@solo said:

I have a model imported from vectorworks, it has a gazillion of the same component but they are all individual components so editing one does not edit all, I need to somehow make them all the same component, is there a plugin already that does this?

if all components are to be replaced by one unique component, you can use sketchup native tool:

introduce the unique component you want to keep in the model, if it is not already
select all the components you want to replace
open the palette to show all the components in the model (clic on the house)
right clic on the one you want to keep
clic on "replace selected components by this one..."

all selected components are replaced by the one you chose

it is not automatic, but visual check is sufficient and more accurate in some cases

no error message
and i noticed the progressbar

it is slower but more efficient
thank you

@renderiza said:

Hi,

Can you provide an attachment of the SketchUp model you are trying to use?

What version of SketchUp are you using?

Can you install the plugin?

Does it work on some faces?

Are you trying to detect Groups or Components?

I'll try to find out how to solve your issue.

Best regards,
Renderiza

sketchup 17
it works in some circonstances
trying to detect components

here is the example that fails

top view

"Error: #<RangeError: float Inf out of range of integer>
C:/Users/.../SketchUp 2017/SketchUp/Plugins/MiSU_iSelect/MiSU_iSelect_loader.rb:98:in `*'"

now i admit this is not a usual case
most of the time it works pretty well

@renderiza said:

@einstein said:

As you can see in the attachment, it also deselects some of the front, visible faces. The problem appears when softened edges come into play.

Hi,

I have updated the code of 'iSelect' and the new version 2.0.0 is available at the following link...

Download Now

Also, I'll appreciate more feedback so I can improve iSelect even more.

Note: I am charging a small fee for the plugin to help me spend more time making SketchUp Extensions.

best regards,
Renderiza

something is missing?

i don't see the code that is supposed to do the job

@renderiza said:

@einstein said:

As you can see in the attachment, it also deselects some of the front, visible faces. The problem appears when softened edges come into play.

Hi,

I have updated the code of 'iSelect' and the new version 2.0.0 is available at the following link...

Download Now

Also, I'll appreciate more feedback so I can improve iSelect even more.

Note: I am charging a small fee for the plugin to help me spend more time making SketchUp Extensions.

best regards,
Renderiza

i tried version 2

still have problems

Error: #<RangeError: float Inf out of range of integer>
C:/ProgramData/SketchUp/SketchUp 2017/SketchUp/Plugins/MiSU_iSelect/MiSU_iSelect_loader.rb:98:in `*'

selection is not filtered

@medeek said:

I am trying to understand how the Mac .plist file works. Is it similar to the registry? I have a client that is having some trouble with registering (inputting their serial into the global settings) and having their system save the serial number.

Unfortunately, I don't own a Mac so I am not much help. Does anyone use the plugin on a Mac and have had similar problems with saving the serial number? Where does one go to manually edit the .plist file and enter in the serial number manually.

not only that
i had the same questions
so i bought a mac: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Mini
sheap, you can use windows mouse, keyboard and screen
there are a few things to modify in the ruby code por windows, to make it work on a mac

@medeek said:

and...

@unknownuser said:

I think I can read between the lines. Trimble is wanting to squeeze more of the casual-pro users into upgrading to a Pro license by eliminating the gravy train known as Make. The vast majority of the customer base is probably Make users with a small percentage of Pro (paying) customers. To make SketchUp viable they need a larger volume of paying customers, I get it, I have the same problem with my own plugin income, the volume is too low.

The problem is that in order to charge a Pro price you really need to offer a full fledged “Pro” product. This is where I feel that SketchUp has let itself and its user base down. Only recently has layout become a more serious tool. Without the ability to seamlessly produce production drawings (the real world product of designers and engineers) SketchUp is merely a conceptual tool that no one takes too seriously.

The reason the Pro user base is too small is because it is not full featured enough. The solution is to beef up Pro even more so it can really compete in the marketplace against the big boys. A better product will draw more customers, build it and they will come, as they say. Trying to squeeze your customer base is never a great idea, its only a road to a slow demise.

my understanding is that a customer is somebody who pays for something; people using Make are not customers, thay are users, because they don't pay

you cannot expect a company to give for free and for ever its product, so i am not surprised by Trimble's decision not to update the Make version

I even find it a fair decision to keep the 2017 Make version online in the next years, so that people can adjust

Sketchup.free cannot be used by professionals, but it is a good way to learn about 3D, and hopefully, it will be able to manage extensions some day in the future

it is just my point of view...

