Etaoin: I found out I was not using the correct arc tool, and when I did, it behaved correctly. Sorry to bother you all with a dumb question, but that's what Newbie forums are for. Thanks for your reply. JA

Greetings! I'm having difficulties with the Arc tool. No matter where I click to start the arc, 9 out of 10 times it draws the part of the arc I don't want, i.e., if I want an arc from A to B clockwise, I get A to B counterclockwise. What am I doing wrong?

I'm trying to print a very simple 2D drawing to scale in Layout. My SketchUp file (attached) consists of a vertical line with horizontal hash marks at 2mm intervals. I need to print this at an accurate 1:1 scale. How the blazes can I do this? When I import my SketchUp file, I get a window that shows only part or none of my drawing, and I can't change the borders of the window without changing the scale. I'm completely confused as to why it's so hard to do such a simple thing. Help! (Please don't assume I know anything about Layout.)

Jaguar timing tape 2.skp

Right! Thanks.

Just got a license for Sketchup 2019 Pro. When I click on "3D Warehouse" I get a menu with Share Component greyed out and Share Model in black. I don't want to share. I want to import 3D Warehouse models. Can't figure out how to do it, just as I've been doing it for years with previous Sketchup versions. Help!

Dave R,

Fixed it. Thanks.

Have you added your custom components folder to the favorites list in the Components window?

No, and I don't know how to do this. Above the "Favorites" sections is the following list: In Model, Components, My Models, My Collections. I have set the address for "Components" to the folder that contains my components, but it doesn't work.

What version of SketchUp are you using?

Version 17.2.2555 64-bit.

Did you installed it correctly using Run as administrator in the menu that opens when you right click on the installer file?

Don't remember. I think I double-clicked on the installer file and let it run.

Greetings! I can't get the Components window of my Default Tray to point to my components library. I have set the components folder location correctly in Window/Preferences. I can Import from that folder. In Sketchup Preferences, when I click on the printer symbol for Components, I get a correct listing of all the components in the folder. But when I select
"Components" in the tray sidebar, no files are listed. What am I doing wrong?

Finally found it. I had everything set correctly under the File/Document Setup and File/Page Setup menus, but didn't realize that there are also settings under SketchUp Model in the Tray. Thanks.

I'm trying to print something very simple (a rectangle 2 x 4") in its actual size. My units are set to inches, scale is set to Full Size. The dimension tool gives dimensions of 2 x 4", but no matter what I do, the printed object comes out at about 90% of actual size. What is going on? This should be simple!

I'm trying to make a Bill Of Materials using Generate Report. My model has a long history - lots of components have been added and deleted along the way. My components list contains all the components that have ever been present in the model, even if there are zero instances at present, and most (but not all) of them can't be deleted from my In Model components list because "Delete" is grayed out. Is there a way to reduce the components list to just the ones with 1 or more instances in the model? Thx.

New behovoir I haven't noticed before: the dimension tool won't snap to points on a curve that aren't endpoints. To dimension the diameter of a circle, for example, I have to explode the curve first. Seems inconvenient. Is there a fix for this?

Fair enough. Glad you remembered it.

Bingo! Thanks muchly. BTW, where does that little bit of information come from?

Good idea, but no, I can't grab the large icon, either.

I just installed the Solid Inspector plug-in (great tool!) and put its icon in my toolbar. While re-arranging toolbars, I pulled the SI icon down into my main viewing area. When I went to move it back, I couldn't "grab" it with my cursor anymore. So the icon is just sitting there in the middle of all my drawings. Distracting. I've tried turning the icon off and on again using the View menu, but it always comes back in the same place. It's a small icon, so apparently my cursor can't see whatever area there is for selecting it. Help!

Here is an example of a messed-up solid, and how to create it. Works every time. I'm astonished that such a basic operation would cause a problem. In my experience, if I work an 8-hour day doing complex mechanical assemblies with SU, at least 1 hour is spent fixing solids. Happened again yesterday, with very simple parts: flat plates or angle iron with holes punched through them. Seems as if every other time I move the holes or change their dimensions, the whole thing goes ka-boom and I have to start over.

Messed up solid.skp

I don't have an example handy, as I obsessively fix such messed-up objects and don't keep the original messed up one. Very often, what used to be a round hole now appears as two circles on opposite surfaces, but with no void between them. If I click on the inside of a circle, one of two things happen: 1) I am able to highlight and delete the area inside the circle, which leaves an empty shell with a hole in it instead of re-creating the cylindrical through-hole I started with, or 2) clicking inside a circle highlights the whole face, as if the circle weren't there. Drawing a new circle over the old circle sometimes enables me to select the area inside it, sometimes not. Very frustrating when trying to rescue a complex object that has hours of work in it.

Ah! This illustration raises a big issue, i.e., how to end up with a solid after such manipulations. I spend a lot of time "fixing" objects that started out as solids and still look OK, but in fact are no longer solids (Entity Information doesn't include volume). Solid status is needed to use solid tools and to export for 3d printing. For example, let's say I make a cube and punch a hole through it, and then decide to move the hole. If I select the entry and exit holes and move them with the move tool, the result may look good, but quite often SU says it's not a solid anymore. Fixing it involves using Solid Inspector and editing individual lines in X-ray mode with hidden geometry on - a real PITA. I often have to start over and create the object again from scratch. Big loss of time. Am I doing something wrong? Is there an easier way? Thanks.

Box, Got it. Thanks.