@mitcorb said:

Hi:
I am not sure that this is a Sketchup problem, or a hardware problem.
I usually save models in progress on a usb portable drive.
Yesterday, I tried to save my work and an error window said "Can't access E:\2.skb"
I also noted that autosave was spawning a series of skb's on my desktop. They were numbered 0,1,2,3,4. I think this means that autosave couldn't access this E drive.
When I explore the drive, all the content is there.
Any ideas?
Thanks,
mitcorb

Mitcorb FYI
You did not state what SU version you were using, they may act differently I don't know. For my Su 7.0+ it behaves this way:

1. Form a previously saved file when you open you will have a xxxxxx.skp and xxxxxx.skb file on your system( If you had create backup selected). As you work auto save will create a file (s) auto_save xxxxxxx.skp and no backup even though you have it selected and will continue as such auto_save auto_save xxxxxx.skp. I did not run test beyond two so don't know how long this goes till file name length kicks in. If you now close your file normally those auto saves are deleted and a new xxxxxx.skb is created along with the xxxxxxx.skp file. If you have a crash, I simulated by hitting the reset, you will have the the auto save file left and will loose data for only the trigger interval. For my Xp Pro sp3 I cannot open an xxxx.skb file ( click) until I associate that file extension with SU or drag / open with. you might check that and see if its a problem for you. My guess you were using SU6+ because of the multplie file names. I ran the above test because I preceived ( no test) SU6 was previously giving me problems in this area so just turned auto save off and made sure I did saves per good practice
   Just some info for you

@jim57 said:

I've got a complex carved turning and I'd like to scale it non-linearly. The top and middle are just fine, but the bottom should gradually get wider. Is there a trick or plugin to make things gradually wider over just a part of their length? Not like Linear Tapering, but more like if I plug in a curve it tapers according to the curve, about the center.

Thanks in advance,

Jim

Without seeing your model cannot answer for sure but: A approach =>Use the follow me tool and draw the desired profile with the type of cure you want the full length of the desired taper section. It would start at your top or radius and end at the radius you want ref to ceneter line. If you have some other complex shapes along that section you can also include them in the profile

@grc said:

Looking for a faster way to draw dados and rabbits.

Need to be more specific. How are you drawing them now and what is your specific usage. Initial thought is to use rectangle tool to draw 2d of dado or rabbit and PP to desired depth. If you want them on curved edge them approach is differnt. A poorly defined question like this usually take too long time / work to answer since it turns into a 64 question session.

@bloonose said:

Hi, just found this forum via Finewoodworking magazine and glad I did, looks to be full of help and useful information

I started using Sketchup to do drawings of my furniture as my hand drawings were so poor. I bought sketchup for Dummies but soon got fed up as the book is aimed at architecture rather than furniture. I did persevere though and learned by trial and error how to do a basic job of drawing see below!

I am however very frustrated at the lack of how to do information for beginners, especially re furniture, such as myself and hope that joining and reading here will help?

As with other forums I belong to the search function is useless and throws up far too many replies.

The forum could be so much more useful if it had some more simple head topics like how to install plugins, as after several hours searching I've yet to find out how? I use Izarc for unziping all my files but dont know where to put these files or how to open and use them. This may seem obvious and easy to some of you(most) but some of us are rather old and still have trouble with setting the time on our mobile phones

Hope you can point me to to some relevant topics and have a nice day as your say on that side of the atlantic!

This is also a good word working forum http://blogs.taunton.com/n/blogs/blog.aspx?nav=main&webtag=fw-designforum&entry=3 . Check the archive down about 1/2 on the right side. BTY I am Scotch Irish

@pmolson said:

Hi all,

I am new to this forumn, but not to sketchup.
I am wondering if there is a way to tell a bunch of individual components within a sketchup model to no
longer be unique.

Heres the situation...I have imported a 3ds model that was originally an Archicad model into sketchup.
It came in pretty nicely and is very much usable as a base for a more refined Sketchup model.
There are about 4000 individual uniquely named components in this model even though many of them are exactly
identical. For intance, a nice 14" dia tuscan looking column component is repeated 20 times, but they are all
unique only in name, so when I edit one the others do not change.

Is there a way to rename & relink these components so I don't have to edit each individualy?

The only thing I can think of is to rename one and do a save as, & then bring it back in & replace each of the
others manualy. Thats a bit time consuming in that there are aproxomately 100 individual copper standing seam
arched roof panel components just in the entry area alone.

