TIG: I have been doing something similar on a component by component basis. The problem is some of my models have 100's of these skewed objects (the example I show is small). Hence, sdmitch has been looking to help solve the problem in mass. The need for doing so is driven by that fact the skewed objects must be detailed in Layout and can not be done so accurately while they are skewed.

So the thought was simple...the solution less so.

1.) reset the axis
2.) de-skew
3.) use the Plugin Parts-->Scene
4.) Detail in Layout

Step 1 and 2 were taking forever doing them manually so I asked for help in
1.) Asking if I first understood my problem
2.) Seeking alternative existing solutions
3.) finding help in developing a solution for the problem in scale.

Seems like sdmitch has a 95% solution. As you can see from his posts, most of the objects are de-skewed with the script he is working on except for nested ones. This is huge and if he solves the last piece it is monumental for me personally. If I had just a few items to contend with I would use the native menu driven solutions. That works fine...but when many model with many items are in this condition the problem is, well...difficult.

sdmitch: I hope you understand what TIG is suggesting. For me, it is becoming more and more obvious I will need to learn Ruby...So far I've 6 months getting into the depths of Sketchup and Layout...It is becoming obvious that those who fair the best (in getting the application to do what they need) know Ruby.

TIG - Amazing that you knew this...I just received feedback from Sketchup after submitting a Bug report as Dan suggested...they felt it was a bug in version 2014...so I tried what you said and added some geometry to my component and just as you said: the label contains the name of the component as expected.

So first thanks for chiming in...I've been all over for weeks looking for a solution/alternative to get my labels to display the the main component.

Secondly, the convention you describe carries over into Layout so it would seem it is that way by design.

Thanks Again, Rich

Thanks Dan, I've submitted a bug report, we'll see what they say...I am still bemused by how locked out the meta data information is in both sketchup and layout...I sure hope they open it all up sometime soon.

Have a great weekend, Rich

marcdurant: Glad to see sketchup folks monitoring and commenting...Is there a published list of what is upcoming or a public voting mechanism to help elevate and drive priorities. It would appear that sketchup that this was a good idea a year ago and mentioned about this particular features forthcoming introduction....well over a year ago.

thanks, sketchup and layout are really great tools, it would be super to see some accelerated inclusions of features...

With warm regards, Rich

TIG: Let me add...I am not trying to move the component axes to the world axes but align it in such a way that the components that are skewed become de-skewed (unskewed) ...are those words? Anyhow, thank you for looking into the situation...when I tested your script, all the axes moved to the origin...did I interpret that corectly or is there more there then that. Thanks, Rich

sdmitch: Yes it does appear all the skew is removed except for the diagonal pieces. Since you've been able to move the component axes and eliminate the skew from most all the components, it is easy enough to rotate the diagonal pieces using the protractor. If this is all that needs to be addressed then we have moved monumentally in the right direction.

Tig: I tried your originate axes script and it is exactly opposite of what I think I need. It moved all the components axes to the origin and then I was still left with the skew.

sdmitch: My only concern is the comment you made indicating you were uncertain why the ones that did not skew didn't. How is this siting with you at the moment? Do you have an understanding? Should we let that dog lie and move forward or do we need to understand that piece as well? As I mentioed, if all I must do is rotate a few components then that is minor compared to the many 100's of steps I would be performing.

What are the next steps then?

With warm regards,

Rich

sdmitch:

I see you have moved the origin to the objects' bounding box. I am not certain I see your next move though. Now the component can be moved to 0,0,0 easy enough but the component editor does not know the object is skewed within the bounding box. I have always positioning the axes on the object so that it can be rotated...understanding of course you know more about this than I do.

Oh, as for flattery...just calling it how I've come to see it! I visited your blog and see you have a treasure chest of tools...You don't build that kind of arsenal without knowing something!

Rich

sdmitch, I have discovered you are quite the sketchup aficionado and I appreciate your experience and help on this. I have tried so much but just started using sketchup this year....so I figured I just didn't understand something but after nothing seemed to work I am thankful you are helping. I hope to hear good news. rich

sdmitch. The problem is the component is generated from an app so the origin of the component is as described...I've made a local library of the components and tried placing them again but they are all rotated per their original placement. If I placed each component from the library I'd end up with the same model as the original...unless you know of a way to reset the origin I think I am still stuck.