This is how it can be done (besides JSON)

Example.

In ruby

name="blablabla"
command = "_showdata('taskname', '#{name}')"
dialog.execute_script(command)

In webdialog

function _showdata(id,value) {
	var element = document.getElementById(id);
	element.value = value; 
  	}

The only problem i have is:
Ruby continues interpreting script without waiting.
For example: if the dialog is not yet open, you test on that and first open the dialog, the value will not be shown in the dialog. App. the ruby script just continues without waiting tille the dialog is open. Now if i place a UI.messagebox just before the command line all goes well.

Is there any way to hold the ruby script so it only continues if the dialog script is executed? Or is there another way to do this?

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Will be available in 3 versions:

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Attach date information to Sketchup objects. See and analyze the construction progress in Sketchup

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Attach date information from external sources like MS Project, Primavera or Power Project. See and analyze the construction progress in Sketchup. Compare several schedulings and see the results of updated schedulings graphically in Sketchup

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Use Sketchup as a datasource in our xD Builder. An enviroment which makes it possible to centralize all project data into one database. Use Sketchup files and objects to represent buildings, traffic, costs etc. Visualize costs, traffic, construction progress and delay in Sketchup based upon direct information from the database.

Click the image for the preview

Cheers!

ah thx, will give that a try
see if it goes faster

Is it possible to specify a material library for an entity/group/instance?

So instead of going through all entities in an instance and changing their color, you just select another library for that instance.
This to avoid the need to going into all objects of a 350.000 objects model

Rick,

Thank you very much. Is it possible that when you just go into a group the group is also made unique?
As I understand i can do it like this:

• when it is a group show messagebox with 'group' in it
  execute the make_unique command
  for each entity in the group execute the loop again

Correct?
Or should it be possible to handle groups and instances in one loop
like: if it is a group or instance do...

from the previous procedure i think i have found a bug in SU:

setup:

1. create a square and extrude it
2. make a component of it
3. bring another instance of the component in the model
4. make a group of those two
5. duplicate the group

Now when looping i have set a 'flag':
the loop

• when it is a face show messagebox with 'face' in it
• when it is a group show messagebox with 'group' in it
  for each entity in the group execute the loop again
• when it is a instance show messagebox with 'instance' in it
  for each entity in the instance definition execute the loop again

Now this give me this result:
messagebox group
messagebox instance
messagebox group (automatically goes away and immediately shows:)
messagebox instance
...

Now this is not correct.

If, before i execute the loop, i just go into one of the two groups (just double click it and click next to it again) this is the result when executing the loop:
messagebox group
messagebox instance
messagebox face (6 times)
messagebox instance
...
This is correct.

Is there any know bug about this? It seems SU threats the loop differtly just based upon a single 'not changing anything' action.
Can someone please verify? And maybe give some advise?
Thx!!

Facts of our dev.

1. In certain objects we store a generated ID in the data dictionary (Since the id from Sketchup changes each time you open the model)
2. We have a list that contains some of those ID's
3. We want to give all the objects that are in that list another color.

Now.
We have that working but it is slow, probabbly because:

• We loop through all SU objects and see if their ID is listed in the list of ID's. So in some cases up to 99% of the loop is not necessary. Isn't it possible to make this faster? Instead of looping and checking each time, just like 'pick' them?
• To change the color we have a procedure:
  check if the selected object is a group-entity-instance

1. if entity: set material to red
2. if group: go in the group and execute the procedureagain
3. if instance; go in the instance and execute the procedureagain

So we like go into the element, go to it's smallest 'part' and change the color of that part.
It would off course be easy to just set the group material or instance material to red but that does not override the material of the elements in the group/instance.

As you can imagine: if an instance contains a group and then another instance with 25 entities in that the loop tends to take a long time.
What is the fastest way to loop through all objects?

Thx

Looks interesting.
I think i can use this in a loop we have analyzes all objects and can contain several instances.
Thx

Very very nice. Reminds me of the Revit Architecture Suite possibilities and that in SU!!
Are you thinking of using this for BIM purposes?

Would be honored to test it

What program do you use to write your ruby code in? And does it 'color' comments etc. differently?

Thx

Ok i have found that (jeez, i should stop posting when something pops up in my mind)
Almost finished.
I'll post my code soon.

Does anyone know how i can give a component definition a certain name?
When making an instance unique it automatically adds #1 behind the current component definition name.

ok i have my script (almost working)

def cinchange
#--initialize--
model=Sketchup.active_model
ss=model.selection.first
UI.messagebox('selection OK')
########################
#--Change the instance--
########################
#--Get component definition of instance--
compdef=ss.definition.name
UI.messagebox('definition OK')
#--Write component def. to instance dictionary
ss.set_attribute 'xdid_dict', 'compdef', compdef
UI.messagebox('attribute OK')
#--Make instance unique (creates new comp. definition)--
ss.make_unique
UI.messagebox('unique OK')
#--Edit the instance (make all entities red)--
compdef2=ss.definition
ent=compdef2.entities
ent.each {|i|
        if i.typename=="Face"
          i.material="red"
          i.back_material="red"
          end
        }
UI.messagebox('rood OK')
UI.messagebox('total succes')
end
def cinrestore

