I use this plugin almost everyday. Many thanks!
As a "power" user, I have noticed performance issues when applying the script to lots of components. In a model with hundreds of components, it gets very sluggish indeed, and the memory usage of Sketchup goes through the roof, and sometimes ends in a bugsplat.
I am happy to take a look and see what optimisations are possible in the ruby script, but before I do so, I should ask if you have had a go at optimisation already? Do let me know!
Tommy
@marcdurant said:
Good ideas so far! FYI the next week or so would be an excellent time to post any Auto-Text or auto-labelling improvements you'd like to see.
Oh? What's happening over the next week or so? You're getting me excited! 
As an extra feature request for labels in general - when copying and pasting labels, the text always breaks apart from the arrows (no longer sticky). Small, but useful feature. I would find it useful when I produce different options of a design for clients, and I want to copy some labels from one option to another.
**%(#FF0000)[Autolabel has been updated in Sketchup 2015 to make this feature come true. ...and in a more elegant way to what is described below.
To find out more, see the release notes:
http://www.sketchup.com/products/sketchup-pro/new-in-2015]**
I've been thinking what the first scripts for LayOut would look like, assuming that LO is going the way of Sketchup by adding a Ruby API.
I've been having a go at AutoText, which is a time saver. I like autofill labels, but I don't always get the exact information I need, especially when there are nested elements involved.... So what if these are combined, with the Label text showing a specific quality of a specific part of the model that is being pointed at. What that particular quality would be dependent on the tool setting, which would best be scripted by the Sketchup community. Let's call it "AutoLabel" for now.
So it might work like this, for example:
[]1. I select the "Auto Label" tool, using the "Volume" setting
[]2. In the model viewport, I click on a component, which happens to be a solid. I click again to place the text end.
[]3. Voilla! The volume of the component is shown.
[]4. In the AutoLabel window pane, I select the units I want to use eg- sqm.
Explanation of window:
[]Focus - selects the target of the label, in situations where different levels of nesting might exist
[]Label Name - selects the labelling script to use (in this case, Volume)
[]Parameters - parameters as defined by the labelling script, which will affect the output.
[]Process/Auto - like the Sketchup Model render button. The autolabel scripts may take time to process, so would need a manual update option.
What this encourages is for information to be input into the model, and minimise the amount of typing and duplication within Layout. It also works well with the Information Modelling direction that Sketchup seems to be going in.
Where I think developers can get involved is in creating scripts that take a selected element within the model, processes it, then outputs the text to Layout. This would very much be Sketchup API scripting, more than LayOut. Just think of the text that can be returned by these scripts:
Any takers?
The most frustrating thing about working with solids is finding those stray edges and faces, and getting rid of them. The Solid Inspector plugin helps you find them:
http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=30504
Also, Cleanup plugin gets rid of those stray unwanted edges:
http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=22920
Once you have those tools, I would do the following:
Good Luck!
I know this plugin probably wasn't used much. I need to announce that it doesn't work on Sketchup 2013/14. It is in fact impossible for me to make it work on 2013/14, as Trimble have encrypted the DC ruby files that I need to be able to see to make the plugin work.
This does also mean that plugin developers can't realistically add functionalities at all to Dynamic Components. A bit sad really. I don't know why Trimble have taken this step.
[EDIT] I have since found that some simple files had changed position. I have updated the script for compatibility with 2014.
@migmat said:
After several checks oabout Sketchup 2014 I should say that I am unsatisfied and decpcionated.
Perhaps I expect more than I should about the new version, but I feel that SU2014 long away of the spirit that google creates Sketchup.
Ther are several improvements but there are other problems that make me feell disapointed with this version.For example the plugins. Why I sould renounce to the set of useful plugins tha I have in SU2013 or SU8.
...
This is the future with trimble?
The way I see the small changes with sketchup is very different to yours. I have seen other CAD programs, for example Vectorworks become bloated and difficult to learn, as they pack new features in with every release to justify their yearly fee. Vectorworks was originally a 2D CAD program, and they have morphed it into having 3D features, which is frankly quite clunky.
The evolution of Sketchup has been very different. There were people crying out for 2D drawing features in sketchup, and instead of adding it to sketchup, they created layout. Instead of adding useful native tools, sketchup produced an API to allow developers to create new tools that users could pick and choose, depending on their use case.
I do agree that there are improvements to be made, and the easy transfer of plugins between versions would be an obvious one (especially when they will be creating a new version every year). However, I have felt that the spirit of sketchup is still alive and burning brighter than ever. Easy 3D - I think this is the mantra. This is of benefit to beginners for lessening the learning curve, and to advanced users for their productivity.
I don't feel let down. Small steps are good - less likely to fall over.
It was the top topic on a google search for the problem, and it remained unresolved. Leaving it unanswered was screwing with my sense of order!
Seriously, this bug basically meant I never used Outliner (for 5 years!). I feel like I've rediscovered my sketchup childhood - the one where all the other kids went off on their special trip, while I was stuck at home sick. 
I can report that having the Components Window pane closed while fiddling with the Outliner dramatically reduces the likelihood of crashes. I had been getting crashes in relatively small models too, so I think there is a problem with the code somewhere.
