@archigrafix said:

@ppoublan said:

@archigrafix said:

Yes Kris nothing happens at all...just frustration

Hi Kris,
Sorry for that but I only tested it on SU8 as dev started after SU8 was available. Do not know what functions are not correctly supported by previous versions.
Do you get at least the menu in plugins ?
I you activate the Ruby console, do you get some messages in the console ?
Yours
Pascal

Yes the menu is there...When I choice "Make tree" it returns:

Error: #<RuntimeError: Can't insert empty component.>
(eval):1050:in load' (eval):1050:in initialize'
(eval):1042:in each' (eval):1042:in initialize'
(eval):1217:in new' (eval):1217:in initialize'
(eval):653:in new' (eval):653:in f3das_loadconfiguration'
(eval):651:in each' (eval):651:in f3das_loadconfiguration'
(eval):4443:in require' (eval):4443:in call'

Hope you can help

This part of code is loading skp files as components. It seems that these files are not read by SU7. The solution may be to load them wiht SU8 and save them as SU7 skp format.

@archigrafix said:

Yes Kris nothing happens at all...just frustration

Hi Kris,
Sorry for that but I only tested it on SU8 as dev started after SU8 was available. Do not know what functions are not correctly supported by previous versions.
Do you get at least the menu in plugins ?
I you activate the Ruby console, do you get some messages in the console ?
Yours
Pascal

Dear all,
I’m really impressed by the number of interesting comments and feedbacks received on this plugin. And I really like the olive tree variations of Massimo. (Encourage everyone to publish their preferred trees made with the plugin).
Thanks to all of you. I will do my best to improve it in future releases, but as the plugin is free and not my job please be patient. I will need to learn more on dev.
Here are few bug corrections that include :

• Reversed faces for the trunk and branches in order for face normals to point outward
• Changed the scaling function of flowers to be correctly handled by Thea (and other renders)
• Removed the ruby console
  Version available on http://3darcstudio.com/en/downloads-files/sketchup-plugins/206-3d-tree-maker-sketchup-plugin
  I carefully read all other comments and I’m looking how to integrate them in other devs.
  Yours
  Pascal

PS: script will be published into the Sketchucation Store, but not ready yet.

@krisidious said:

I get. on Load Path

Error: #<SyntaxError: (eval):155:in load': C:/Program Files (x86)/Sketchup/Sketchup 2013/Plugins/3darcstudio/3darcstudiotree.rbs:1: no .<digit> floating literal anymore; put 0 before dot RBS1.0... ^ C:/Program Files (x86)/Sketchup/Sketchup 2013/Plugins/3darcstudio/3darcstudiotree.rbs:1: syntax error, unexpected tINTEGER RBS1.0... ^ C:/Program Files (x86)/Sketchup/Sketchup 2013/Plugins/3darcstudio/3darcstudiotree.rbs:1: Invalid char \010' in expression>
(eval):155
(eval):155

Strange. Really seams the file is corrupted. Could you try deleting all local files from 3darcstudio, and downloading it again after emptying your browser cache from the web site (http://www.3darcstudio.com)

Looks like Sketchup unable to read/interpret source code rbs file :

• the script start with : =begin and =end remarks lines so they should be ignored
• no "." dot character used without the number 0 before, maybe wrong interpretation of the decimal point

exact size of rbs file on my computer is 193 410 octets

@kaas said:

Hello Pascal,

Just had a go with the plugin. It works really fine already!

My 2 cts:

1. if I right-click and adjust any part of a tree it also generates new elements for every other part of the tree. I understand changing the branches should also change the position of the leaves but changing the leaves atm also changes the trunk, not really what you want if you're fine tuning a tree

2. i might be a nice feature if one could control the size / length of the branches (size decrease or increase by x %) depending on the position on the tree (higher up the tree = make branches less long by 50% etc).

3. ditto for the leaves - for instance smaller leaves near the end of a branch.

edit: 4. adjusting a tree reloads all materials and textures. If you-re fine-tuning a tree and already edited one of your materials you have to do that again and again.

Greetings,

Max

The tree is entirely rebuilt each time a single parameter is changed (as almost all parameters have impacts on others"). Something I do not know how to fix.
But the lenght of the brenches in fact are varying based on their position on the tree as you are asking for. This is managed by the "tree shape" parameter (pyramidal, spherical, ...) . See the pdf doc for this parameter.

Tried and still the same error.[/quote]

Arghh...! do not understand why. Maybe try to delete files and copy them again to be sure file has not been corrupted. Does it work with SU8 ?

