I didn't picture that at all when you said "rectangular grid".

@mac1 said:

Unless the actual building is racked some way other than just model errors the rendering issue should not be of concern ( can be handled be monochrome during design and the only rendering during show and tell, use of scenes, layers) and of course you have already accepted impact of schedule and cost have been considered since design change is not allowed.
BTW it takes 6 degrees of freedom to define the location of a rigid body in free space ( x, y, z, pitch, roll, yaw) etc. and SU allows you to do that and not with standing model errors fitting should be doable. Also BTW just translation and rotation gets different results depending on the sequence

I have to read your posts about 5-6x before they start to sound like English to me. Are you saying; 'the issues shouldn't be a big deal if I'm just rendering, not constructing in real life', and stating how much space I would need btw parts to actually build? Is translation the trick with going into scale, then typing "-1"? what do you mean by the diff results?

@mac1 said:

Attached is a approach that does not use rotate nor scale but just offset tool and the push pull.
Several additional comments; One snippet of geo 852' off set from main model deleted; architectural units display precision is not adequate for accurate modeling IMHO so changed to decimal;
Su has the native capability of replacing one component with another and the replacement is added to model in accordance with how the new component and model axis are set.Both of those can be independently set plus the gluing plane can be set. This can allow the use of one component definition for all the lite's if model conditions are correct. (This is based on the fact component definition is invariant under scaling, rotation, moving but for the reason above this condition could not be meet.(The roof base triangles are not equilateral)
The attached portion of the model was simply done using the same Lite layout as the OP model and then the window frames will be created by a combination of off-setting to the required OP frame dimensions and the push pull to the required depth / height.
Double glazed lite's are required but only one side was done. IMHO a spider at top is still required to make the design reasonable as noted above.

While I appreciate the time and effort you put in to answering my q, I'm lost as to what you mean in the paragraph that mentions "geo 852'"(dunno what that is). I'm also confused as to what importing components has to do with the issue at hand. I think it would be easier to just redo the roof as I did, than to find/make new components to replace window panes. The main issue was not even the windows at all, the parts wouldn't fit bc the triangle was drawn wrong. Once I drew a good triangle, everything fit together. I know that windows can be made many diff ways, including push/pull, I made all the windows in my first model by dissecting a face with a plane and drawing every line by hand.

Now I'm smart enough to use a plugin, but that plugin was not working for the one window at the top. I was wondering if there was some reason that window wouldn't spawn, or what? even in the model you posted (2 copies of the same, right?), when I delete the lines separating the tip of that triangle above the row of holes you've cut, the tool will not make that face a window. Why not? Those were my 2 questions; Why no window, and why wont it rotate to match the mirror copy.

I now have that roof complete, the hard part was getting the 2 halves to meet in such a way that it would be possible for one side of windows to slide over the other, and I've represented that well enough to render(this isn't meant to be a construction plan). I'm still having trouble with the window frame tool. It refuses to work in certain areas, especially triangles. I've encountered a new issue, also. I've imported a few components, now my axes are all different. I cant draw rectangles on things bc the red/green don't line up with that component, so I must use lines. That or I wanna rotate something to match a wall, but it's not the same angle degree as the wall. For example: my wall is at 90deg. anything native to that group can be rotated to 90deg and fit nicely, but I gotta rotate this to 12.7deg or something stupid and hard to find. every component has a diff angle, like wth?? Is there a way to get them all on the same page, cuz it's a pain for me to rotate them just right, too easy to be off a bit.

As far as my progress, I wanted to stay with the look I had bc it went with the lower level of the roof, but yes, I did try a few styles when the first didn't work, you can see the new style has no equilateral triangle up top like before cuz the plugin wouldn't do it n I'd rather change styles than do all that by hand - I'm not "stovepiped" into any one idea.

Sorry for not getting back, I redrew the triangle, It was much better once I made sure that everything was lined up correctly. Unfortunately, I can't just make a squared roof bc it's easier. This design calls for a triangular point. I often have issues getting things to fit right, bc I'm not very familiar with actual construction, but I don't know any better ways to do things. Often the window maker on 1001 tools won't even make my window, maybe bc I'm causing an intersect?

While looking for directions on the use of vertex tools, I realized that the sandbox tools seem to be at least a minimal version for doing this type of work. Anyone like me, that didn't know this, use the free and native tool by enabling it in window/preferences/extensions, then enable the toolbar in view.

@mitcorb said:

Many use Artisan by whaat, or ThomThom's Vertex Tools. These are both very reasonably priced, and, I think Artisan has a demo offer.

TT's vertex has a trial, thx. Waanna learn how to use these things, and see if they will work for me/my project before paying $40, and I had problems getting artisan to do anything, it just stayed grey like i had already used up the trial. I'm gonna try Vertex tools, which I had no idea were similar to artisan

@jim said:

I would say it is outdated. Last updated in 2009, and the author hasn't added to this thread since Oct 2010.

Has anyone tried to contact the the author?

So, what does everyone use to sculpt? I need to make a bush/hedge. I don't want it to be all boxy, what can I use?