I use a Mac also.
Try closing the Components window pane when using the Outliner to sort your models.
I tried this, and it stopped crashing (so far). I use a Mac also.
@db11 said:
To follow-up on the curation/community tagging/moderation issues and suggestions:
- clean geometry -- no gaps, stray edges etc
- drawn to SU "best practices" norms
- optimized complexity/model size -- through components/mirroring/curve segments etc
- purged of excess/unused components/textures/layers etc
It's quite a job to moderate the models - not sure what these super users would get out of it. That said, I do think moderation is needed - there must be a way for everyone in the community to share the job - Wikipedia manage to make it work without formal moderators.
Good to know that the Sketchup Team are aware of this.
@andrews said:
BTW, does anybody know the gestation period of an African Elephant?
This is surely a coded message. The answer is:
@unknownuser said:
Gestation in elephants typically lasts around two years
Which obviously means that since Trimble took over Sketchup in April 2012, it would take around 2 years for the new 3D Warehouse to have better search functions. Since it's coming to April 2014 now, I am super excited that you are going to sort all of it out in ONE MONTH. Hurrah! Good work. Job done.
I use 3D warehouse a lot, particularly for things like furniture and fittings. However, I always find myself trawling through dozens of poor quality models before I find one I can use.
Problems I get with the models include:
It is the kind of waste of time that is very unSketchup. The 2014 3D warehouse is appreciated - it allows much quicker scrolling through the model images - but there are still thousands of models! And you can only sort by title...?
I thought Google (who hosts 3D warehouse, no?) would be the perfect partner to help with the searching of models, but they have been pretty poor at it so far.
I would love some way for some automated sorting, or 'curating' of models, to sift through the rubbish which is only getting bigger everyday. I propose a few ideas to "page rank" the models somehow:
Do you have the same issues as me? Do you have any ideas or tips to help the situation? Or maybe you have a collection that you have created yourself and use exclusively?
TIP: In advanced searches, you can filter the results by the number of polygons - that is certainly helpful for certain problems.
Those are nice tools. Thank you for the tip. I also didn't think about the benefits of being able to draw tangents.
All of that said, the plugins don't have the quick and clean feel of the theoretical circle guide that I had in mind. I use Sketchup because I find it a highly productive (quick) tool for modelling. I'll have a look into the Ruby API and see if what I want can be provided as a plugin...
I first started using Layout 3 years ago. Attached is one of my earliest pieces of work that I did in 2012.
For the section cut, I used conventional 2D CAD (after fleshing out a section cut taken from Sketchup), exported to PDF, then imported it into Layout, with the Sketchup model section view as the backdrop. If I were to do it again, I don’t think I would bother with the 2D CAD program, but simply add pattern fills to Section Cut Face in Sketchup.
Also a Construction Schematic, all taken from one Sketchup Model. It involved assigning the different construction stages as layers on different groups of geometries. I would only consider doing this for the smallest of projects in future.
I’m very envious of the high level of quality I am seeing in this post, though. I have a lot to live up to!
Personally, I am loving the direction that Sketchup is taking. Not everything that I wished for is coming true, but I have renewed hope that they may be fulfilled in future.
The things I love (and some improvement suggestions):
Layout:
Sketchup:
faster shadows - well, you're not going to be displeased by that, are you?
Classify / IFC - it sounds very boring, but actually, this feature really makes the building and sharing of Sketchup models in a standard way very useful. I hope this helps Sketchup be taken more seriously among other building professionals. I don't think I still understand the full implications of this feature - I am waiting for an evangelist to sell this to me fully.
More thoughts on Classify / IFC:
I have been waiting a while for attributes to be integrated into the entity info pane, and I think this does help to do it, albeit in a standardised way. Check out the "Component Options" dialog to see the full feature set.
I have checked out how you might make a new standard "type": http://help.sketchup.com/en/article/3000045
It troubles me that it is not friendly to the lay user to create new standards/workflows in the area of attribute mapping. Perhaps this is a good thing, which forces users to stick to and become familiar with the industry standards. What does everyone else think?
Also, this feature should have been integrated with LayOut's smart labels....
But in conclusion - more BIM, a smarter Layout - it's going in the right direction in my book.
I understand that making real curves face difficulties in most 3D modelling programs, but I wonder if it is possible to create circle guides in one plane....
In architectural survey work, it is very useful to be able to triangulate from 2 points to locate a third point. In 2D CAD, one does this by drawing two circles with centre points at those two points. The triangulated point is where the two circles intersect.
Now, using circles in Sketchup for triangulation is not accurate enough (circles are segmented lines). This makes creating surveyed models directly within Sketchup of anything other than rectilinear geometries difficult.
My wish, therefore, is for aCircle Guide Tool. I am not asking to make geometries with real curves. I just want to be able to make use of where circle guides intersect with other geometries and guides (including other circle guides). Since these circle guides would only exist on 2D planes, would it not be technically feasible to provide this tool?
It would make me very happy!
@thomthom said:
@rv1974 said:
1/ work with preselected set of components;
+1
+1 from me too.