@unknownuser said:

Can be apply other things than trunck ? (as textures or as components)
Can be apply other things than branch ? (as textures or as components)
Can be apply other things than leaf ? (as textures or as components)

Hi Pilou,
If your question is how to add your own textures and leaves/flowers types, here is how it works now :

• textures available are all "*.jpg" files that exists in the 3darcstudio plugin dir.
• leaves/flowers components are all "*.skp" files that exists in the 3Darcstudio plugin dir.
  So you can easily add your own by copying your files into this dir.
  Be careful when defining your own components to make the origin of the component at the beginning of the leaf, and the leaf pointing to the sky (z direction), with size arrong 10 cms long.

@krisidious said:

@tig said:

Do you have FULL security permissions to the Plugins folder AND all of its contents - files and subfolders...
v2013 will be installed with the defaults, not how you might have adjusted the settings for v8 Plugins...
I'm wondering if you don't have permission to 'read' from the subfolder in v2013...

Another possibility is that the subfolder/files are NOT actually where you think they are - the dreaded 'VirtualStore' issue... Windows over zealously protecting you from yourself without telling you what it's done...
Look in C:/Users/UserName/AppData/Local/VirtualStore
If there are any subfolders matching the SketchUp 2013 Plugins folder, then your security permissions are definitely skewed...

that virtual folder did exist and there were file from Version 8 in it... some en files, a template and some appliance components. but no files from 2013.

as for permissions... CREATOR/OWNER has none, and when I try to set them it just re-sets to blank. User and Trusted installer, has all permissions, administrators has them all checked and greyed out.

To be sure if it has to do with folder rights and virtual store, try starting Sketchup with admin rights (right click on sketchup icon and choose run as admin..."), and see if the error still occurs.

@driven said:

hi

One request I would have is to allow loading from other Folders/Directories, it appears to be hard coded to Plugins Folder.

john

Hi John,
Could you explain what do you means by "allow loading from other Folders/Directories". Is it to be able to save and load tree templates from other dirs ? I'm building my "todo" list but for this feature I do not know how to manage PC and Mac files and directories from the same code. This is easy with builtin sketchup plugin directories. Will have a look.

@solo said:

@pixero said:

@solo said:

This is awesome, sure there are a few small things but wow! this is going to be a zinger of a plugin.

Anyway to get a console/applet for modifying the parameters and an update button?

If you rightclick on the tree you can change parameters. Is that what you wanted?

I saw that, what I'd like is a console/applet where I can do all the changes and update without clicking out to see results then right clicking to make more changes.

I think I understand this request. I was myself really disappointed when I wanted to add more input parameters with the poor input types that can be used with UI class.
It will take some time to build it as I'm really a beginner with html and applets. Does someone could confirm SU 2013 has or not better features to build user input data interfaces ? Or should I go any way with Applets and html code ?

Yours
Pascal

@chris fullmer said:

So instead of

t = Geom::Transformation.scaling(scale_factor)

Do this:

t = Geom::Transformation.scaling(scale_factor,scale_factor,scale_factor)

That way it won't write the scale value to the 16th position, but will in fact do the math and distribute it across the entire matrix.

Chris

Thanks Chris, I will change the code according to your sample.

@krisidious said:

On SU 2013 Win, I'm getting this error on startup.

no such file to load -- 3darcstudio/3darcstudiotree.rbs
Error Loading File 3darcstudiotreeloader.rb
no such file to load -- 3darcstudio/3darcstudiotree.rbs

The file is in the location specified.

Hi,
I just downloaded and installed SU 2013 Make on Windows 7. And copied the 3darcstudio zip content to the plugin directory.
Seems to work fine.
Are you really sure you copied the subdirectory "3darcstudio" into the SU 2013 Plugins (not the Google old one)?

Thanks you very much for your tests and feedbacks.

• Scaling : I think it should be escalated to the export/render code to be corrected. It looks like (I’m not sure but suspect, maybe some experts could verify) it has to do with the internal way scales are stored within Sketchup. When you use a transformation matrix, the 16th parameter is a scaling factor that apply to the object in all directions. I think this parameter is not always checked and used by all export/render programs. They only use the xscale,yscale and zcale parameter (1st, 6th, and 11th). Maybe it can explain the differences. I will look if I could enforce the update of the other scaled parameters into the component instance definition.

