I am not that joe wood; don't want the wrong guy to take the heat. I do custom work and I have built "things" just to see where it may go. But that's me; I don't expect anyone to be me. sorry for the advise.
....joe

Sometimes, you just have to build it.

.... joe

Why not start one? Put out a general call with a time and place and see who shows up. get a university or school involve. Give a general overview what will be covered. get an arch firm, design firm, landscaping, woodworking etc. give a 10 min view.

...joe

Structurally, this raises so many questions. I would use this as an example of how not to built seats.

...joe

excellent. I am old school and do not care for floating tenons ; but it works.
Your portfolio is amazing.

Dave R;
I had a feeling you would come to Trimble's defense. Just saying 'there are many ways to run a company and attract customers'. Feel free to pick up my tab anytime.

...joe

To morrow, Microsoft will make available windows 10 at no charge for a year, then there may or may not be a fee after that period, Apple offers updates to its software at no fee, Google gives android software for free, google drive storage is free for some space( I forget the amount). There are probably more examples to cite.
Companies have different models to attract customers. Who among us doesn't like to price shop. Personally, If I buy something, I like to pay for it one time, not have it as a recurring event. Cell phone bill is an exception, but I would like to replace that as well.
For me I liked it when Google owned Sketchup. Also recently Google made Google Earth pro -free.

,,,, joe

I made a icon change by clicking on properties of the desired program, then > change icon. I brought in a custom icon of a small house from this file:

%SystemRoot%\system32\SHELL32.dll

or you can make your own icon i.e. use - paint

.... joe

Well, still no positive results.
Downloaded BGSketchup_Library and get a bugsplat(with compatibility mode). Is this suppose to work with Sketchup 8/free? Could only find some one with sK-8 pro that is successful. Besides going to a newer release, what are my options?

....joe

TIg;
Wow, that is quite the analysis; I am really impressed. That is why I need to get Ruby coding and concepts under my belt, but I doubt I will ever get to your level of expertise.
I will try your suggestions over the weekend, but I need to get some shop work done.

....thanks ..... joe

thanks for the replies.
This is my setup.
1.at home using windows7 - home edition, with sketchup 8
2.in the shop using windows7 - pro edition , with sketchup 8
3. with the home edition, and Comments plugin is installed, errors come up thru Ruby console but sketchup loads successfully.
4. at the shop with the pro edition, just bugsplits

so I think the only difference is the flavor of windows7

5. I load sketchup drawings thru Google Drive so the work is available anywhere.
6. to me the Comments plugin is meaningful - gives a short brief of the drawing and should be part of the basic package - maybe in styles or layers.
7. anyhow I am moving on, but will research this as time permits. to this end I am going to learn ruby coding - see you in two years.

thanks for the help ..... joe

again no replies, so let me try a different vein.
Evidently something got contaminated somewhere. What is displayed in the bugsplat that can be a hint as to what is the complaint?
Also is there a document, tutorial, video etc that explains contents of bugsplats

..... joe

Well Box; that is a good resource, but did not solve the problem, still getting bugsplats when loading. This all started when I tried to installed Comments plugin.

1. deactivated it from plugin manager and extension - same result
2. deleted it from plugins folder - same
3. ran with empty plugin folder - same
4. downloaded a fresh copy of sketchup 8 - same
5. run as administrator - everything works fine - why?
6. cannot find any remnants of this "comments" plugin anywhere. but something changed
7. sketchup 2014 works fine
8. would prefer to stay with sketchup 8

any ideas?????????

thanks ....... joe

Two days and no replies. I guess I am on my own. o.k.

I need sketchup 8 free/make version.
Ant thoughts on the Comments plugin question?

...joe

HI Mike;
Thanks for your quick reply yesterday. I was so frustaded that I left the shop until today. I am back with Sketchup to pre-disaster mode.
Question: Why am I having problems with the auto-install of the Comments plugin ? I see others have been successful?

...thanks again; this is the best site of the few I visit - joe

I was trying to install the Comments plugin thru Sketchucation for Sketchup 8 but it showed up nowhere. messed around with 7zip and now Sketchup 8 gives me bug splats; and can not load. Sketchup 14 seems to work fine.
Where can I down load a fresh copy of Sketchup 8

...joe

I have seen these before, but not the one; but they are very good.

...joe

I have CBS installed; that's not it.

a few weeks(months) ago, a plugin(not released) was showcased using dc for cabinets, where cabinets were made on the fly and easily modified. I don't remember the author and can not find any history of it. I don't recall the exact title but I think it started with "dc ......".
Does anyone remember it or know what happen to it?

...joe