Hi Everybody,
we have set up a series of short tutorials for planning a terrace / an outdoor dining area with Sketchup, using dynamic parasols models.

I would be very interested in your feedback as it's the first time we've done tutorials.
However, please note, we've only done the German version so far. Let me know
if you're interested in a English (French/Spanish) version!

The playlist for the tutorials is:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DadigQC30gM&list=PLFLvfVUzs85ehdrg5c0Lx7qV5Nceqi9EW

The tutorials themselves can be found directly here:

https://youtu.be/DadigQC30gM
How to install Sketchup Make 2017 (this old version is necessary, so the dynamic parasols can be used)
German title: 1/10 - Installation SketchUp Make 2017 | Terrassen mit Sonnenschirmen planen in SketchUp

https://youtu.be/DTqm_98QL4s
How to set up the user interface
German title: 2/10 - Einrichten der Benutzeroberfläche | Terrassen mit Sonnenschirmen planen in SketchUp

https://youtu.be/RdjI1Rxym7I
Exploring the user interface and finding the necessary tools inside Sketchup
German title: 3/10 - Navigieren in SketchUp Make 2017| Terrassen mit Sonnenschirmen planen in SketchUp

https://youtu.be/P9bqVTLFags
How to import the dynamic parasols (parasol manufacturer MAY) from the 3D Warehouse
German title: 4/10 - Schirme importieren | Terrassen mit Sonnenschirmen planen in SketchUp

https://youtu.be/B67KIJFXc2Y
How to prepare a DXF or DWG layout of the terrace, so the parasol(s) can be fitted in.
German title: 5/10 - Grundrisse vorbereiten für SketchUp | Terrassen mit Sonnenschirmen planen in SketchUp

https://youtu.be/04CI9fB6XIE
How to scaling/align the DXF or DWG layout of the terrace.
German title: 6/10 - Grundriss-Vorlage anpassen | Terrassen mit Sonnenschirmen planen in SketchUp

https://youtu.be/1VAx8kME7lg
Placing the parasol (imported from the 3D warehouse) on the DWG or DXF layout
German title: 7/10 - Schirme / Objekte auf Vorlage platzieren | Terrassen mit Sonnenschirmen planen in SketchUp

https://youtu.be/fprOoy6LQb0
How to place, place and align several parasols and showing how they will cast shadows
German title: 8/10 - Schirme / Objekte auf Vorlage platzieren | Terrassen mit Sonnenschirmen planen in SketchUp

https://youtu.be/Xe2DLL7AGio
Export 2D views and pictures of the 3D model
German title: 9/10 - Bilder / Ansichten exportieren | Terrassen mit Sonnenschirmen planen in SketchUp

https://youtu.be/zpAC5WyM9Kc
How to use scenes within Sketchup
German title: 10/10 - Erstellen von Szenen | Terrassen mit Sonnenschirmen planen in SketchUp

And finally a use case:
https://youtu.be/JFuO4bREhpI
Two giant parasols have to be configured and placed on a roof top
terrace of a building
German title: Anwendungsfall, 3D-Planung 2 Großschirme auf einer Dachterrasse

Thanks for all feedback and ideas!
Best regards
Klaus

Ah! ok, then I understand it.
Thanks again!

Hello Jim,
this is great, thank you very, very much! I see a long way of
learning ahead of me
I can continue with my program now!

However, just out of curiosity:
Why do I need to use a different axis for the cross product
if the selected line is very steep, or rather why
exactly 1/64th is the true/false - point? Testing it,
the extruded from flips by 90°, but I can't get my
head around it - why?

Best regards and thanks again!
Klaus

Hello Jim,
I got a problem to code it. The principle is understood, but I am not able to get to the code.

See the picture below:
First I draw the long line going up (angle and length are different every time, depending on some input parameters, but it's not parallel to any axis).
Next I would like to draw the two lines left and right, parallel to the red axis.
Then I would liek to draw more line to make it two rectangles and
that rectangle I would like to extrude for some mm.

But I am already stuck at finding out, how to make these first two lines,
at 90° and parallel to the red axis.

Hello,
sorry, I've got a probably quite stupid newbie question:

I am trying to extrude an aluminium profile along a line
in space.
So e.g. my "line in space" goes from 0,0,0 to 5,5,5.
The "profile" shall be a rectangle of 0.1, 0.1, 0.2
The "profile" shall hang on the underside of my line
(exactly in the middle).

How can I tell Ruby to draw this rectangle perpendicular
to the "line in space", so I can extrude it afterwards?
The upper edge of the "profile" would be level with
the plane of the x and z axis and perpendicular to the
"line in space"

It's probably be done with the cross product of my
"line in space" and a second vector. But how to to
calculated the projection of the "line in space" on
the plane (so that I can find out the angle relativ
to the world axis).

Or is there an easier way by creating a new coordination
system with the "line in space" as one of the axises?

Sorry for my English (which is excellent compared to my Ruby .
By the way, thanks to everybody who invested in the various tutorials
and postings here - it did help me a lot to get that far!

Best regards
Klaus