Change colour of some selected groups/components instead of the blue colour, without using styles

Developers Ruby API
1

Hi All,
Is there any way/API call to set my own colour for the entities when it is selected instead of the blue colour or red if it is locked. I know I can create my own style, but that will change it for everything in the model. I only need to change for the groups/components I specify in my code.
Thanks.

3

Can’t be done. The selection color is a style property and thus global to the model, not an entity property.

What is your use case where you’d want a different selection color on certain entities?

4

I just want to separate(view differently) some entities from others based on a condition. But I got your point. Thanks for the reply.

5

If the condition has them assigned to use different tags (previously layers,) then code could temporarily switch the render to color by tag (layer.)

If your code is implementing a tool, then the tool’s draw method(s) can draw bounding boxes in whatever color you like. (I think @thomthom posted a code example of this somewhere.)

Another option would be to temporarily modify the materials that the objects are painted with.

6

Thanks Dan. Could you please throw some more light on switching the render to color by tag.
Yes my code is implementing a tool, so if I set a color to the entity’s bounding box, will this color be shown permanently on the model or only come up when I click on that entity?
Thanks.

7 
def color_by_tag_or_layer(switch = true)
  model = Sketchup.active_model
  opts = model.rendering_options
  if switch
    opts['DisplayColorByLayer']= true
  else
    opts['DisplayColorByLayer']= false
  end
end

REF:

ADD: This is actually a style setting. So to make it permanent you’d update the current style in use.
Many users might prefer a scene page with it’s own style that has color by tag active.

8

Yes, BUT only if your tool does not change it back.

You can do this within your tool class to have a special bounding box color in effect only whilst your tool is active …

SPECIAL_HIGHLIGHT ||= Sketchup::Color.new('Magenta')

def activate()
  @model_highlight_color = get_style_highlight_color()
  activate_special_boundingbox_color()
  # ... other tool activation code ...
end

def get_style_highlight_color
  Sketchup.active_model.rendering_options['HighlightColor']
end 

def activate_special_boundingbox_color(switch = true)
  model = Sketchup.active_model
  opts = model.rendering_options
  if switch
    opts['HighlightColor']= SPECIAL_HIGHLIGHT
  else
    opts['HighlightColor']= @model_highlight_color
  end
end

def deactivate(view)
  activate_special_boundingbox_color(false)
  # ... other tool deactivation code ...
end

It would be up to you whether to leave your special bounding box color in effect during a suspend.

9

Now since your implementing a tool … You can draw in 3D space in whatever color suits your fancy without effecting any of the model’s or current scene’s rendering style settings.

def draw(view)
  obj = view.model.selection.first
  bb = obj.bounds
  v = []
  6.times do |i|
    v << bb.corner(i)
  end
  view.drawing_color= SPECIAL_HIGHLIGHT
  view.draw(GL_LINE_LOOP, v[0], v[1], v[5], v[4])
  view.draw(GL_LINE_LOOP, v[2], v[3], v[7], v[6])
  view.draw(GL_LINES, v[0], v[2], v[4], v[6], v[5], v[7], v[1], v[3])
end

This is sort of what Thomas’ example did.

10

Thanks a lot Dan.

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