Any thoughts out there?

If this is the wrong place to post a question, I apologize.

Thanks

Pmo

Check this ruby and see if any use to you , by Matthieu NOBLET, make component

@dedmin said:

[attachment=0:2esq3wq9]<!-- ia0 -->Untitled.jpg<!-- ia0 -->[/attachment:2esq3wq9]

dedmin
I knew it was not close! Thought the soapskin bubble plugin my help him
Good job.
How about a little explaination how it was made. In my effort have had problems with the out of normal plane arcs to get the proper surface

Here is my feeble first attempt, did not know all the dimensions so took some liberty and off cpourse does not exactly meet your pics. The approach used:

1. Drew ellipse for the bowl , 30x60 mm;
2. Used SoapSkin and Bubble ruby, free download, to create bowl surface. You can play with segments and pressure to control what you want;
3. Drew handle and intersected with bowl to get and intersection profile the used arc tool to get something looking close to what you want.
   Have fun

scoop.skp

@mac1 said:

@thomthom said:

I'd do what remus suggest. I often set up "working scenes" in my models. Scenes that only changes axis location, or layer visibility etc.

Not as elegant as the scene approach but, maybe a working solution for you. The section plane can be moved and rotated and, you can align view to that plane.

Sorry tomthom pick the wrong box this should have been for pete

@thomthom said:

I'd do what remus suggest. I often set up "working scenes" in my models. Scenes that only changes axis location, or layer visibility etc.

Not as elegant as the scene approach but, maybe a working solution for you. The section plane can be moved and rotated and, you can align view to that plane.

@artichoke1 said:

I seem to have a problem when working with large models that an invisible "section plane" in front and parallel with the camera face slices into the model whenever I try to view a detail close-up. This is terribly frustrating, as it is nearly impossible to manipulate small details from a distance.

Anyone else have this problem? What is the solution?

Thanks.

try this http://sketchup.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=36261

@vdmx said:

Im pretty new to sketchup, i play around with it for my college projects (i study interior design) to help me get ideas down quickly and effectively. I struggle sometimes quite a bit but i know in time i will learn, however i am really struggling with making a set of stairs which i need urgently for one project. I am trying to create a stairway which is curved. I have played around with arcs and bezier curves trying to create an overall floorprint but i cant seem to do that. A couple things that would be useful to me is being able to measure a curved line and being able to create curved lines which i can control the lengths of. Overall im pretty stuck on how to do this and hope some people might have tips or examples. I looked at tutorials and so on but mostly what i found was how to do a spiral staircase.
thanks

Select entity info, some of the SU tools will give you the info you want and you can also change some of the parameters there also. You should also be able to apply some of the concepts you see in one example to your specific needs. That is part of education. If you draw an arc(s) on the ground plane and then use the offset tool to set a width, then connect the ends together that will give you a surface you can the extrude up and by turning view hinden geo on you can lay out stair risers and treads which will follow that curve. That will give you some learning on using the inference engine but will be very tedious. There are a number of plugins for stair design but I could not find any quickly for you specific case. Do a forum search for stair design, stair builder etc to find those/ here are some tuts on stairs http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=sketchup+stairs+tutorial&search_type=&aq=0&oq=Sketchup+Stairs
Hope this helps some

@papa said:

anyone in the burlington vt. area. i need just a little help getting going. let me know.

Why don't you post your question if you have one. you my get answers from around the world. Why limit yourself to Vermont??

@brrbtr said:

I'm new to Sketchup (but not to CADD), and am having some trouble getting doors and windows to properly cut into walls.
I've built my floorplan, extruded my walls, and then try to add in some doors and/or windows from the Google DC collection.
They seem to sort of work. But they don't always cut thru my walls. If I select one of them and do "Intersect with Model", they kind of work. But more often than not, I get a bunch of extra line segments strewn about the opening. I've tried cutting the holes for the doors and windows first, then inserting the component and scaling. But that doesn't seem to buy me much, eventually I end up with those extra line things, anyway...

Are there some better components to use, or am i just doing something wrong?
Sometimes the Intersect seems to blow the component into separate parts, sometimes it just hoses up a whole wall or area...