Here is an extract from the excellent book “Aumatic Sketchup” that describes this :
Chapter 4 explained how to create scaling transformations using the scaling method of the Geom::Transformation class. This method accepts a scaling constant, and when you apply the resulting Transformation to an entity, the entity's size will be multiplied by that amount. Let's see the corresponding matrix when we multiply an entity's size by five:
t = Geom::Transformation.scaling 5.0
AdvGeom.print_mat t
g 1.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
0.000 1.000 0.000 0.000
0.000 0.000 1.000 0.000
0.000 0.000 0.000 0.200
This matrix looks a lot like the identity matrix, but the lower-right element is set to 0.2, which is the reciprocal of the scaling constant (1/5.0 = 0.2). Changing this single element changes the size of a transformed entity, and we can check this by creating a Transformation that shrinks an entity five-fold:

• Purge of unused elements : yes some materials and components (leaves types) are created and loaded before building the tree to improve performance. I can add automatic deletion of unused elements at the end of the script, but with the risk to delete components loaded by the user or other apps. Do you think Its preferable to add this ? not a great work, very few lines to call.

• Faces to be reversed, I have to make some more work to correct this. I’m adding this to the bug list.

Yours
Pascal

Hi,
Yes, this is not just a component loader, but really creates trees. You can adjust parameters with right clicks (see the pdf for doc). Leaves are components, so you can change/update them after creating your tree. I built 10 different templates to illustrate what it can do, but you can create your own tree templates and save them. I'm really interesting in seeing new trees you can create with it playing with parameters.
The console ruby when starting Sketchup is something I used during development to debug and forgot to remove from the script. Will make the change for the next minor release.
Yours
Pascal

V 1.10.14 :
Fixed compatibility issues with SU 2016 and SU 2017

V 1.10.11 :
Fixed missing menu in some configurations

Minor release 1.10.09 published in PluginStore :
No big new feature, but many small improvements and changes trying to make it easier to use with more realism.

• The way tree shapes are built has been slightly changed and a new tree shape have been added (pear).
• Most of existing tree templates have been updated, trying to make them look also more realistic, like for the Fir tree for example.
• When you select a plant / tree within the list, the list is ordered by the height of the plant. So you will find grass at the beginning and tall trees at the end.
  Few new trees and plants templates have been added (Some are only available to registered users).
• Default UV mapping of most of leaves and flowers components have been changed in order to allow applying great textures.
• New leaves and flowers textures with or without alpha mask have been added.
• New leaves and flowers shapes have been added.

Remember you can force update of tree definitions already existing in your Sketchup models with the use of “Reload tree configuration from file templates” menu.

Minor release 1.10.04 published in PluginStore :

• Fixed issues with ctrl clic and color selection on Mac
• new strings for locale languages
• add another method to place trees/plants on surfaces

Version 1.10 :
New features :

• Make Grass
• Change all trees to proxies and Redraw all
• Ctrl click to place multiple trees at once
• Colorset for leaves and flowers
• New and updated trees and plant templates
• and some more parameters (leaves reduction amongst branches, place at the start only, displacement, ...)

See youtube videos for demos :

Making grass :
http://youtu.be/ZS0iTWQmSnY

Managing instances and proxies :
http://youtu.be/dDXp4sXd-DU

New colors and texture features :
http://youtu.be/WHe_m9-ac3w

Known issues (tests on going) :

• colors selection from SU material on Mac
• ctrl click on Mac

Version 1.05 :

• added Sketchup 2014 compatibility

Version 1.03 :

• fixed issues on Mac
• added language translation files for Spain, Portugal and China

Dear all,

I’m pleased to inform you of an new version of the 3D Tree Maker plugin for Sketchup.
Here are the main changes and improvements. Hope you will like it.
It can be downloaded from the Skechucation Plugin Store and from http:http://www.3darcstudio.com/downloads-files/24-3d-tree-maker-sketchup-plugin.html
Enjoy.

Tool :
The create tree is now accessible as a tool with a button you can put in your toolbar. It allows you to place the tree directly where you want into your model and to preview a skeleton of the tree while placing it. The selection of the tree template definition is also more easy with the image preview of the template.

New Tree configuration web dialog :
This is the most important change. All the parameters to configure your tree are accessible into one window with parameters grouped by categories into tabs. Parameters can be changed using sliders, listboxes, colorpicker so hope more easier than the previous version. You can also redraw the tree from the webdialog to see the effects of the changes without leaving the configuration window.
As you will see there are a lot of parameters. Don’t be afraid, this is just to give you complete control on your tree appearance. Each parameter can now be defined for each level and a third level of branches can be created. If you want to experiment different parameters and understand how they affect the tree appearance, a good way to start is to use the “tuto00” tree, that has most parameters reset to zero or default value. This way you will easily see impacts of the changes you make. There is no documentation available now, it will be added in the future.

Colors and textures
You can set colors, use jpg textures or transparent png textures for each level and each object of the tree from the webdialog tree configuration window. A specific leaf component called “square” is useful to apply flat png leaf textures. Tree Maker comes with some shapes and textures ready to use, and you can add your own. (of course you can still change, add or apply different textures or colors to the tree objects from SU as you make for any SU object).

