Changing Context with the API

Developers Ruby API
21

You can allow the user to click on any face in the model OR within any group or component-instance within the model [that’s NOT the current context].
At that point you have information about the face, its context [entities] and its transformation…
So you don’t actually need to open the ‘group’ for editing at all ?

If the editing that follows the face’s selection involve pick other edges or vectors within the face’s context then they are possible too.
So I don’t see why [in this case] you need to enter the face’s entities context…
It can all be done within your own tool’s code ??

1 Like
22

Would this work also ?

def move_to_root( root = Sketchup.active_model )
  model = Sketchup.active_model
  ents =( root.respond_to?(:definition) ? root.definition.entities : root.entities )
  model.close_active until model.active_entities == ents
end
1 Like
23

For me it would probably make sense to double click the group and see the face outlines and exit it to draw the architectural element based on those outlines. For this the plugin wouldn’t need to change the drawing context at all.

1 Like
24

Here is my tutorial video showing how the user can edit a face to modify a foundation outline:

I’ve given this quite a bit of thought and I think my system is the most intuitive method for modifying the outline, at least I haven’t been able to come up with a better method.