thanks for the reply - so what formats besides .jpg will it export?

Sorry for my dumb question, it will be obvious I haven't tried the plug. yet.

I use the "Automated 2D Output" ruby to export to CAD.
The problem is that it doesn't read all the info about the scene when it exports... it just reads the camera. So if each scene I'm trying to export to CAD format has hidden geometry, hidden layers, and an active section cut (like one would do when exporting the four interior elevations for a room) it will only export the first of the cams correctly, and after that I get junk.

So... in short, can THIS "Scene Exporter" read/remember everything each scene has checked or unchecked and export that view accurately to 2D CAD format?

indeed, Juju!

yes Toby, I use the xref ruby... but it does add the file.
plus, if you're on a machine without the ruby ... then... oops! you're stuck!
so it needs to be 'part' of the operation of the program.

I think you can show cams... haven't used that tool... but if you move them, does the scene update with it?
will have to investigate.

thanks for understanding, KB

I'm trying to figure out who's 'tougher' the guy in Jakob's avatar... or the guy in mine.

high polycount, multicore support... these have been mentioned a thousand times my friends... nothing new here guys... I have no fear that Google has heard our request there. ...and I requested them a looooooooong time ago as well.

just because your workflow may be different from another's workflow, doesn't mean they are not useful requests. obviously you do not rely as heavily on straight sketchup as I do, KB. ... and wouldn't my request number 3 give you a more speedy SU?
@unknownuser said:

3. Architects need an advanced Xref capability of models.

I do tons of animation and live walk-thrus with SU... and in fact modeling in real-time with the client next to me these days... or in a room full of clients... so my requests are very real and useful for architects

I also don't tend to hit the poly wall a lot of users such as yourself hit... because I have learned of SU's quirks and taught myself to work around them carefully. not that I don't wish/hope for more power all the time, but it's not such a thorn in my side.

But when the client wants me to rotate the building (or flip it 180 degrees on the site), or worse - I get some guy's model and I need to rotate it around, and I can't because I'll lose the 30 cams (Scenes) already set up... now THAT'S a time killer I could do without.

and now for our favorite DWR stool...

Stool_DWR_byFletch.zip

The chair and matching bar stool.

Chair-n-BarStoolByFletch.zip

Here I share some various components I've made over the years. They are not nearly enough to say 'thanks' to all who contribute here... but hopefully they are a start.

first misc. batch:
tap tower
stick sculpture
handrail details

I did NOT post them to 3D warehouse yet... so if you see them there you know they were hi-jacked by someone. I WILL post them there someday.

TapTower_Bar.zip

SticksSculpture.zip

handrails.zip

thanks Cooter!

I've been building this list for a while. There are more, but thought I could add on to them here later. My apologies in advance if these are covered in other 'wish' topics already.

Shortcomings of SU 6 I hope are solved in SU 7:

1. Architects need an option to SELECT AND MOVE the entire model INCLUDING CAMERAS(SCENES).

Currently, if I really want north to point up (in plan view), and someone has built the model 90 degrees the wrong way and just told SU to look at north as 90 degrees to the right, I cannot select the whole model INCLUDING THE CAMERAS to rotate them, or if they built the model way far away from the origin, and I want to move it all to the origin, I cannot move the model + cameras to the origin, nor can I just tell SU to move it's origin to a new location... perhaps thats another solution, to be able to completely re-specify the SU origin... then one could move it to a new location, and rotate it in any direction, achieving the same effect.

2. Architects need an advanced scene/animation dialog.

Currently, it's not uncommon for me to have 50-100 scenes. Renaming 20 scenes at once, doing complex reorganization of scene placement, and all their options is way too difficult. Even using the Scene Transition ruby from Smustard.com is clunky, and only some-what solving the problem. I'm sure it's as well done as he could do it with the current tools avail. to him, but the scene management tools in SU need vast improvement.

Multiple rows of tabs should show up, they could be a bit smaller. The ability to drag-n-drop the tabs to re-organize, select multiple tabs using shift and ctrl to select/deselect multiple at a time, rename, include or exclude from animation, etc.

3. Architects need an advanced Xref capability of models.

Linking a large site model and a large building model together in a way that does not combine the size of them together, yet lets one add selective things from that xrefed scene (cameras only, certain layers only, etc.) Being able to select an object in the xreffed model INTO the current model with a copy nested object tool would also be great.

