Yeah, I'd think it would be a popular feature to request - converting dimensions / labels to a format a rendering agent can handle - like alpha transparencies.

Dave, are you saying that there is not a single rendering plugin which supports this very simple procedure? I am working in a fast paced industry with a high turn-over rate. If it takes the average designer an additional 2-3 minutes per render (best case), we're talking an additional 40 - 60 hours / year per employee. This adds up quickly.

If there is not a single rendering engine / plugin combination which supports this feature it may have to be designed in house. However, I was hoping to find an all in one solution. If you don't know of one, that's fine, but I'm not presently looking for a round about process.

Thanks,
Rob

I have tried several rendering engines/Plugins:
Podium
IDX Renditioner
Vray
Maxwell
Twilight
Lightup - but not

The best I've found (process wise) has been IDX Renditioner - which allows me to export a line drawing of dimensions and then use that as a foreground image in the render. Unfortunately the output doesn't look much better than going straight from sketchup.

Thanks,
Rob

This is an action which will be repeated a few times / hour. I would prefer to produce the output in one go without resorting to additional editing.

In the past I have used an external image editor to overlay a transparency, but I found this too process intensive.

Hi All,

I am, unsuccessfully, searching for a render plugin for which will display Sketchup's Labels / Dimensions. Preferably, the plugin should support projected textures and cost less than "Layout".

Thanks much,
Rob

Dear Sketchucation community, I have a question that's been bothering me for quite a while.

I regularly model within sketchup and render using vray, however, dimensions and 2d text planes won't render outside of the sketchup viewport. I've worked around the 2d text issue by creating a plane for 3d text parallel with the plane of the camera. I use this in all of my drawings. Unfortuantely, I still can't find a workaround for dimensions. Is there a plugin out there that will create 3d dimensions (with arrows) like the native 3d text feature?

I would love to avoid using photoshop to layer dimensions/txt if possible.

Sincere thanks in advance,
Rob McCarthy

I Sketchup

This is exactly what I was looking for, thanks guys.

Just a quick question, but is there any way to set the X and Y in the rubyscript to the current sketchup active window size? Something like, but not necessarily /

keys = {
;filename => "c;/tmp/write_image.png",
;width => ActivewindowResX,
;height => ActivewindowResY,
;antialias => false,
;compression => 0.9,
;transparent => true
}
model = Sketchup.active_model
view = model.active_view
view.write_image keys

That probably is the simplest solution, Thanks Gai

Thank you Gai,

I used the technique you described to create the image below. My only issue was in adjusting the background color from the stock light green to a darker black. I did this in post but would prefer to do it in sketchup. What do you think would be the most efficient way to display only the text layer on a completely black background?

Should I create a black plane layer that can be hidden?

Hi all,

If anyone could provide insight to this issue of mine I would be eternally grateful. I work with SketchUp in order to provide customers with mock ups of solar array installations. In the exported image roof dimensions and general information is denoted as in the attached image.

I have tried a few external rendering engines (maxwell, podium, V-ray) and haven't found one which will simply render the text as a transparent layer, or geometry. Does anyone know if such a render engine exists for SketchUp?

If not, is there a plugin available to export text / dimensions with a black or white background for easy use in photoshop? How would you pro's out there get around this little issue in a time efficient manner. Several of these drawings are done per day, and we need a quick method that doesn't require too much additional labor or modification of the sketchup file.

Thank you in advance,
Rob McCarthy