work. It has to do with transluscent surfaces and copying an entity and putting the copy the same distance from the surface as the reflecting entity. If the copy didn't stick out through another surface. Anyway, thanks for the input.
fitZ

Hello. Well, this is my first post in this department. I'm trying to find out how I would add a "reflective" value to a surface. My problem is this. I am building a recording studio, and each project I build, I layout in Sketchup prior to building. My current project requires inserting prior drawn components. In this case, it is a TapeMachine "fixture". This fixture is laminated with gloss black Formica. However, when I drew this, the only option for "black" is in the named color section of the materials pulldown. The problem is there is no "definition" of surfaces in a different plane. The "edges" disappear, and shadows do not work in black. Everything appears as the same, so the "dimensionallity" of surfaces do not come through. Presently, I've used grey tones to differentiate the surfaces, but frankly, that doesn't cut it. Is there some kind of plugin that will apply a "reflectivity" to different surfaces with the same material?

Same thing with Transluscent surfaces, such as Bronze plexiglass.
Thankyou for any insight in to this.
(sorry for the blurry picture, but its all I have at the moment. I SUCK at photography Although, I have noticed that even digital cameras have a problem with black too.
fitZ

@unknownuser said:

At a total guess, it just has the flavor of one of those times you find you're doing something silly..
Check your Model Info preferences and Snap distances.

Sure 'nuf Being a noob sucks. Found the problem. Mainly, not exploring the full command list. Found it in the "model info" under "units". Now I understand. It probably came from the snap setting and or the precision setting. Not only that, but I had previously "scaled" the model to stretch it, not realizing the individual "part" thickness scaled as well. I "pushed" back the face to what it was "supposed to be", but somehow the precision or snap setting rounded off inaccurately...or something to that effect.
I then went on to use one of these "parts" to build another model(the one I posted)copying and push/pulling the size of the parts. The error probably just kept compounding throughout. Oh well, live and learn. Thanks for your replys.
fitZ

I also discovered the thickness of the individual parts have changed from 3/4" to 7/8" This is intolerable.

Here is what I mean.
fitZ

Hello. I've come across something in Sketchup that I don't understand. I've been detailing in Autocad for over 10 years, and am used to absolute accuracy when it comes to entering data as to line lengths, angles, dimensions etc. I've been using Sketchup for 6 months now, and just discovered some kind of glitch when it comes to using the "Tape Measure" command. For some reason, it isn't accurate, or the software doesn't maintain a constant dimension for lines. For instance, I am building a simple plywood box. 12" x 24" x 96". The material is 3/4" thick. I have entered correct dimension for entering lengths for things, yet when it came time to dimension the items, something wierd is happening.
If I dimension the width of the box, it shows 23 15/16" when the individual part dimensions add up to 24". If I use the Tape measure, the width of the box is 23 15/16". However, when using the "tape measure" on the indiviual parts or boards, (which I've made into groups), the individual parts measure correctly, but when I measure the overall width of the combined parts the "tape measure" shows a 1/16" difference. Anyone have a cure or know whats happening here.

Wow! Thanks so much gents. Ok, I'll try these things you've mentioned. I appreciate you taking the time to help. I've got more, but I'll try to find the answers within the forum first.
fitZ

OOOPS....since this IS the Sketchup forums, maybe I should have uploaded the WHOLE real file so you could ZOOM yourself and see things? I exported to .jpg, as thats what I have to do for other forums. What is the norm here? Thanks
fitZ

Howdy. Rick is my name but my friends call me fitz. My close friends call me fitZ..like fitzee...hence my my username. I am a CAD designerdetailer, with a long work history in Autocad 2d detailing(Store Fixturing and lots of other stuff)
I started using Sketchup about 6 months ago, but was slow getting a handle on it. But now...WOW am I impressed. Although there are still some things in Autocad I wish Sketchup had. Maybe i just haven't found them yet. I haven't even scratched the surface of Ruby yet so maybe I'll find them there. Like STRETCH. I've had a few SCALING attemps that approximates Autocads stretch command, but still haven't grasp it yet. Anyway, finally joined the forum and am looking forward to meeting a few of you and learning from all of you. BTW, for the most part, I am using my recording studio as the basis for experimenting with Sketchup. Below is a few files that I have some questions on. Thanks for any help.

For my first post, I have a few questions
Can you point me to somewhere that can illustrate or define strategies for setting up models in Sketchup in preperation for rendering in Kerkythea? For instance, in the first pic, this is a model of my console,(the REAL console is finished, the model is not finished) as I want to use Kerkythea spot lights to BACKLIGHT the LED's in certain audio hardware model renderings. Is this possible? If so, is there a strategy for doing this?
2. Are there parameter settings for PERSPECTIVE camera views. Maybe because I am inexperienced I haven't found them, but the Perspective sure seems wierd to me. Is there some kind of "normal" setting somewhere? Especially when I am trying to view the interior of a room. Yikes... The image is totally out of scale for the dimensions.
3. When viewing a file, like when ORBITING, SOMETIMES, some kind of "imaginary" filter or something removes things in the overall image, almost like the SECTION PLANE, but with no visable Plane, and it moves as I orbit. Then other times its not there. I don't even know how to explain it comprehensivly...it just happens sometimes and other times it doesn't. But I sure would LIKE to have it as a command, especially from inside of a room to remove walls behind the viewing plane so they don't intrude on my view as I orbit the room. Any ideas?

Well, I guesa thats enough for a first post. Anyway, heres some UNFINISHED files to illustrate the "LED" question. I don't want to finish these untill I have a grasp on a strategy to accomplish my intended task. The first is the over all console(which is actually a model that will be a component in the Studio Model when finished. I'll post the whole studio for other questions later. Anyway, the next are simply "zooms" down to the "led" cover" which I've assigned a "transparency" to the material so a Kerkythea spot light "might" show through. Which would be very cool, IF that is indeed the strategy one would use to accomplish this. Anyway, nice to be here. Thanks
fitZ

Ohhh...one final question There are NO shadows in these images? The "component" entity info dialog box has a "shadow" thingy, which is on. Are there other considerations? Thanks
fitZ