Posts made by Howard leslie

Hi,
In the Point Cloud Manager there is a Point Cloud Transformation Panel showing X, Y, Z offsets for the Point Cloud that is loaded into the SketchUp file.
These offsets can be viewed and also edited here - which is great.
What about Rotations ???
Would be great to see Rotations (ie degrees) about the X,Y,Z axes also - so that they can be viewed and edited
Is this possible ???
I'm aware that the point cloud can be rotated with rotation tool - but it would be great if u could see what the rotations are and edit them
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Editing all this data in dialog boxes is great because it allows fine adjustment and also allows you to save the settings if reqd
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Any help would be much appreciated
...........
Regards
Howard L'

Hi,
Not posted for a while a few questions regarding point clouds.......

Does anyone know if its possible to save a Point Cloud Clip with a scene ???
ie clip point cloud, update scene, save file, then when going back to that scene - point cloud clip for that particular scene is preserved ???

Scene Manager Currently Saves:
Camera Location
Visible tags
Hidden Objects
etc
......
PS
Naming different point cloud clips IS possible and very useful - visible in Entity Info and Outliner
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It would be very handy to do this (save point cloud clips) - having multiple scenes with different point cloud clips for each scene
Currently doesn't seem possible ??? Unless I've missed something - quite likely !!!
.......
Any help - much appreciated
Regards
Howard L'

Keywords:
point cloud, pointcloud, scene, scenes, page, pages, clip

Dave R,
Thanks for confirming - really appreciated.
Would be good to have this feature in layout in a future release - ability to have different page sizes in one file.
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Thanks once again
.........
Regards
HJL

Hi,
Does anybody know if its possible to have different drawing (page) sizes in the same layout file eg
a mixture of A1 and A3 size ??? (similar to AutoCad Page Tabs)
...........
Workaround is to have 2 x Layout files - one for all the A1 size drawings, one for all the A3 size drawings (as they reference the same Sketchup model - no problem).
However, having all drawing frames within 1 Layout file would be much neater / better
............
Regards
Howard L'

Ralph,
Some top tips that may help for working with big models.....

1. If importing CAD data - clean this up first in CAD if possible (eg AutoCad) - PURGE - THEN import - ie tidy up CAD data as much as possible
2. Curvy / circular geometry eg organ pipes - define circles (cylinders) with as fewer sides as possible eg 24 - it's always a trade off between level of detail and model performance.
3. Always use components eg for geometry / parts of model that are repeated - really important.
4. Look for symmetry in your model - eg can you model half of building or organ then mirror ? Each half being a component ???
5. Shadows off - don't use - these can kill a big model stone dead.
6. Shading - Flat only, don't use textures.
7. Model close to the origin axes (0,0,0) - important
8. See TIGs XRef plug-in - works a bit like XRef in Autocad - allows you to break model up and work on seperate portions. Really good (thank you TIG), very useful plug-in.
   ...............
   Hope this helps
   Regards
   Howard L'

Hello,
Standard UK texts / codes of practice you may find useful:
EEMUA Publication 105 Stairways Ladders and Handrails
Building Regulations Part K
British Standards Institute BS 5395 Part 2 - Spiral Stairs
British Standards Institute BS 5395 Part 3 - Ladders and Walkways
.........
Some time ago I also posted a couple of Dynamic Components to SketchUcation:
StairCaseBuilder:
http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=289%26amp;t=18545#p150993
SpiralStairCaseBuilder:
http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=289%26amp;t=29484
These were designed to help model staircases and spiral staircases to the standards mentioned above.
You may also find these components useful for your purposes.
.......
Hope this helps
Howard L'

Emerald15,
I don't visit Sketchucation as much as I used to - hence the late reply to your question.
.........
The doorway can be found at The Queen's Gallery, Palace of Holyroodhouse, Edinburgh.
Well worth a visit if you get a chance.
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Howard L'

See attached.
An old door that I photographed recently.
..........
Thought it might come in handy - especially for those modelling:
old structures / castles / magic kingdoms / secret doorways / modelling for gaming etc.
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Enjoy
Howard L'

Keywords:
Material jpg Door Doorway Castle Magic Secret

Walter,
Clipping - its a real pain in the neck sometimes !!!
A few things to try / check on your model:

1. Are you working a long way away from the origin (0,0,0) ???
   SU doesn't like this and it's one cause of clipping.
   If this is the case in your model, turn all layers on, unhide everything, select all, group all, move all your geometry back towards the origin.

2. Does your model cover a large physical area ???
   SU is not particularly keen on this either - again a cause of clipping.
   Turn all layers on, unhide everything, check to see if you have any stray linework etc miles away from where you are working.
   ............
   Hope this helps
   Regards
   Howard L'

Paul,
Thanks very much - absolutely spot on
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HJL

CamnCam,
See this DC that I created a while ago, it may give you some help:
http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=289&t=21350
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I suspect that the real problem you may be having is with the framed object corners ???
ie You want to change the overall size of the frame eg make it taller or wider but at the same time keep the frame members a regular size eg 50 x 50 ???
.........
One trick is to use some hidden cubes / rectangles in the corners + some lines on a layer that you hide eg Give a Layer the name "Hide" etc or hide some geometry.
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See DC above
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Hope this helps.
Howard L'

TIG,
The version of 2D Tools that I have installed is from 2D_Tools52.zip.
When I got the bug splats I made sure I had the latest version before reporting any possible bugs.
...........
The text I quoted above was from the notes inside the #2d.rb file.
I shouldn't have quoted this - its a bit misleading - as I see now that there are many *.rb files inside the zip file that you may have updated on the last release - not just the one.
............
If its tricky to track the bug down / reproduce the fault - don't worry about it as I can work round it.
However, if I notice anything else, or any other possible leads I'll report it.
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Brilliant plugin by the way
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Thanks once again

