I have just started using sketchup pro. I bought it to help me design a kitchen for my house. Its taken me 3 weeks to learn/do this and I am pretty happy with the results. I even found a great extension that generates a cut list for all the parts I need. Its called OpenCutList. I have managed to work out that the name this extension uses when producing the Cut List report is the “definition” field on the “Entity Info” window. The only issue I have is that these names are not terribly useful in identifying the specific part … for example
I took the time to organise all the parts into Groups … 1 group for each unit to be built. It would be hugely useful for me to be able to get that group name to appear in some way within the “definition” field of the entity info. This would allow me to organise all the material I cut into piles for each of the units.
Is this … or something that would achieve the same result possible? Is there as “default” setting somewhere that would default group name into definition?
You might be confusing Instance versus Definition.
When creating Components, you’ll be prompted to give it a name. You name the definition. If you don’t, SketchUp will name it for you. Each Definition is Unique, so the first Component is named ‘Component1’, the second ‘Component2’, etc.
Better name them yourself for identification purposes.
All created Component Definitions are ‘stored’ in the ‘In Model Collection’ in the Component Panel, regardless of their being used in the model.
Now if you have copied a Component with the Defition’s name ‘Leg’( eg. Three copies of a leg of a table) you have four Instances of one Definition (Leg). You can name the Instances of the legs differently (eg. ‘Left-front’)
If you change the geometry of a Component, you actually change it’s definition and all Instances of that Definition get the same treatment, unless you make some legs unique by selecting them and right-click and choose ‘Make Unique’ (the name of the Definition is added with #1 etc. , but the instance’s name stays the same)
A Group is nothing but a Component that is immediately made unique upon creation.
When you create a Group, you won’t get a dialogue in wich you have to name it, SketchUp just names it (Defition) ‘Group’ and because it is not a real Component, that won’t be displayed in the entity panel.
You can only give the instance of the Group a name.
If you make a named group a component, it will suggest you to name the definition accordingly to that instance’s name.
In the Outliner (Default tray->Outliner) you can organjse your model more easily
thanks for this … ill have a look at the video and look through the suggested topics and see where I get to. given that my model contains about 600 bits … I’m hoping I don’t have to go through and rename manually. I was hoping there was a way of “pulling through” the group name into the individual part names. thanks again Doug
thanks. given the model has been created it does feel like it needs some kind of “processing” to work through it. first model i have ever created … need to pay more attention to naming conventions going forward! given that many models are created based on copies/variations of components then existing naming default naming convention does feel a bit clunky, especially if something needs to be physically made. I have no idea what ruby is, but will have a look. thanks for the suggestion. doug