I have used the arrow keys to lock line orientation, but never thought of using it for rotation. move along the ground plane? does that mean under the object? Only know to click somewhere on the object, then a second point, then start rotating. I made the box to be sure the second point wasn't sliding down the face, couldn't get it right.
I did copy the other side, but i did feel something was off, I measured a bunch of places n felt that it was okay, though, but I could've screwed up somewhere. Yeah, I'll definitely copy and paste the other half.
The roof lines are not square to the axis? huh? so ur saying the 2 triangles that make up the end point are not equal halves of that space? I'm finding it harder to maneuver in certain instances lately. I was having much difficulty finding midpoints to divide the faces, and any line touching the edge I wanted the middle of would change my midpoint, with no way I know of to say, "no, I want the middle of all of this line. On other occasions I'd use a line to that distance or a box, but on an angled face thats a problem for me. trying to extend a line a certain distance from that angle was crazy impossible, that's why the pitch of the roof doesn't match the overhang, which i obviously did after using the building as the border for the roof.
I don't understand how I need to scale it? Should I redo the model more accurately? Your instructions went over my head, all I can understand is that when I flip, the fit is off. Can u pls tell me simply; is an angle off, is there some law of geometry that I am breaking? am I flipping it wrong somehow? why doesnt a mirror copy fit into the mirror space? Thanks

If you can glean anything from the file, here it is. As I stated, I put a box around it be when trying to rotate an angled face, it likes to use the slant as the rotation point, so I boxed it to be sure to spin on one plane, not an angle. Does that make sense?

GS sample.skp

I'm having a heck of a time making a greenhouse roof. It took forever to get all of the frames done, as the (1001 bit tools) tool was giving me an issue, and I couldn't find any instructions. I finally got them all to form, after much struggle, and wearing out the 'undo' button. Now that I have this triangular section of roof fully panelized, I want to make one component of all of these windows. I've tried to flip the component by every individual axis, then all combinations of flips that I could think of, but none would fit another section correctly. I then tried to use the rotate tool, but being slanted, I had to build a boz around the angled form, so that it would rotate only on the one axis, not thru a slant. Even going thru all of this, and rotating to 90, 180 or 270 degrees, it still ends up mis-aligned with the structure. Not only do I not want to recreate the work of creating the individual windows, I want to use components to reduce drain on the system rendering all of those unique items. Can someone pls help me understand what I'm doing wrong?
The area started off as a triangle, and I split that in half, so both halves are even, then I copied that triangle, flipped it, and that became the opposite end of the structure. There's no reason that a 90,180,270 flip doesn't make for a nice flip as far as I can see. Please help

@skyways128 said:

Got a bit of a problem using Sculpt Tools here, as I'm using Sketchup 8, which I've heard is supposedly incompatible with the plugin. After reading some earlier posts, it seems that I have to uninstall all my plugins and then reinstall them for Sculpt Tools to work.

Thing is, it loads just fine, but it does nothing when I select bulge/smooth/drag whatever. I tried left/right clicking and pressing the arrow keys. It does absolutely nothing.

Am I using it right, or do I have to uninstall and then reinstall my other plugins?

BTW, if I simply cut and pasted all my plugins from the Sketchup folder to a backup folder, installed Sculpt tools and then re-pasted the plugins back into Sketchup plugin folder, would that work?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

I have the same issue in SU2014, is this plugin outdated now? The only other free sculpt tool I can find seems to only work with pro (DM_artisan). It seems quite hard to browse the plugin wh, as people may use different terms, languages, or even misspellings to classify their work. Can anyone point me to a plugin that is similar, or how to get this to work with SU 2013 or (preferably) 2014? thx

Daniel- I understand that this is akin to asking "what's the best way to lose weight", but if you also add in what diets you've tried, and what issues you've had with them, as well as what your desired result is, then a knowledgeable dietitian should be able to give you some good suggestions.
You tell me to read threads of others debating renderers, but I've read many and only ended up with more questions than before. I've tried numerous programs based on what I've read in these and other forums, but am no closer to a solution than I was on the first day that I tried the first program. Reading more discussion really doesn't seem to be the answer, and I've spent way longer trying out renderers than I did making the model in the first place! I know there are many choices, but given my skill level, the issues that I'm having with my current programs, and my desired result, I can't imagine that there's not a single recommendation to be made, other than basically doing a google search(which was my very first action, by the way). I'm not lazy, and don't consider myself stupid or slow. I've done my homework before making any moves, but I'm at my wit's end with all the complications and disappointments. I don't ask for help as my first option, but after reaching the extent of what my level of knowledge can infer about these programs. I've searched google for shaderlight help, been on forums for vray help, forums for twilight help, now I should get a new program and research for help on that? I know you're only trying to help, but there's gotta be a better suggestion than "search the forums" and "try a new program", unless there is a thread with specific info you feel might help me out, or a reason why you would recommend me using a specific program, given what I'm going through with what I'm using (like; "if you're having trouble with materials rendering as seen, x program is really straightforward", "I used to pull my hair out trying to get the render to look like the SU model, but x program was so easy for me with that issue")
I know no one gets paid to help me, I'm not trying to be demanding, but this is the help I need, either someone can offer that or not, but I feel that pointing me to general discussions will only waste more of my time, and this project has already grown WAAAAAY out of the scope that I was prepared to take on. Thanks a bunch!