Following my post about setting up your model's shadows for date/time-stamping and export, I had assumed the first steps to be self-evident - but for the avoidance of doubt... Your model needs to be Geo-located to show correct shadows - because the UTC Time-Zone and its actual location are both important. Use the Model Info section for this. For example, the shadows at 08.00 in Southern England and in Northern Scotland are quite different despite them sharing a Time-Zone. Also the model's default 'North' is the Y Green axis, but there might be an offset shown orange in the results. Make sure the Z Blue axis is 'up'. If you have modeled the building 'on axis' but have a building that is in reality 'off axis', you can resolve this by making a group of everything, and then rotating that group to suit the actual North, when you edit that group its axes with it will still align as before; any further modeling within that group will also remain 'on axis' for your building, whilst it is actually placed in the world correctly. The model's Shadow settings should now reflect its Geo-location. Alternatively of older versions, if you want to adjust the 'north solar axis' manually, then there's a su_ tool available in the EWH - https://extensions.sketchup.com/extension/393f5153-ba5f-4f5f-849f-46b32cf64bd4/solar-north I have Geo-location set up on my usual Template for my regional location, set manually using the Model Info dialog's section. You can set up templates for various locations if you work in several different areas.

@JGA Should work on all older versions...

@tig said: Scaling up to avoid faceting and other small visible geometry issues is a well known workaround. The guys who developed Flowify devised and use this method to model classical columns in the minutest detail - they are miles high in the SKP ! Because you are incorporating complex 3d geometry into the form then the suggested 3d-gives-true-circles in a CAD file export etc is of no use - it's only useful if the geometry is 'flat' - e.g. for 2d CNC cutting... Sorry to beat this dead horse but I am still trying to establish a go forward plan. 1: Is there another CAD program that could smooth Sketchup 3-D shapes for use with a CNC? 2: I have not used any other CAD programs so if Sketchup can not provide what I want what are some easily learned CAD programs that will provide a smooth complex 3-D surface? Thank you for your reply's.

Here's v12.0... https://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=TIG_LayerWatcher It reworked for compatibility with the latest SketchUp v2020, where 'Layer[s]' >> 'Tag[s]' and 'Layer0' >> 'Untagged'. The Extension is also renamed 'TIG-TagWatcher' in v2020, although the RB code/operation etc is otherwise unchanged. It is also signed for compatibility with all currently supported SketchUp versions...

This is a great idea! Thanks for making it reality!

It would be nice if the tool supports showing just one unit, that is different than the current units and also if it could support custom units (e.g. cm/2) with custom annotations (so if something measures 10cm, I can make the dimensions show "5cm" using the tool). This is good to allow scaling while retaining dimensions of the pre-scaled geometry

TIG, Thank you for your prompt attention providing an update to Component Descriptor. Very much appreciated. Zaz1

Hi TIG - Thanks for a very useful plugin (along with it's companion). I have a request for a plugin that would build on these two, in order to automatically replace Layers From with Layers To in a SU file. My thought is that the easiest way would be with a simple two column csv file that gives the equivalences: 'From' in col A and 'To' in col B. I would use it to harmonize layer names across models, so that imported components would always land on the right layers, without having to manually delete and merge the newly imported layer(s). Not sure how difficult it would be, but would be a great help. Thanks, Doug

The guide-lines/points need to be selected. So you need to edit the 'container' - group or component. Then you can save the proxy inside the container itself. To save a proxy outside of the container could lead to all sorts of confusion. If you moved the component in the model its disconnected cpoints would not move with it...

Maybe you can use also Zorro2 + Explode view ?

You seemingly haven't installed it from its RBZ. If you simply copy the ../Plugins/HouseBuilder_extension.RB file over to the newer SketchUp version it misses the images to make the toolbar-buttons [and worse!]... Unfortunately the original author was in the dim past [20years ago] and made a half-baked extension loader file, and he didn't give his subfolder the same name as the RB file. The new[ish] auto-migration tool assumes this file/folder naming convention and so it misses out copying the subfolder of images [and some other vital support files that are in that folder]. To fix it you need to find the whole HouseBuilder folder [and its contents intact] in your older version's Plugins folder and copy that whole folder over into the newer SketchUp version's Plugins folder. When you startup SketchUp it should now find the subfolder and load the buttons' images and the other vital support files...

@sumaster said: Hello sir, Its working thank you. But when i select group or component plugin only apply group and component. But can you do Set Layer all objects and faces included into the group or component. Thanks, Edges and Faces [aka 'Raw' Geometry] should almost always be on Layer0. That is why it's excluded from any Selection processed by this Plugin... If you really must do this [often a recipe for disaster later down the line!] then simply edit the container Group/Component and Edit > Select All... Then use Entity Info to reset the Layer to one off the drop-down list...

thank very much for the plugin it save a lot of time! great job!

It seems to report the changes the same in both versions ? So can you check the materials actually get made in the 'failing' model. Also can you check in it, what material should be associated with an object on a layer - and what Entity Info says it has... What are your View / Style settings ? Are there differences between these in the two SketchUp versions ? Can you post an example SKP that I can test... You didn't seem to run it with the Ruby Console open ? Any error messages ?

Version v1.4 has just be released. http://sketchucation.com/pluginstore?pln=ZipUp It has improved comparisons for possible versions etc when using ZipUp.skpver= [which is only available in >=v2014] and better error reporting of incorrect input - e.g. when used in <v2014, or with an unsupported version, like 2 or 2012...

Thank you! I've started a folder to house all of the potentially useful (to me) components I create for each project so I have them available for future use. I know I could have been doing this by hand all along, but now I have no excuse because you've made it so easy. Thank you again