Howard L'

TIG,
Thanks very much for your reply
.........
To answer your question:

SU Pro 8.0.11752
Windows Vista c/w Svc Pack 2
(32 bit PC)

Latest version of 2D Tools
Text notes inside the #2d.rb file gives the version as

v5.0 20100927

..........
Really wierd how nobody else can reproduce this bug splat / behaviour
Possible clash with another Ruby script ???
.......
Howard L'

TIG,
I've noticed that the 2d toolset will occasionally crash SU under the following circumstances.......
See attached skp.
Using your 2d Toolset, I'd like to be able to put 2 Fillets on some adjoining linework (3 adjacent lines)
The linework is not all on one plane. (2 horizontal lines, 1 vertical)
.......
first fillet - no problem.
second fillet (on adjoining lines but different plane)- will crash SU
........
Solution - move reqd lines off to one side and fillet, then put lines back in place.
I sometimes use this toolset when working on 3d models (even though it was originally designed for 2d work) - its very useful
........
If you have time and could look into this it would be most appreciated.
.......
Regards
Howard L'

Fillet_Crash.skp

The following may help / give u some ideas
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=289&t=21350
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Regards
Howard L'

Fiona,
A few thoughts for you...
Do you actually need the holes at all ???
There are no prizes for over modelling / over detailing thats not really required.
........
I guess you are probably more interested in the design of your actual stand and its contents than the framework that makes up the stand (if that makes sense).
........
In SketchUp, try and keep the number of edges in your models down as much as possible.
This greatly increases performance / speed of your models.
Also, the inferencing engine (automatic snapping) in SU sometimes gets confused when it has lots of edges to choose from.
This framework has many holes per member and the number of edges in your model could go up wildly - possibly for little real benefit in your particular case.
If I were you, I wouldn't model the holes at all.
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Have you seen Profile Builder ??? Brilliant plug-in (worth every penny):
http://www.smustard.com/script/ProfileBuilder

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=323&t=44237&hilit=profile+builder

I think you would find this plug-in extremely useful for your task.
It would be VERY FAST and SIMPLE to create the framework of your stand using Profile Builder.
A free version now exists so you can get the idea how it works / see if you like the plug-in.
You'd need the Pro version to define your own Profiles but its very easy to create them.
I guess this modular system maybe has 6 - 10 different profiles ??? eg "H" member sections, "L" sections, corner mouldings etc
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You could even use the Profiles of the members you've already downloaded (if u think they are drawn accurately) or you could create your own from scratch if you have the info for them - its very straightforward.
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Hope this helps

Howard L'

Peter,
See this Tutorial here - some of the techniques used may be useful for your purposes:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=6819
It shows a quick way to cut around objects in Photoshop etc
.......
Regards
Howard L'

If I may rephrase the question to: is SU accurate ?
IMHO....
Mostly YES, but sometimes NO (strictly speaking).
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Straight lines / Orthogonal Shapes / and any Geometry, Volumes etc created from them, no problem.
SU will be as accurate as the user wants to model / level of detail required.
Typically this will be limited by any source informatiom (site measurements, original drawings you may be working from, your original design etc) and the modeller's skill with SU (eg care with the snaps / inferencing)
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Circles, Curves, Arcs and any Geometry or Volumes derived from them - strictly speaking NO.
I consider this a limitation of SU and not an inaccuracy. Provided you are aware of this, its usually not a problem either.
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For example, circles in SU - the corners of these many sided polygons (~circles) will be coincident with a true circle eg as if you'd just drawn it in Autocad etc, but the lines between the corners are not accurate.

It follows from this that if you derive a Volume and calculate a Mass eg of Concrete or Steelwork of any shape containing curves, arcs etc, then this will also be slightly out.
However, I've found that for most practical purposes the difference is negligible and can be worked around eg bump up the number of sides of any circle from say 24 to 64 etc if required.
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Some Top Tips I'd Recommend for Circles, Curves etc...

1. When drawing circles, pull the circle out in either the red, green or blue direction (as opposed to some random direction).
2. Use a number of sides that neatly divides up your Circle or Arc. By default, a circle in SU has 24 Sides. This is good as 360/24 = 15 degrees. Adjust number of sides as required. Any setting-out on Circles, Arcs etc will typically be every 15 degrees, 30 degrees etc. The setting-out points will now be true as they will coincide with the corners of your SU "Circle".
   ...................
   Hope this Helps

Howard L'

Edson,
Some Top Tips for importing dwg / dxf into SketchUp.
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If you have Autocad........

1. If you are importing a 2d CAD file, run the FLATTEN command - this ENSURES everything is actually 2d.
2. Run OVERKILL command - gets rid of any duplicate data
   (These 2 Commands are possibly Express Tool Commands).
3. Run PURGE command (most important Tip of the lot). Run PURGE again just to make sure !!! (PURGE ALL)

If you don't have Autocad, get the person who is sending you the file to do these 3 things.
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Hope this Helps
Bye
Howard L'

John,
Thanks for your reply - I've only just spotted it.
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@jbacus said:

.
Is there something about our old plugin that you prefer over ESRI's native support?
john
.

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The short answer to your question - it works !!!
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The original @Last / Google plugin worked well - especially when exporting a TIN (Terrain Model) from ArcGIS to SketchUp.
FAST export of Terrain models with no holes / slivers etc. It gave a very good result.
It was extremely useful.
This functionality (TIN Export) seems to have disappeared using the method described in the link you posted.
Comments from other users at that link seem to support this view.
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If the Google plugin could be updated to work with SU 8+ and ArcGIS 9+ it would be much appreciated
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Regards
Howard L'