Dave,

Thanks for asking. I've been working on this behind the scenes. I got some good feedback from the beta team, and have addressed some issues that would have been quite detrimental. I'm putting the finishing touches on the accounting end of things, and should be releasing for PC very soon.

There is an internal problem with SU that prevents this plugin from working on Macs. I hope to find a workaround, but I may release for PC before I release for Mac. If inspiration hits, I'll be able to release both at the same time

Thanks for your interest...

Unfortunately, no. Ruby access to dimension objects is pretty much non-existent. Sorry...

Susan,

Thanks for doing my tech support for me I guess that's what happens with time zone differences...

I use attributes to store data in a model when it's relevant to the model (like in my ToDoList plugin). But something that would be comparable to a "global" setting is best (IMO) put into something external - registry/ini file/other text file.

I recommend you investigate the Sketchup class. It should prove enlightening on this point.

SelectionMemory2 and SelectAtStartup both rely on Observers, a new ruby feature exclusive to SketchUp 6.

Sorry...

But thanks for the question - I need to put that on the website.

Some additional notes:

Three or more items need to be selected for the memory function to kick in (I didn't think two items was hard enough to reselect manually to bother with it in the script).

If you start a new model or open an existing model, you'll have to close the dialog box and reopen it (sorry, it's a SketchUp thing), because the WebDialog object is tied to the model in use at the time the WebDialog object was created. Having a different model means the WebDialog can't respond to your selections any more. I included code that should close it if the model has changed, but for some reason it doesn't seem to work consistently. I'm working on fixing that, and will post when an update is available.

NOTE: If you are running startup.rb (SelectAtStartup), you MUST download the new version, or SelectionMemory2 will not work properly.

Okay, for everyone who ever needed to re-select what you had previously selected, here it is: SelectionMemory2.

It remembers the last 20 selection sets, and allows you to add or remove the items in a set to/from the active selection. Unlike the original SelectionMemory, this version remembers entities as you select them, making the process automatic.

It also works with items outside an active group, so you can have a FollowMe profile inside a group and the path outside the group. Just select the path, then go into the group with the FollowMe face. Add the path to the active selection using the dialog box or right-click>Restore Last Selection, then start the FollowMe tool and select the face in the group - it will follow the path to form the extrusion.

SelectAtStartup was also updated to avoid conflicts with the AppObserver that helps make this work.

Dave,

I'm not sure I followed your comments in your last post. Could you clarify that a bit please?

Thanks,

It makes components (as separate files) out of images, and traces around the image so it can cast more accurate shadows. The component files can then be inserted into a Sketchup model.

The most likely use is for entourage (trees, people, etc), though I'm sure some users will come up with alternative applications of it.

It deals specifically with SketchUp, but there's no reason the components shouldn't be exportable like the rest of the model (assuming the exporter handles textures correctly).

@unknownuser said:

Could you shine a light on that?

Do you mean more than in the first post of this thread? I thought I was fairly detailed in explaining the rationale, but if I missed saying anything that would clarify it for you, let me know.

I know the pay-per-use is a departure from the standard way of operating for software, and I really struggled with how to price this. But consider photography - back in the pre-digital days, there was the initial cost of the camera & lenses & flash etc, then the cost of the film, then the cost of the processing & printing. Even now, with digital cameras, there's still a cost from getting the image from the camera to paper. So pay-per-use isn't a new concept.

Would a subscription plan be more palatable? Like $x/month for up to y processes?

Edson: I will try to find a workaround to the Mac problem. It might end up being a Mac-specific download (not my preference), but we will see...

Dave: Thanks for the feedback and the suggestion. I want people to be able to "kick the tires" for a minimal cost. I might work that into the download (get a free process or two), and then go with the packages.

Update: In testing, I discovered a bug internal to SketchUp that prevents ImageProfile from working on Mac, but things are fine on the PC version of SketchUp.

I'm in the process of getting the script from testing version to final release version. Once that's done, I'll post an update. Or you can subscribe to the Smustard RSS feeds:

News http://www.smustard.com/rss/news
Newest Script http://www.smustard.com/rss/newscript
Recent Scripts http://www.smustard.com/rss/scripts

Testing is nearly wrapped up. PC users have reported success so far, with only temporary issues relating to connections or firewalls, or issues dealing with the image quality and how it affects the resulting trace. Working out a Mac issue right now.

There was some confusion in that the plugin will save the traced image as an external file that can be used as a component. Some users were expecting the component to be created in the current model. While I understand the usefulness of this, it is not likely due to the potential conflicts with existing model geometry. If I can find a way to do it, believe me - I will

One of the biggest factors in the trace quality will be the image quality. If the transparent background isn't tight against the image, the trace won't look that good, even though the script will be accurate with what it is given.

Here is one of the golf bag components, at low accuracy setting - let me know what you think of the quality. High accuracy only gets better

Low accuracy setting
http://www.sketchucation.com/forums/scf/sas/Ruby/golfbag-4-low.skp

No problem, Didier.
I hope it is useful to people.

If you view hidden edges (or check Model Info>Statistics), I think you'll find that the tree has already been traced. A PNG with transparency will not show proper shadows on its own (see attached image) - it must be traced.

Imported image, exploded it to get shadows - face with image is highlighted. It is clearly transparent (can see axes behind it), but the shadows don't understand transparent images

Here's a screenshot. The upload-process-save elapsed time was about 2-3 minutes.
Model Stats:
852 edges (at "high" quality trace)
597 edges (at "medium-high" quality trace)
366 edges (at "medium-low" quality trace)
232 edges (at "low" quality trace)

That's it! Trees, people, shrubs, anything that's an image and would be a candidate for a component, this is the script. SketchUp handles transparency for display, but not for shadows, so a tree (for example) looks great in the model - until the shadows are turned on and you have a rectangular shadow behind it! This will take care of cutting around the image so the shadows match the form of the image.

Now you do have to remove the background portions of the image before uploading (the script works by differentiating between pixels with and without transparency), but it does remove the (tedious) process of tracing, positioning, scaling, and saving.