@medeek said:

@faust07 said:

Thank you for your incredible efforts to develop plug-ins for building construction solutions. Even the renderings are getting better and better. I'm thinking about whether the techniques are also suitable for the requirements of building constructions in Germany... Keep up the good work!

I'm not familiar with the building industry or codes in Germany but I would interested in learning more. I've also been working on translating the plugin into various languages this last couple of weeks and German is high on my list to get incorporated into the new language files. Please feel free to message me or send email if you have any specific questions, requests or resources on building in Germany.

My experience is that translating a software is not only about words. Wooden houses are built in each country using technics that are not exactly the same. So translating words from one language to another is not sufficient.
Maybe the first step would be to check if technics are similar or not in the country you plan and if yes, then look for a a bi lingual technician

just an idea and with respect... personnaly, it would take me many lives to do the work you have done in just 2 years ...

@jql said:

How can it be good for estimate and not for construction. ...
...
I was under the impression theses bim constructions would automatically comply to regulations and therefore would require nothing else.

because no structural analysis has been done!

if you look at this floor beams adjustment around stairway

you surely notice it cannot be built like this; it would be necessary to add some columns below the beams.
It might not change a lot the estimate, but from a structural point of view, it is not correct.

BIM doesn't mean it is correct; it only means it is very well documented.
At least it is my understanding

@pbacot said:

Built like what?

like the model produced by plusspec
structurally, it is not correct most of the time (cross section of bars are not checked in relation to the load they have to carry nor their length)
i think maybe it is OK for an estimate, but not for construction

@medeek said:

It looks like they've just released PlusSpec Lite:

PLUSSPEC LT - PlusSpec

Why PlusSpec Lite? Homeowners struggle to express their ideas in ways that are meaningful to Design & Construction professionals. Sketching thoughts for their new home or renovation is super difficult and normally just get thrown in the bin. And they often feel completely left out of the process altogether. If you’re not looking to build or […]

PlusSpec (plusspec.com)

PlusSpec Lite Promises to Create More Affordable Housing by Solving the Communication Disconnect Between Homeowners and Professionals & Reduce the Cost of Building

/PRNewswire/ -- RubySketch announced today that it has launched a new 3D Home Design & Interior Design DIY software that plugs into SketchUp and will help...

(www.prnewswire.com)

Certainly more affordable than the full version. I may have to sign up just to give it a go.

I'm still trying to figure out what the limitations are of the lite version versus the pro version.

Does anyone have more information?

I have watched the videos about plusspec, and i am surprised, because the cross sections of the bars are not checked; there is no structural analysis done by the program; what is does is put structural elements on top of each other, thats all
Are houses really built like that in Australia and USA?

@medeek said:

...
But then again perhaps I have hit an actual saturation point, where "real" users have all been potentially exposed to the plugin and everyone else is just testing it out but never will purchase it for serious use.

Ultimately, I am just trying to find a way to monetize my efforts more and somehow enable myself to spend even more time developing this plugin and all of others I've started cooking up.

10 000 downloads is a lot! but your extension is a very specific and professional one; so, what percentage of the 10 000 downloads correspond to professional users?

my understanding is that you are confused between a hobby and a professional use

i doubt lowering the price of your extension would change anything; because it is not an extension for a hobb

my guess is you rather need a partner, to help you with the marketting, so you can reach only the professional users, and get real income from your work.

The logo you recently added on the beams might be an opportunity to contact the manufacturers; maybe they would be interested in paying you to work on there product.

because technical tools help to sell products also

@sk_man_2020 said:

Wow! Cool! Thank you so much! That's VERY useful. Makes things a whole lot easier when there's hundreds of layers in a file. I wish I had the time to learn Ruby so I could do that type of thing.

Thanks again! Very much appreciated.

you are welcome
this is what the forum is for

@sk_man_2020 said:

@glro said:

when i click on 'name' (title of the column) in the window that shows layers, they are put in alphabetical order...

Then I guess I must have an older version of the plugin, because I don't see any "name" column in the plugin. All I see is a pull-down box with an arrow pointing down, and a button next to it labeled "New". Below that is a check box labeled "Layer visible on selected Scene only". If I click in that pull-down, I get the list of layers, but they are in random order. I don't see any column labeled "Name" on the plugin window. That's only in the layers window, not the plugin window. And when I click on "name" in the layers window, it does not change the order of the layers in the plugin window, only in the layers window.