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Bruce

Some comments to help, I hope;

1. When scaling using SU and you want to say increase the rail length the stile width will aslo change. Check out Fredo scale plugin . It allows you to scale without this artifact. Sorry don't have the URL now. If you don't worry about this artifact then the scale should work. Just select the window component, no double click, and scale in this context;
2. If you cut an opening to the correct size and then push it through the wall you should be able to move the window in place. Use the push pull tool, draw the rectangle the correct size and push thru the wall;
3. Why you are having troulbe with the intersect and the line ' things' seems like the two wall faces are not paralell. If they are not you will have trouble cutting the opening per #2
   You need to post a link to your model so we can take a detail look at it to see what is the problem.

@petrence said:

here are the pictures of my molding pattern, what i'd like to remake with sketchup. this also has a negative. any ideas how do i need really exact opposite side with the same dimensions? i think this will be the next difficult step for me.

Think you are looking for a mirror image. Use the scale tool and scale at -1. If you first do a copy , then the mirror and then paste in place you have the two.

@chopper greg said:

Can SU scale using a ratio, rather than selecting a line / surface and then having to independently calculate the size that you want it scaled to?

You can use the scale tool to input a specific value. Select the item to scale put in any ratio then immediately input the actual value you want. No calculation needed. Check out some of the youtube videos on the scale tool.

@onono said:

My friends,

first time/ long time (sort of)

I am in way over my head. I have designed a large garden. I thought I was done. The construction company does not use sketchup. They want a print out with the sidewalks with elevation points. I have done the sandbox thing and got the appropriate drainage, I think. I draped the sidewalks onto it. Now I need to note the elevation at significant points.

Is there a ruby or plug in that will give you info like an old autocad i.e. x.y.z position relative to the axes? I could have sworn I saw one somewhere.

Or if you have another brilliant way to accomplish labeling this for the company.

Be my Hero,

You're my only hope.

onono
Many years ago I was an inspector for city enineers and also a rod man, chain man. When we laid out side walks etc for the city we usually gave either a fill or cut to let the contractor know how to grade for the side walk. Make sure you have an understanding with your contractor what the ref is you are using. I have not researched SU to know what ref the text tool will use and how that relates to your particular project.
Just some thoughts / cautions

@unknownuser said:

:shock:

yes! thank you! feel free to claim your prize

not sure if this is exactly what you're suggesting but it's the same principal.. again, thanks for helping
[Edit] -- ok, i see what you did and the result is different (with the flat spot in there) but good thing.. i build stuff like that too..
[flash=640,385:2mbqv38e]http://www.youtube.com/v/eMOGUaVsyDg&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0&color1=0x2b405b&color2=0x6b8ab6[/flash:2mbqv38e]

The flat spot is just a straight line connecting the two arcs and depending on the specific geometry you may or not get that

@unknownuser said:

[EDIT - read through the thread a bit because one of the variables in the drawing has been omitted.. there is now only one variable and one solution]

here's a situation i'm faced with on occasion and while i'm usually ok with using geometry inside SU to achieve solutions, this one has me stumped.. i have a method of doing this but it takes way too long (trial and error) and i'm almost positive there's a solution using sketchup tools that i've overlooked.

i hope the attached skp shows the situation clearly.. (and no 'kinda close' methods .. i can do that easily.. it has to be precise)

you'll see there are two items that are predetermined -- the rectangle on the left and the arc's radius on the right (though the length of this arc can vary)... two items are variable (the left/right orientation of the rectangle on the right and the arc's radius/length on the left)
[attachment=2:2vukwdnz]<!-- ia2 -->arcsQuestion.jpg<!-- ia2 -->[/attachment:2vukwdnz]

the winner will receive everything he/she has ever hoped for in life!

The old problem of reverse curve through two lines and a secant line. Do not agree there is only one solution. You can rotate the given radius around x degs , a perdendicular than establishes the secat line and tangent point and then arcs can be drawn

Taking at guess at this. Remember component definitions are invariant under move,scale,rotate but not sure if your are using some type of mirror plugin causes problems. Try simple test and use the scale tool at -1 scale and see what happens. Maybe it will give you an idea.

@huyvuvn said:

Hi all,

I have this problem , please help me to solve this.

when I add many sections and scenes , when I hide the section in scene 1 , I click "update" in 'scene' docking-window, when I go to scene 3 , and I go to scene 1 again , the section .... auto unhide....

so that I can not export the animation.... (many scene can not hide the section... the scene not clearly)

the link for download this file

File sharing and storage made simple

(www.mediafire.com)

Many thanks,

Not 100% sure of my understanding of your problem but try this and see if it helps. For the scene set the active section, turm off section plane view but leave section cut on. Update your scene and see if that helps

@unknownuser said:

@unknownuser said:

@unknownuser said: