@thomthom said: :idea: +1 !

Thanks, they both work:-) Ended up fixing my app in a couple of places. Wounder how I mucked the data:-(

Well, I finally took the time to make this really work. Starting and finishing angles are measured in radians, measured counter clockwise from the +x axis. I needed to add 360 to the finishing angle. When: vector = Geom::Vector3d.new 0,0,1 @vector2 = Geom::Vector3d.new 1,0,0 @vector3 = vector.normalize! The correct arc is drawn by: my_arc = @entities.add_arc [@entity[0]+@block_x, @entity[1]+@block_y, @entity[2]+@block_z], @vector2, @vector3, @entity[3], (@entity[4]*Math::PI)/180, ((360+@entity[5])*Math::PI)/180 @block_? is the location of the block/group from the origin. When an entity, its value is 0.0, nothing. Only problem now, is that the data from my Cad's DxfOut, and Acad's seems to be different. I have to check the spec. by their version numbers, but I can't believe they have changed that much.>_< But "Oh well", that's why I am writting this s*^&&y app.:-) Addenda: I found this variable tags 210, 220, and 230 (extrusion direction) wherein my Cad's DxfOut is [0,0,-1], and the default Acad's is [0,0,1]. What's an extrusion direction? Addenda: z=-1 in [x,y,z] seems to mean that the arc is mirrored around the world view origin. It appears that when z=1 in [x,y,z], the arc is mirrored on the y axis, and set by (see the green (-)) below: my_arc = @entities.add_arc [%(#008000)[-]@entity[0]+@block_x, @entity[1]+@block_y, @entity[2]+@block_z], @vector2, @vector3, @entity[3], (@entity[4]*Math::PI)/180, ((360+@entity[5])*Math::PI)/180

For other beginning ruby writers like myself: model = Sketchup.active_model @entities = model.active_entities @selection = model.selection . . . # Group entities inserted. sel = @selection sel_ents = sel.to_a first_entity = sel_ents[0] while sel_ents.length > 0 if ((sel_ents[0].is_a? Sketchup;;Edge) or (sel_ents[0].is_a? Sketchup;;Face)) and sel_ents[0] == first_entity new_group = sel_ents[0].all_connected sel_ents = sel_ents - new_group group = @entities.add_group(new_group) else sel_ents = sel_ents - [sel_ents[0]] end end model.commit_operation C&C is welcomed:-)

@honoluludesktop said: TIG, thanks for the lesson. @tig said: .......using @x in you tool is fatal to any other tool foolish enough to use it too ........ " @x"'s a typo, yes. Assuming you mean "..using $x in..". Anyway I rewrote the code with @variable for those that have to be available for different procedures. Typo fixed [I an conditioned not to type $ in front of a variable name!!!]

:-0....now I get it, thanks.

Sigh..Still not able to export even a new 60 frame video. Don't know about MS media player. Would it affect creating a new video? Still I will try the flush. Addenda 1: Nope ipconfig /flushdns didn't work. As lame as it sounds, I am hopping that the next Win auto upgrade will fix it. Something like that happened before, when my browser screen went *(&%$, I reloaded a upgrade, the upgrade failed, but the screen straightened out. I said "lame", didn't I

wow. that sounds great. Now I just have to renew my hardware. But I'm shure that this will be my future work with my next generation of PCs

Dan, Thanks.

Nice presentation and very useful. @unknownuser said: I can see the need for a high end marketing video, and the investment that goes with that Hm, what about baking textures and cast-shadows, then render the animation in SU without shadows? I used blender for this baking-render. A SU anim export. http://forums.sketchucation.com/download/file.php?id=32178

TIG, true, white fog can work in many cases. For my elevations I want to keep a blue sky, and if I use a white fog my sky disappears. If I use a blue fog to keep my sky, I get a blue color cast on my elevations. Another technique I use is to create a rendering of my building as a png with sky and ground off so I can get a mask of the building itself. Then I can drop a sky in with Photoshop using the profile mask made from the png; but the reason I favor rendering out a fog vs. building mask is that I can get more control over the effects of depth and can also use curves or levels in Photoshop to manipulate the distance falloff effect.

I was actually going to use the Cad/ drafting process as an analogy, because in some ways it's similar. Like you I have to track my hours at work, so I can't just play, and I am expected to produce visuals of reasonable quality. My answer to this is to always have something on the go. So I'll do a set up before work with a focus on on issue I want to learn. Then let it render away, review at lunch, make some adjustments, and let it render again. In this way it's not like drafting, as once your have imported the scene, worked with you materials, and lighting etc, the computer does all the work. By keeping the scenes simple, I can at least move forward in the learning process, because I know I have a long way to go.

Thanks, for uploading the information. I have to figure how to give public access to files on a private blog without compromising the blog.

Archos has one but I have not seen it yet in the "flesh". http://www.archos.com/products/nb/archos_9/index.html?country=us&lang=en Too bad it runs Win7 starter but it is cool looking.

Thanks!

*Alias Sketch for AutoCAD Added: January 26, 2010 Graduated: May 11, 2010 The Autodesk Alias Sketch for AutoCAD Technology Preview allowed you to take advantage of Alias and SketchBook technology directly in AutoCAD software by adding fully integrated painting, illustration, and image manipulation capabilities to enhance the AutoCAD design workflow, making AutoCAD a much broader creative tool. The technology preview has ended. Thanks to all who provided feedback in the shaping of this technology. The add-in ships with Alias Sketch.* http://labs.autodesk.com/utilities/alias_sketch_for_autocad/ http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/pc/index?id=14963386&siteID=123112

Hi folks. These double texts can be seen in a few other places as well. Just ideas.