Proxies :
Proxies are skeleton views of the trees, which are more “light” as they do not keep all the faces and components needed to draw the tree. You can switch at any time from complete tree views to proxies in one clic from the contextual menu. The main usage is to be able to keep tree definitions within your models without adding too much size to your files. You can draw the complete trees just when you need to render or make images of your model, and switch back to proxies to save your work.

New tree templates :
During tests and development I created some new tree templates and bushes or flower plants that you may like. Have a look at them and use it as a starting point to create your own trees. It contains roses plant, bamboo, fig tree, and many others.

Language :
Support of different languages has been added to the code. There are only an English and a French version now. But if you are volunteer to create a translation for your language let me know. The process is very simple (string replacement within text file) . You will get a free license if you provide a translation into your language (other than the one already supported) .

Kind of "I’m lucky" feature called "randomize" :
Not sure if very useful, but it allowed me to create some test examples. It randomly sets most of the tree parameters to create a complete new tree definition. Sometimes you may get strange results absolutely unrealistics, but It may give you ideas to build different trees.

Free/Paid version :
Bad news, the plugin is not anymore completely free.
Good news :

• All features are available into the free version. There is nothing you can not do with the free version.
• The only difference is you will have to wait 15 seconds before the tree starts drawing when you change parameters with the free version and you need to click one button more.
  So if you like the tool or use it often, you may want to remove this delay. The license can be bought from http:http://www.3darcstudio.com for 10 euros (via paypal).
  Those providing very good tree templates made with the plugin will also receive a free license.

Known Issues :
Compatibility : The plugin has been developed with Sketchup 8 Pro running on Windows and has been also tested with Sketchup 2013. It should also work with Mac versions, but has not been tested. Let us know if you encounter issues with these environments.
Performance : We made efforts to improve performance, but drawing trees may be very slow. First thing to do to improve performance is to close the Stetchup explorer window. You can also build your trees on a new empty model. We also added proxies features to allow you to keep more trees in the same model without increasing too much the model size. Last, do not use shadows, fog, and complex display options when building trees (you can activate these options at the end when you want to render final image of your model).
Tree not displayed when placing it into the model with the tool : When placing a new tree, it is not always displayed if the model is empty. Move the mouse over existing objects in your model or near the origin of the model to see the skeleton appears.
Web dialog is blanked (looks like empty window) : Some times the web dialog is blanked. If you move the mouse over, it displays partly. I have seen similar issues with other tools so I do not think it is related to a bug in the plugin code but more to a problem of SU/WebDialog management.
Other bugs or errors will be discovered. Do not hesitate to escalate issues you may have, on this forum or by mail to info@3darcstudio.com.

Dear all,
I used this little script. Very limited but it insert scenes with intermediate cameras.
Yours

require "sketchup.rb"

Add a menu item

plugins_menu = UI.menu "Plugins"
insert_scenes_menu = plugins_menu.add_item("Insert Scenes") {

# Access the Pages container
pages = Sketchup.active_model.pages

# check existing pages
if pages.count < 2
	UI.messagebox("Needs 2 scenes to be created first.")
	exit
end

eye1 = pages[0].camera.eye
target1 = pages[0].camera.target
up1 = pages[0].camera.up
fov1 = pages[0].camera.fov

eye2 = pages[1].camera.eye
target2 = pages[1].camera.target
up2 = pages[1].camera.up
fov2 = pages[1].camera.fov

# prompts for number of scenes
prompts = ["Number of scenes to add : "]
defaults = ["10"]
input = UI.inputbox prompts, defaults, "Insert Scenes"
if (input)
	insertcount = input[0].to_i + 1
else
	exit
end
 
for i in 1..insertcount - 1
	eyetmp = Geom::Point3d.new (eye1.x + (((eye2.x - eye1.x) / insertcount) * i),eye1.y + (((eye2.y - eye1.y) / insertcount) * i),eye1.z + (((eye2.z - eye1.z) / insertcount) * i))
	targettmp = Geom::Point3d.new (target1.x + (((target2.x - target1.x) / insertcount) * i),target1.y + (((target2.y - target1.y) / insertcount) * i),target1.z + (((target2.z - target1.z) / insertcount) * i))
	uptmp = Geom::Vector3d.new(up1.x + (((up2.x - up1.x) / insertcount) * i),up1.y + (((up2.y - up1.y) / insertcount) * i),up1.z + (((up2.z - up1.z) / insertcount) * i))
	fovtmp = fov1 + (((fov2 - fov1) / insertcount) * i)
	pagetmp = pages.add(i.to_s)
	pagetmp.camera.set eyetmp, targettmp, uptmp
	pagetmp.camera.fov = fovtmp
end

}