Thanks for this, driven! You're a wizard!

Normally I'd agree that modding code myself IS the best way. However at the moment I'm recuperating from chemotherapy, which makes me pretty seriously brain-fogged. Consequently, many tasks that would normally be easy are difficult to impossible. I'd love to have your Cut List functionality, but realistically I probably won't be clear-headed enough to mod the code for a month or more. I'd sure appreciate it if you'd help me out by sharing your version -- PM me if you prefer to do it privately.

Any ideas on the alphabetization issue, anyone? Yes, I can cut-and-paste into TextWrangler and have it alphabetize the lines. But it would be easier to just have Cut List do the right thing if there's a simple fix.

Thank you, driven. Where can I find these window size/position tweaks?

I have attached my example file.

To generate the cut list shown, my Part Words field reads: gridbeam washer nut bolt panel

Where I wrote "There are no leading spaces on any of the list items" I meant the component descriptions, which Cut List 4 uses as part names.

Cut List 4 also alphabetizes parts lists incorrectly if the numbers are later in the file name. I have another test project where the parts list Cut List generates reads:

Part # Quantity Description
P-001   2   grid-beam-5ft
P-002   2   grid-beam-3ft
P-003   4   grid-beam-4ft
P-004   4   grid-beam-2ft
P-005   2   grid-beam-1ft
P-006   2   grid-beam-2in
P-007   1   2x4 panel, 2 notches long face
P-008   1   2x4 panel, 4 corners notched
P-009   1   1x4 panel, 2 notches long side
P-010   1   4x4 panel, thickness 1/8"

Here is the file for my first parts list:

Example project for cut list in my first post.

I'm using CutList 4.1.1 on a Mac, and having some issues with it.

1. Every time I open Cutlist, its window size is tiny (about 2" square) and I must resize it to see anything. Same with its output windows. That's a consistent time-waster. Is there a way to get Cutlist to remember window sizes?

2. Although the documentation says parts get listed in alphabetical order, here's what I actually get when I test it on a project. Notice that the items whose description begins with a number are consistently out of sequence:

Part # Quantity Description
P-001     2     3 foot x 1.5" aluminum gridbeam
P-002     2     5 foot x 1.5" aluminum gridbeam
P-003    4     2 foot x 1.5" aluminum gridbeam
P-004    3     1 foot x 1.5" aluminum gridbeam
P-005    3     3" x 1.5" aluminum gridbeam
P-006     1     panel 4x4 feet, thickness 1/8"
P-007     1     panel 2x4 feet, 2 notches long face
P-008     1     panel 2x4 feet, 4 corners notched
P-009     1     panel 1x4 feet, 2 notches long side
P-010     4     4 foot x 1.5" aluminum gridbeam
P-011     30     5/16 x 3.5" hex bolt, hex nut, and 2 washers

There are no leading spaces on any of the list items. Any idea what's going on or how to fix it?

Thanks,
Joy

Thank you so much TIG and Jim for explaining this. SketchUp's habit of making unique instances of identical components (but not ALL the time) was SO frustrating.

A big part of what I'm doing is using models to generate parts lists for projects. Since the otherwise-identical components "bolt", "bolt#1", and "bolt#2" list separately in my cutlist plugin, unwanted unique instances were causing me some real problems.

It seems to me that SketchUp's default behavior should be to make each instance of a component identical, so they can all be counted/edited as one. Make a component instance unique only if the user changes something about it. I'd at least like a setting for this, so I can force SketchUp to NOT make unique instances without the Move + x1 workaround.

I am using a dynamic component at various modular lengths (1 foot, 2 feet, 2.5 feet, etc.) to build projects. For each project, I want to generate a parts list, using a plugin such as Cut List. (I'm on a Mac, so I can only run some cut list plugins.)

What is best practice for naming components of the same material at various lengths to make a parts list that is easy to read and minimizes errors?

Thanks,
Joy

@jim said:

@gridbeam solutions said:

How do dynamic components work with parts list generators?

Several reporting scripts already exist, and it would be fairly trivial to write a script customized to your Components.

Thanks! I installed Cut List, tested it, and it did exactly what I wanted.

And thanks to the tips you gave Dave R, I now know how to get SketchUp to list only the parts I want counted.

@jim said:

@gridbeam solutions said:

is there a way to make the component so users can specify the length in feet an inches?

Yes, but it becomes more difficult if there need to be partial units. For example, using the 1.5" base unit, would the DC need to work for a length of 5"? If so, then a fractional-unit component would need to be introduced.

Gridbeam doesn't need partial units. The beam lengths are always multiples of the beam width -- usually, but not always, even multiples.

Thus for 1.5" beam, lengths might be 1.5", 3", 4.5", 6", 4.5 feet, 8 feet, etc. For a beam 2" wide, lengths are always multiples of 2".

Same for metric: If a beam is 40 mm wide, the beam lengths will be multiples of 40 mm -- again, usually even multiples.

Newbie here -- Bolt Builder is a GREAT concept, but I'm having some problems with it (SketchUp 8 free; Mac).

I did figure out that for US Standard bolts, I need to change the file's measurements to Fractional in order to input measurements in inches.

However, if I enter a material thickness of 3", BB lists the shaft length as 5.071" -- NOT the correct 3.5".

Also, if I enter a shaft diameter of, say, 5/16", BB converts that to 5" (!). Yes, 5 INCHES wide. If I enter the number as a decimal (e.g. .25" instead of 1/4"), BB acts correctly.

BB also specifies a very narrow washer, whereas my application requires wider washers. Yes I can go in and change the washers manually... but it would be nice to have the option to type in a value in BB and override the calculated default.

Hopefully I'll get to be enough of a SketchUp expert at some point to build on your excellent work and make dynamic component Bolt Builders for more types of hardware. Thanks for posting this!

Another newbie question: How do dynamic components work with parts list generators? I'd like to be able to generate a parts list for a project -- NOT a cutlist, as I want to list the component sizes -- something like this:

3 count 1.5-inch aluminum gridbeam 4 feet long
4 count 1.5-inch aluminum gridbeam 2.5 feet long
4 count 1.5-inch aluminum gridbeam 2 feet long

How might I do that using dynamic components? (I'm on a Mac, so not all parts list plugins work for me.)

@jim said:

@gridbeam solutions said:

I don't have SketchUp Pro; would someone be willing to make this from the sub-components in the attached file?

Here's the DC. I could not keep the quote marks in the Component names - I got an error when trying to edit Components that used them, so I had to remove them. Let me know if you'd like it modified in some way.

Thank you, Jim! This is GREAT! I just tried it out and it is SO EASY!

I have modified the component name to "1.5-inch aluminum gridbeam", as the beam width and hole spacing are important to users. (There are other sizes and materials of gridbeam.)

I notice that this component's "length" parameter operates in multiples of the base unit, rather than actual measurements. If I want to make a beam 1 foot long, I must specify a length of 8, rather than 12" or 1'. I don't know much about dynamic components -- is there a way to make the component so users can specify the length in feet an inches? Making the length specification more straightforward will make the component easier to build with, which will make it more accessible.

Again, thank you VERY much, Jim, for creating this gem!