Really bad news.
Bad habit to remove features.
Just finished an automated conversion process using autocad and SU in one toolchain to create 3D-content in DWG and SKP format.
So either no upgrading or removing SKP from the offered formats.

Thanks for the quick fix.
Working correctly again!

Using 1.7 instead of 1.6 gives me this error:

@unknownuser said:

convert_acad_import
Error: #<NoMethodError: C:/Programme/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/ComponentInstance-add_entities17.rb:188:in add_entities': undefined method each' for nil:NilClass>
C:/Programme/Google/Google SketchUp 7/Plugins/ComponentInstance-add_entities17.rb:188

One thing I observed on my DWG Imports, is that Sketchup does make a diffence between front and backside of 3D-faces.
So are the faces missing or does they look different, because you look on the default-color of a backside?
I had to optimize my 3D-Face-Blocks in autocad to look good in SU.
Not sure if a revit-export write a proper face-orieatation to the DWG format.

@thomthom said:

Maybe things aren't ready immediately when SU loads the plugins...
Have you tried using a timer to delay the execution of your script instead of having to send keystrokes`?

I tried a 'sleep' with some diferent values without any success.

@tig said:

require 'toggleWindows.rb' ?

I had it yet for closing the outliner.
With my workaround it is working fine now.
(Automated DWG-Creation and SKP-Conversion(Acad-Blocks to SU-DC with non-editable prop) in a Batch process.)

Cannot be true, because the error come from inside the add_entities-code.
Otherwise the error would tell about unknown method.

I revert back to the:

wsh.SendKeys('%{F4}')

because:

Sketchup.send_action 57602

immidiatly shut down SU even when the save-process is not finished.
So its get not saved.

Another point to use one of the other methods.
For now I will go for the Sketchup.send_action which seems to be the best/smallest option.

@thomthom said:

Are you sure you have an instance of that definition in your model?

Yes, because when I outcomment my call and type it in the console after start-complete it works.

Therefor I build just a workaround:

 wsh = WIN32OLE.new('Wscript.Shell')
 if wsh.AppActivate(skpbasename+".skp - SketchUp")
  sleep(1)
  wsh.SendKeys('{F2}')
  sleep(1)
  wsh.SendKeys('convert_acad_import{ENTER}')
 end

Seems that ruby's on startup have problems to use other stuff from other startup-rubys.

@unknownuser said:

Sketchup.send_action 57602

Undocumented feature but it works.

The doc shows:
21560 and up: causes a runtime Error

So is it official and where do you find such things?

@unknownuser said:

system("taskkill /im sketchup.exe /f")

Works but shows a cmd-window and is slower.

I run into a problem when I use add_entities from a startup-ruby.
The code line:

@kombi_group_sel_def.instances[0].add_entities(@kombi_group_list)

throws an error : undefined method `parent' for nil:NilClass

My ruby (zAutostart.rb) loads after the ComponentInstance-add_entities.rb

When I disable the call in my ruby and start the command from the console it runs without problems.

@unknownuser said:

It return true when you save over the currently open file?
And if you reopen that file - what do you get?

It return true when I try to save to the currently open file!
But it stays the same size and when I reopen it I get the same as before.

@unknownuser said:

That's probably because SU has that file open and the Ruby script isn't allowed access to it.

But then it shouldn't return 'true' for success.
I would call it a bug.
Also the doc could be more improved with a sample with path and a hint to the forward-slash problem.

After the problem with the Win32Api-code I searched further and found:

http://rubyonwindows.blogspot.com/2007/05/automating-applications-with-ruby.html

require 'win32ole'
wsh = WIN32OLE.new('Wscript.Shell')
if wsh.AppActivate(skpbasename+".skp - SketchUp")
  wsh.SendKeys('%{F4}')
end

This works for me now.

Thanks for the hint with the forward-slashes.
And I find some test-files in my 'Google Sketchup 7\Plugins' folder.

But there remains a problem.
I can not save to the filename of my currently open file.
That does not work.
When I modify the filename and save to a new file then it works.

@unknownuser said:

? Aren't we talking about saving from Ruby?

Yes, I copy a empty SKP to my work-directory and start SU with the filename in the commandline-parameter.
So I stand in my SKP-file yet.
Now the startup-ruby does import my autocad-file and does some processing on it.
Now I want to save and leave SU.
The ruby save does not work. But when I choose File/save or CTRL-S then it gets saved.

@unknownuser said:

Can you give an example of a filename with the path that doesn't work? Maybe you got some non-ASCII characters that causes problems.

No. My filesnames are as following:

20090708_080921161_samplecust@sampleurl_com_{E62CA959-8615-40C9-926E-4883168F8FEC}.skp

Date_time_email_GUID.skp

I also tried Hello.skp with no luck.

And why does the command only take a filename without path?

I tried the API-call from that link.
But unfourtunatly it does not work from a ruby loaded on startup.
When I type it from the Console after startup it closes SU.

After some googling I found a post with the same problem:

http://groups.google.com/group/Ruby-API/browse_thread/thread/227bae3cdb6f84a3

I still wonder that such a big API still miss such basic things.
Automating Autocad is still much easier.

@unknownuser said:

Have you searched for the file name. Seeing that you give the method a relative filename, do you know where it's saved?

Yes it is there. When I press the File/Save it gets written with it's new size.

@unknownuser said:

What if you change one if your line to: savename = File.join(Fileskpdirname, skpbasename+".skp")

It gives a invalid filename-error.
Removing the path it does not complain anymore and return a true. But file is not updated.

Maybe it is important that I do this from a ruby starting on SU-startup.

Can I shutdown/exit SU 7 with ruby?

How?