4. Being able to easlily organize one's plugins into folders.

This would give the user the ability to create subfolders in the plugin directory so that each folder name becomes a sub-flyout within the plugins pull-down menu, which would allow easier more 'intuitive' organization of plugins. Allowing professional offices, or someone working in multiple computers in SU to take their plugin folder organization, pack it up, and take it eleswhere (home) easily without breaking their workflow.

5. An advanced/more comprehensive portable SU profile. That will bring all SU shortcuts, menu setup, toolbar locations, etc.

Currently, when one loads their preferences they have saved from work onto their home computer, the default SU shortcuts they had changed do not replace the SU defaults... this is incredibly inconvenient and time-wasting when someone like me has pretty much made up all their own shortcuts replacing most of the SU defaults with my own. It would be good if the menus/toolbars setup would also carry over with the same preferences file.

6. An advanced user-friendly batch exporting feature that allows one to export multiple scene views all as .jpgs in one 'shot'. ...and choose their resolution, plus an advanced watermarking feature so a firm can have their logo or copyright info automatcally positioned on the exports, eliminating need to do this in post-pro. (I currently use 2 different ruby scripts written for this, but they still fall short of expectations regarding ease of use and exporting options.)
7. Better Anti-aliasing options, and better ability to choose the 'thickness' of 'edges'.

Currently, when running an animation, one must export the animation at 2x the desired resolution just to get crisp lines.

8. Integrate 2D CAD format export from 3D SU model.

Yes, you can save your model as ACAD file! I know! I do it all the time. And currently a ruby script will accomplish 2D CAD format exports... in a bit of a clumsy way (It only works for cameras, but does not remember all other cam parms like hidden line and section cuts. HOWEVER - If one has 12 scenes, and 4 of them are interior section/elevation views of a model. Now you want to export only those section/interior elevation views to 2D ACAD drawings without deleting your other scenes first there's no quick/easy way of choosing the scenes one wants exported to CAD.
9. Lock the area of a face, and lock edges, so that one can drag an edge of the face, and SU will dynamically re-size the face, yet maintain the desired area.

This would be a powerful Schematic Design tool for architects arranging space.

@unknownuser said:

No, that's what PageExIm is for. My planned upgrade for PageExIm is to specify the scenes that are imported.

I bought that, used it, but I want to reduce clutter and not have a thousand tools and scratch my head trying to remember all the similar ones, which one does what... and as I train others, they get frustrated by it all as well.

If there were simply a 'scene master' dialog/tool with tabs at the top where you choose your 'area' of work... like an Exim tab, an image/scene 'exporter' tab, etc.

I really hope SU7 handles scene organization in a deeply more sophisticated way - you can see I have given it a lot of thought.

Here's the scenario we do all the time in my firm:
Client has a school or hospital they want to add on to.
Client wants to see options.
Client wants to see phases.
Client wants to see options of phases.
ugh.
So I create 12 camera views... they ONLY remember camera views.
I draw ONLY on layer 0.
I GROUP my different options into diff. groups.
I place GROUPS onto LAYERS like a layer "Opt1Phase1", "Opt1Phase2", etc.
by the time I get to the 3rd or 4th option, you can see I have many groups on many layers.
Then I Create a tab that is EXCLUDED from animation...and that ONLY remembers visible LAYERS. I call them by the same name as my layers "Opt1Phase1", "Opt1Phase2", etc.

This way I can click each "option tab" and it sets up the right layers I should see, and then I can play the animation for the client. After the animation is done, I click the next option tab, and replay the animation.

Now... how can I use your tool to export all these animations at once instead of manually doing it all? I know it can be automated somehow. And I know your just the man that can do it.

agree with all said!

Hi Nick, where's the link to the desk? It's just what the doctor ordered... ( he he... literally in this case)

can't wait to try it... but I get a message the server is down...

thanks for sharing! is the link broken? doesn't work for me...

great expression on the smiling one! you are a gifted artist!

Takuji, and oecodesignator,
Thank you so much for sharing these great models!
I like that first woman and pose the best - great emotion from straight SketchUp - very impressive!

thanks Bytor! nice render, too!

Beautifully modelled, very well rendered! ... and well shared - thanks!

please keep sharing!