What version of the plugin are you using? Is there a new version that has a "name" column on it?

This is what I get: Are you seeing something different?

[attachment=2:2q4kk0ic]<!-- ia2 -->AddLayer-window.jpg<!-- ia2 -->[/attachment:2q4kk0ic]

i misunderstood your question; but i modified the plugin the way you want it
i just added one line:
layers.sort!
to the file 'main.rb'
(joined)
you just have to put it in your plugin folder, instead of the one that is already there

and the layers will be shown by alphabetic order

main.rb

@sk_man_2020 said:

I realize that this is an oldish plugin, but it's really useful, and seems to work great in v2017.

However, the layers in the pull-down list are shown in apparently random order... Is there any way of changing that, so they are in alphabetical order, just like in the actual SK "Layers" window?

I often have many dozens (or even hundreds) of layers in my models, so it's a real pain to scroll through a long list, looking for the ones I want. It would be great to have the option to sort that list in alphabetical order, and even better if it could be set to either ascending or descending order.

when i click on 'name' (title of the column) in the window that shows layers, they are put in alphabetical order...

@juju said:

@medeek said:

Talking with some other users about the timber truss module I think it may be useful if the module could generate a separate detail with dimensions etc... for each plate.

I don't know how to do this in layout so I will probably use SVG and html.

That is quite a niche use, probably a "pro version" or "engineering version" item?

what is the niche use?

is it the engineering version?
or is it the hobby version?

hobbyist don't make money with sketchup
so hobbyist won't pay for the extension

maybe the engineering version is the one that could bring to the developper the resources needed to developp the extension

possible to create a scene for each plate and add dimensions directly in sketchup

just ideas ...

@medeek said:

...I'm not a huge fan of pricey design software, that is what has led me to SketchUp in the first place. The SketchUp community in general has adopted this mindset (in my opinion) and I don't feel that they would get behind an expensive solution.

3.) I am also trying to keep the plugin within the reach of the casual user (DIY'er), someone who simply wants to model up a single house or garage for their own personal use. In some cases the trial version of the plugin(s) will work for that but I have recently limited it quite strictly so any serious design work will require a registered license.

4.) I have also considered a subscription model, but my own distaste of that licensing mode has kept me from going down that road. Once your purchase a software you should be able to use it indefinitely as it stands. Additional payment should only be required if you are requesting an update or added functionality.

5.) What better way to discourage copy cats and the competition to price it too low as to make it worth their while. No one in their right mind will try to recreate what I have done with trusses when the payback is so little and the effort is so large.

just a few ideas i had, after reading your post:

you only think about the price user would have to pay for using your plugins, but it is not the only parameter; there is another one, as important, and it is how much money the user can make by using your plugin; so that the real price of your plugin is not the price the user pays, but the difference between the money he makes minus the price he paid

this leads me to another idea: writing code is fun, but it may be contradictory to the goal of making a business through coding; one have to be clear: if really it is about making a business through coding, development should be focused on what makes added value for the user, so that he might be willing to pay for the plugin.

your plugin is very specific to wood structure in USA; i work as a structural engineer in Europe, so i have some knowledge about wood structures, but i don't understand the words you use to explain the specificites of your plugin. If you want to make your audience larger, maybe a good idea would be to use more generic words and concepts.

Those are just ideas, i don't pretend anything, but i am puzzled by the contradiction between the amount of work you put in this plugin, and the low audience you get so far

@thomthom said:

Would that be at the event of copying? Or when pasting?
Can you describe the scenario you'd use it in?

when copying
i am trying to find a way to control the difusion of dynamic components
if such an observer would be available, it would be easy to prevent unauthorized copies
selection observer can be used, but it is less direct, and probably less efficient than an observer on copying
more dynamic components would be created if there was a way to crypt them, just as ruby plugins

onCopyElement

an observer that would detect when something is being copied

i have not find anything doing that among the existing obsersers

@gaieus said:

Szia András!

... Remember where you save them, go there and open the component just to see that they are now just a simple file (without being a component inside the file).

..

when you drag some dynamic component from the file manager to the sketchup windows, it seems to lose its dynamic characteristics

your explanation solves the problem: just explode once the dynamic component you just dragged into sketchup, and the dynamic characteristics are available again

thank you, this is a big help

but how do you make sure in the first place when you register the component, that it is "just a file", and not a "component in a file" ?