SketchUp 101

mbcabinetmaker · Post by **mbcabinetmaker** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:20 pm

Glad to have you back Dusty.

shydragon · Post by **shydragon** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:47 pm

OK, I'm done. Hey, where's lesson 4?

[ATTACH]5306[/ATTACH]

That was fun. I had to watch the last video. I wasn't understanding the grouping and ungrouping.

Thanks for the great tutorial.

tnerb · Post by **tnerb** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 1:22 am

Tom and Mark,

I tried again tonite starting from scratch. Made the groups and added the layers, but I still can't switch between layers. A message pops up saying that I can't hide the current layer. This message pops up no matter what layer I'm trying to hide. One thing I noticed was that after creating the layers, the default layer, 0, was still showing in the entity box. It didn't switch to the newly named layer like was shown in lesson 1.

Brent

mbcabinetmaker · Post by **mbcabinetmaker** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 7:02 am

Brent you have to switch to the default layer before hiding the current layer. If the layer you are trying to hide is highlighted (checked in the box) then it wont let you hide that layer until it is switched.

mbcabinetmaker · Post by **mbcabinetmaker** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 7:05 am

shydragon

Good job.

tom_k/mo · Post by **tom_k/mo** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 9:31 am

tnerb wrote:Tom and Mark,

I tried again tonite starting from scratch. Made the groups and added the layers, but I still can't switch between layers. A message pops up saying that I can't hide the current layer. This message pops up no matter what layer I'm trying to hide. One thing I noticed was that after creating the layers, the default layer, 0, was still showing in the entity box. It didn't switch to the newly named layer like was shown in lesson 1.

Brent

Brent, did you download and use the template file I offered or are you trying to recreate it yourself? If you're using the template I provided, it is all set up already, and should work "out-of-the-box". The reason I'm asking is because of your comment "...creating the layers..." If layer 0 is still showing up in the Entity Info box, you didn't change the geometry to layer A, and that would be a good reason why things aren't showing/hiding for you. Click on the item, open the Entity Info window and change the layer in the pulldown box to be the layer you want the geometry on.

Yes, it's true, you can't hide the current layer, but if you go into the layers window, and Layer 0 is your current layer, you should be able to show/hide layers A, B, and C where the geometry should be residing....

tom_k/mo · Post by **tom_k/mo** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 9:45 am

Pat;

shydragon wrote: 1. When in the "A" Scene Tab, (this is using your template) my Red axis is going in the Z direction, whereas in your screen shot, it is the Blue axis going in the Z direction.

The scene tabs in the template are basically scene "holders" with all the correct layers shown/hidden to automate things. The final viewing orientation for the scene will be decided by you when you update/refresh the scene. If you rotate the model to the orientation of my Lesson 1 example before updating it, it will return to the same view next time you click on that tab.

shydragon wrote: 2. When refreshing the scene, I get a popup box asking me several questions. I don't remember the exact questions, but I believe I chose the Save the current style. Could you explain that some for us?

Yes, forgot to mention that option box. It allows you to define what options to save when updating the scene. Just choose the default options.

shydragon wrote: 3. My system is an AMD dual core 3800 with Vista. My graphics card is the XFX 7600 GTX. I've noticed that when moving or rotating the model, some or parts of it disappear. Is my graphics card not up to snuff for sketchup, or are there some tweaks I need to do?

I believe I know what you're talking about. If I understand you it looks like someone just sliced through the model and part of it's missing, and you could be seeing "inside" a part of an object. I've seen this too, and found a real easy work-around. As ar as I've determined, it seems to be an "issue" with SketchUp determining model extents, or where the maximum x/y/z coordinates for the model are, and it isn't showing any geometry outside what it "knows"... The quickest and easiest solution to this problem is to click on the Zoom Extents button to redefine the extents of the model, then you can zoom in/out and rotate as desired with no problem.

shydragon wrote: And lastly, thanks so much for these tutorials. I really enjoy these and hopefully there will be more.

Thanks for the comments, glad it's benificial to you.

tom_k/mo · Post by **tom_k/mo** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 9:51 am

There seems to be some issues still with the concept and use of the Scenes and Layers functions to create the multiple views. I did a quick VIDEOyesterday to demonstrate the setup rather than trying to type it all out. See if this helps make it more clear. Also, if at all possible, download and use the template I already created, as it has all the options set already, and is pretty much plug-and-play.

tnerb · Post by **tnerb** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 11:19 pm

Tom,

I'm trying to recreate it myself. I didn't see where to download your template. When I attempt to delete the layers I created, it talls me there's content in that layer. So I'm thinking that the geometry did go into the created layers, however, it still won't let me switch between layers. I'm stumped at this point.

Brent

tnerb · Post by **tnerb** » Wed Jul 15, 2009 11:27 pm

Tom,

Just reread your original post and there it was, your template, staring right at me. Boy! Do I feel dumber now......

Brent