Here's an example:

I had previously created a sign from 3D text and colored the faces white. The sign is part of an entrance canopy group. Later, I changed a face in another unrelated group on the ground plane to asphalt material. When I zoomed back out to view the model I discovered that the sign is now colored asphalt.

This has happened all over my model. Each time I reopen the file, I discover things that were correct before, now have taken on a material color from another part of the model in a separate group. The object which takes on a new color is never visible on the screen, or in the current selection when I am applying that color to another object.

How can a material change in one group affect an unselected object in another group? As you might imagine this is very frustrating.

SketchUp Pro 6.4.112 on Windows XP

I have been looking for some generic shrubbery to place around an Architectural building model. I seem to remember that previous versions of SU had several common trees and shrubs in the standard components. But I find only a small sampling in version 6. On 3D warehouse I still find only a very limited selection of shrubs. I don't need anything very specific or exotic. Can someone direct me to a more extensive source of landscaping components? Thanks.

SketchUp Pro 6.4.112 on Windows XP

I'm constantly frustrated to find that back faces I have set to a specific color have changed to another color or texture when I look at that surface later after making changes in other parts of the drawing. The original face is part of a group, and I have edited other groups that are not connected to the original group. It seems that when I add a texture to a vertical surface, other vertical surfaces in the same drawing are globally changed to that texture. I'm getting very tired of doing the same fix over and over. Any useful suggestions to avoid this gremlin will be appreciated. Thanks.

Alan

My floor line is set at Blue = 0. The grassy ground surface was created by Sandbox "drawn from contours", so some areas are above zero elevation and some are below. I don't understand my the shadow can't be cast on the rolling terrain rather than the floor plane.

I have both "on faces" and "on ground" checked. Is the zero elevation plane considered a "face" even though nothing is there?

. . . . . . . . .

After some experimentation I see that "on ground" seems to refer to the ground plane. And "on faces" refers to the surface of the "earth-ground" outside the building. I was thinking just the reverse.

Thanks for the help. But, under what circumstances would you want to cast shadows on the "ground plane" instead of the "floor face"??

SketchUp Pro 6.4.112 on Windows XP

Some standard and custom components in my current project seem to cast double shadows. For example, with Display Shadows checked, the V_Tree_Aspen landscaping component has both a transparent shadow cast on the ground, and a solid gray shadow a few feet above the ground. Several other items also cast a solid gray shadow. I assume this is not normal, and it's certainly not desirable. Is this a bug, or am I doing something wrong?

Speaking of Groups, it would help me to know when I am editing a specific Group. In VectorWorks, a Group ID pops up and you can't select anything outside of the group while editing inside the group. So it's not such a struggle to avoid selecting the wrong item. I can't find anything like that in SU.

I see; I was thinking of the wrong browser. Still, I can't see what I am doing wrong.

When I enter a group and place the component on the wall face, it will cut a wall opening, but it won't Push back into the wall---it will only Pull out of the wall. What is that trying to tell me?

SketchUp 6.4.112 on Windows XP

In my CAD program, VectorWorks, I can start drawing a line in the direction of a point off-screen, and when I get to the edge of the viewable area the screen automatically pans in the direction I'm heading. As an alternative, I can also hit the arrow buttons while drawing a line, and the screen will pan a half-screen in that direction. Another method is to use the "Boomerang Pan" function, where holding the space bar changes to the Pan tool, then right back to where you left off when you release. Windows and MS documents also have an auto-pan function. But I can't find any way to do that in SketchUp.

In my current situation, I zoom in to locate a point on one side of a building and start drawing a line toward the other side. But when I get to the edge of the screen I must stop drawing and zoom-out or pan so I can see the end of the partial line and the second point at the same time. Sometimes it takes several steps to draw one line. Then I have to go back and group the pieces into one line (a "Compose" function would help).

Am I missing something? Does SketchUp have any kind of Auto-Pan function? If not, is there a place to submit suggestions?

Alan

that looks very similar to what I have been doing. However, I don't follow when you say, "drag component out of browser".

I tried placing the cut opening component directly on the wall, but when I tried to push it into the wall, it wouldn't go. Again, it seems to be a procedure or protocol misunderstanding on my part.

Perhaps I should clarify that I sometimes get error messages saying "can't put that there", or a No-Go symbol. Obviously I am not clear on the protocols for inserting objects into groups.

SketchUp Pro 6.4.112 on Windows XP

I'm not exactly a Newbie, but have used SketchUp only infrequently over the past couple of years. And I'm still having a lot of frustration with the basic task of creating a new component and inserting it into the drawing. So I'll have to swallow my pride and admit that I am a SketchUp dummy.

I am currently trying to create a simplified two-dimensional metal louver to place in the wall of a simple building. I first enter the wall group and draw a 4'x 8' rectangle on the wall, then push the new face into the wall 8". Next I exit the group and draw a new white rectangle over the one in the group, then I draw some black rectangles to represent the shadows between blades. I group the rectangles and right click to select Create Component. After setting the glueing face on the backside of the paper-thin component (which I find to be a tricky process), I name and save it. Then I (A) enter the wall group and attempt to place the new component like a decal on the recessed face of the wall, or (B) attempt to place it outside the wall group. Obviously I have missed an important step or concept, because after struggling to align the two rectangles, the component is halfway shaded as-if it is partly embedded in the wall, or sitting at a slight angle to the wall face. There's got to be an easier way!

I haven't been able to find any detailed, step-by-painstaking-step instructions for creating custom components, online or in the Help files. Apparently, this procedure is considered so easy that only a dummy would have a problem with it. But I am not in the market for the SketchUp for Dummies book just yet. Any useful suggestions will be appreciated.