I want a 'scene' where I see a plan view (Camera - Standard Views - Top) with perspective switched off. So far so good.
Now I want a second 'scene' of a different part of my model, also a flat plan view, perspective switched off.

Problem - when manually rotating/zooming to my chosen second view the model may no longer be in a flat view. But when I click 'Camera - Standard Views - Top' to flatten it again . . .it insists on spinning me back to the default orientation.

Question - how can I have more than one plano view?

Richard . . just a guess . . but your British and you watched CBBC last week?

I have just been reading a lot of interesting stuff on the legalities of this . . it seems they are not hosting anything . . . its just 'links' to other sites (hosts).
If simply 'linking' is made illegal then Google themselves well have to tread carefully!

These are interesting times we live in for sure!

How can this possibly last? It seems like a pretty organised effort!
http://quicksilverscreen.com
example http://quicksilverscreen.com/watch?video=22137

If you are interested in visual techniques . . this is easily worth 4 minutes of your time . . .
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRS9cpOMYv0

"I wish for an updated version of LayOut that actually works without crashing . . "
" . . and controlled like a normal program."

Ah well . . sounds like you have Layout 'Beta', which is an old egyptian word meaning "always crashes and cant be controlled like a normal program".

What you really need to get hold of is Layout 1.1 (1.1 is an old Greek word meaning finished at last and not crashing (working like a normal programme)). But remember . . you will have to pay more money for the one that almost works! Its only fair . . after all, you have had a lot of fun trying to guess what the Beta one is going to do next!

Tim,
Gaieus is incorrect. For dimension text, native SU is fine.
By unticking 'align to screen' and choosing 'align to dimension line' you will notice that the dimension text does 'glue' to the sketchup surface and does not float about.

My complaint is that 'normal' text cannot do this. It is always 'aligned to screen' . .hence the need for TIGs script . . . which is nice . . but doesnt export to a dwg so you cant share your text with anyone.

last 2 . . . (is there a better way of doing this? . .adding messages?)

more . . .

Just got myself one of these from O2 in the UK http://www.dialaphone.co.uk/blog/?p=49

This is genius! And greatly helps me with similar I am experimenting with . . I am convinced that 'Layout' can be acheived within Sketchup itself . . .

Well TBD isn't rising to the bait of the adulation and praise so maybe some reverse psychology will work . . . . its an 'ok' script and maybe I could use it now and then . . thats IF it gets finished and works as advertised! An impressive youtube video is all very well but lets see it in action!

Oh did I mention I really REALLY want this script! Cash waiting . . . . . . !
You could have snow falling outside of the window . . fire burning in the hearth . . animated clouds . . . water rippling . . . elevators going up and down

Just thinking . . between this and AdamB's lighting plugin . . its all looking quite exciting! but you really have to wonder what on earth the 'official Skoogle Development Team' are beavering away on? More style builders?

It is really rather interesting to be sure! Would love to be on the beta-test list too if there is one Adam . . pip pip!

this is the 'Architect Bold' font I found when I googled . . . . which obviously isnt the same. http://www.fontstock.net/9892/Architect-Bold.html I will try your one . . its much nicer! Why do different fonts have the same name? doh! I wonder if I can get TIG's text script to work with it . . . . .

Are you sure its Architect Bold Dave? I like the font you used . . I downloaded Architect Bold to try it but it looks a good bit different to your image above . . . ?

TIG . . what are the font limitations? Can I use ANY TTF font I have installed?
Edit : I re-read your instructions . . I can add fonts by editing the script. i will try that.

I doubt it's copyright. It certainly never bothered AutoCAD! As I recall, each new release incorporated lisp routines written for free by enthusiasts . . who were then charged for the 'upgrade'!
Sketchup is fast and lean. Maybe having too many plugins running by default would slow it down. Maybe its meant to be like firefox . . basic . . but add what you need. I like that philosophy. I think Skecthup could do with better plugin management though. A bit like the overhaul of Styles in the last release. An onboard 'plugin management' system would allow configuration of plugins to ensure that the fewest necessary were running, but others were just a click away when needed.

I agree with you Edson . . TIG's text plugin for one is a definate . . until they fix the propoer Sketchup text. Also, rotated rectangle . . I cant work without it.

thats pretty brilliant TIG! Thanks a lot.
How can I get the text created using the script to export to dwg? The 'normal' Sketchup text seems to export to dwg by converting itself to faces.

Well . . my initial reaction was . . no no no thats not what I want . . but I downloaded and tried it and actually its pretty brilliant!!! Thanks TIG. You have to wonder why stuff like this isn't available 'out of the box'.
One request . . . I would like a MUCH bigger initial text entry box so I can see what I am typing (the box gets bigger by itself when you go back to edit a long sentence).
What is the maximum number of characters?

Amazing stuff TIG! This really opens up Sketchup for me!

Thanks again.

PS How can I get it to export to dwg?

Lets not get side-tracked here or make this more complicated than necessary . . . . there's absolutely nothing wrong with the basic 'vector' text in Sketchup . . . I just wish it had the same options as the dimension text already has. Specifically, the option to have it aligned/glued to a surface and not to always 'float about' aligned to the viewport.