This would help save a lot of time trawling through a list of components in a complex model.
Also:
There are times when I would like to select several components and reglue them to a face with one "ReGlue" operation. I have modified TIG's code a little to allow multiple selections of components. Hope you don't mind, TIG. The code is below, and not tested that much....
#-----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Copyright 2006-2013, TIG
# Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for
# any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided the above
# copyright notice appear in all copies.
# THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR
# IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED
# WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
#-----------------------------------------------------------------------
# Name; ReGlue
# Description; A Tool to ReGlue a Component to a [recreated] Face.
# Menu Item; Plugins -> ReGlue
# Author; TIG
# Usage; Select ONE Face and ONE [or MORE] UnGlued Component[s].
# Use with care - because by picking a Component and an
# unconnected Face you can 'UnGlue' it and 'ReGlue' it
# onto this new Face even if it's not actually on the same
# plane or at the same rotation !
# Version; 1.0 27/12/06 First issue.
# 1.1 20131210 Future-proofed
#-----------------------------------------------------------------------
require('sketchup.rb')
module TIG
module TIG;;ReGlue
def self.do()
model=Sketchup.active_model
model.start_operation("ReGlue")
ss=model.selection
def self.status(txt)
Sketchup;;set_status_text(txt, SB_PROMPT)
Sketchup;;set_status_text(" ", SB_VCB_LABEL)
Sketchup;;set_status_text(" ", SB_VCB_VALUE)
end#def status
def self.error(txt)
self.status("REGLUE; ERROR...")
UI.messagebox(txt)
return nil
end#def error
return self.error("ReGlue;\nNO Selection !") if ss.empty?
faces=ss.grep(Sketchup;;Face)
comps=ss.grep(Sketchup;;ComponentInstance)
return self.error("ReGlue;\nSelection MUST contain ONE Face !") if faces.length==0 || faces[1]
return self.error("ReGlue;\nSelection MUST contain ONE Component !") if comps.length==0
face=faces[0]
#Do for each component
i = 0
while defined? comps[i] do
comp=comps[i]
return nil unless comp && face
comp.glued_to = face
i = i + 1
end#while
model.commit_operation
end#def
#-----------------------------------------------------------------------
unless file_loaded?(__FILE__)###
UI.menu("Plugins").add_item("ReGlue"){self.do()}
end
file_loaded(__FILE__)###
#-----------------------------------------------------------------------
end#module
end#TIG
@dave r said:
Have you tried linking to the original SKP file which is probably not in the private/var folder?
If you go to the private/var folder can you open the SKP file? Or copy it to documents or someplace and open it? Move the SKP file and try relinking to it in that location.
I did try this, and it didn't seem to work.
I ended up asking SketchUp support, who responded with the following:
@unknownuser said:
A. I recommend against saving the SketchUp file to a Dropbox folder. I've had a couple of complaints from customers whose files behave strangely when saving to a cloud-synced folder. See if he has the same problem while saving the SketchUp file to the Desktop then try to relink again.
B. Many, many SketchUp and LayOut problems are the result of disk permissions issues. To repair disk permissions, try these steps:
- Restart your computer.
- Open a Finder window.
- Click Applications.
- Click Utilities.
- Double-click Disk Utility.
- Select your hard drive.
- Select the First Aid tab.
- Click Repair Disk Permissions.
- Please repeat step eight until you no longer see new errors during the repair.
- After the permissions are repaired, exit Disk Utility.
C. Reset LayOut's preferences file:
- Open a Finder window.
- Click "Go" in the top menu bar and select "Go to Folder..."
- Copy and paste the following path into the text box in Finder:
~/Library/Application Support/SketchUp 2013/LayOut
- Click once on the file called "preferences.xml" then press the Return key on your keyboard. This will allow you to change the file name.
- Change the name from "preferences.xml" to "preferences-old.xml"
- Open LayOut and try relinking again.
Following both points A and B worked for me. It's a shame that Dropbox and Layout are not working well together. To be precise, if you have the LayOut file in Dropbox, you get the problem I have. If you have the LayOut file on your desktop, for example, it works, even if you are referencing a Sketchup file within Dropbox.
In conclusion, do not store your LO files in Dropbox - it may mess things up. I would be interested to see if this is a problem on PCs.
I am waiting for the day that LayOut files reference Sketchup files using relative paths!
I have this problem on at least 2 computers, and I can't find anyone else who this is happening to... but here goes.
I simply cannot relink referenced sketchup files which are "Missing". I click on "relink", the dialog box turns up (which points to a funny folder deeply embedded in the private/var folder), I select the new model I want to relink it to, press OK, then.... nothing happens. The file still remains "Missing". I have tried to "unlink" then "relink", but the file in that situation remains "Embedded".
I have even tried to open up the embedded skp file, save as a new file, then relink to that, and still nothing....
If anyone else has had these problems, please let me know, as I feel like I am going mad here.
FYI, I use Dropbox, and the Layout file is in there, as are the sketch up files I am trying to link to
I have:
OS X 10.9
Layout 2013
Thanks!