#########################
#--Restore the instance--
#########################
#--Get current component definition of instance--
model=Sketchup.active_model
ss=model.selection.first
UI.messagebox('selection OK')
#--Get the component definition defined in the attrib. dict.--
orig_compdef=ss.get_attribute 'xdid_dict', 'compdef'
UI.messagebox(orig_compdef)
#--If no comp. definition set in the attrib. dict., do nothing--
#--If comp. def. set in attrib. dict. does not equal current comp. def., set the component definition from the attrib. dict. back--
current_compdef=ss.definition.name
UI.messagebox(current_compdef)
if orig_compdef!= current_compdef
UI.messagebox('niet gelijk')
ss.definition=orig_compdef
end

The only problem left is how to set the definition of the instance back to the original one based upon the variable orig_compdef which is the name of the definition.
I have saved the original 'name' of the component definition in the attrib. dictionary cause appaerently it is not possible to save the definition itself.
Can someone help me on this? --> SOLVED

Also, could you check if it is possible to make this script 'better'?

Thx

lol Gaieus
Well i thought i asked it in the component section
The thread we had going on there was very helpfull to see the posibilities and clear my mind of what exactly i wanted it to do.
I now have the basics of it but still there are some major issues.

Here is the code:

def cinchange
########################
#--Change the instance--
########################
#--initialize--
  model=Sketchup.active_model
  ss=model.selection.first
#--Get component definition name of instance--
  compdefname=ss.definition.name
#--Write component def. to instance dictionary
  ss.set_attribute 'xdid_dict', 'compdefname', compdefname
#--Make instance unique (creates new comp. definition)--
  ss.make_unique
#--Edit the instance (make all entities red)--
  compdef=ss.definition
  ent=compdef.entities
  ent.each {|i|
          if i.typename=="Face"
            i.material="red"
            i.back_material="red"
            end
          }
end

def cinrestore
#########################
#--Restore the instance--
#########################
#--initialize--
  model=Sketchup.active_model
  ss=model.selection.first
#--Get current component definition of instance--
  current_compdefname=ss.definition.name
#--Get the component definition defined in the attrib. dict.--
  orig_compdefname=ss.get_attribute 'xdid_dict', 'compdefname'
#--If comp. def. set in attrib. dict. does not equal current comp. def., set the component definition from the attrib. dict. back--
    if orig_compdefname
      if orig_compdefname!= current_compdefname
      definitionlist=model.definitions
      ss.definition=definitionlist[orig_compdefname]
#--Delete the current component definition from the library--
#--Delete the attrib. dict. entry from the instance
  end
  end
end

The issues are:

• what to do when there is only one instance of a component present in the model. make unique does not work then. (any thoughts on this?)
• now for each instance of the same component it creates a new component definition while it could reuse the first one. (dito)
• get the attribute information out of the instances dictionary

I don't know if anyone could use the above script and if i need to put it in a plugin or something.

continued here: http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=13901

Thank you Tig,

Sounds like the setup we thought about yesterday.

This is the processflow we were thinking about:

Change color depending on script result

1. Get the component definition of the instance
2. Write this component definition as an attribute in the instance attribute dictionary
3. Make the instance unique (this results in a new component definition)and give it a name (can we use the auto-component name generator from SU itself?)
4. Loop through all the entities in the component and set color as red

Reset color

1. Check to see if the current instance component definition equals the component definition that is available in the attribute dict of the instance
2. If there is a difference: give the instance the component definition it has set in it's attribute dictionary.
3. Delete the 'current' component definition from the component library

Is this a good way? Thx again

i'm posting my progress.

To change the component definition from an instance i have found.

Leaves me with 2 questions:

• Can i copy the 'in model' components in the library
• Secondly: how do i set all those copied components to be red? (also the internal geometry of the component)

thx

i'm just thinking of another question:
Is there a way to edit, with ruby the colors of the contents of a component (the geometry) So a loop through the geometry of the component and change all the materials/colors of them.

Hello all,

They referred me to the ruby section to find a answer for my question. See also: http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=13891

In short:

We are looking for a method to temporary change the clor/material of one or more instances without influencing the other instances of the same component.
When the component elements have no color/material defined there is no problem. The color/material can be set on component level.
But when the elements of the component have a color defined before they were turned into a component the color cannot be changed. (at least not on the component level)

Now, based upon the result of a script an instance should be temporary colored in a different then original color/material BUT without losing the link with the original component.

Is there a way to do this? We were thinking about creating (duplicating) a stand-in component with the color red and make all the instances that need to be red, instances of this stand-in component. With a hit on a button (or another script result) they should become instances of the original component again.

Easiest way would be if an instance has an attribute that defines the source component and we just temporarily change that.
is there such an editable attribute? Or are there better methods to accomplish this?

Thx!

thanks a lot! All help is really appreciated.