Cleaning up tags

I have a lot of tags that obviously appeared when I downloaded components from the 3D Warehouse. Is there an easy way to determine which tags go with which components so I can delete those I no longer need? And, once I determine what a tag is attached to, I like to re-categorize it so it makes sense.

The first thing I would do is run a plugin by TIG called Default Layer Geometry (from Sketchucation). This will remove tags from edges and faces and very likely eliminate a bunch of those tags. Also purge unused components from the model before going further. Then Purge Unused from the Details menu in the Tags panel. After that, turn off the visibility for the tags you created and know you want to keep. What’s left should be the tags you don’t need. Select them, right click on one of them and choose Delete Tags. When you get the prompt, choose to delete the tags and assign Untagged to all the objects using those tags. After that you can create new tags as needed and use the Tag tool to give those new tags to the groups and components in your model.

For future projects, download objects from the Warehouse into a separate SketchUp model so you can check them out and clean up things like incorrect tag usage. Then copy and paste into your project file with the right tag. Working clean this way is less work than going back through the model to clean up the mess later.

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Thanks. I’ll give it a try.

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I’m having an issue where I imported surveyors notes in a dwg file. instead of importing it directly into the file where I need it, I started a new file and imported them there for clean up. I got rid of all un needed tags, organized the ones that were left (partly with a few tag folders) and color coded geometry via the tags. the whole thing is one big group and then there are nested groups and components with in it. There are groups and components in it that do not show up in the components window or outliner. when I copy the cleaned up file (with the goofy group/componet issue) and then paste it into the file where I actually need it I don’t see any of the geometry in the model and the tags are all shuffled up in the tag window…

the clean up file (tags cleaned up, groups and components still acting goofy)

the file I want to import into ultimately (where things don’t show up and tags are unorganized.

hi Dave, thanks for the reply, sorry about the double up, I didn’t realize the reply to the thread was going to the whole forum. thanx for letting me know. when I said I was cleaning it up I had manually deleted everything I wasn’t using . What are you doing to “perform” a clean up? as far as the exploding reference im wondering is there sone kind of history function you are looking at that told you I inherited a tag from an explosion? I still don’t understand (given everything you’ve mentioned) why when I copy and paste the amended surveyors notes to the the survey hybrid file it doesn’t show up:( . I suppose I’ll make all the loose geometry into components. the end goal is to bring them and thier tags into the survey hybrid file and use them to show details as needed.
hopefully you have some suggestions. b

You can go to window/model information/statistics and click on purge unused, that will delete all the components, materials and tags that aren´t being used in your file, Dave uses a plugin to do that cause it gives a small report after purging the model. Usually, cad files have lines assigned to different layers, in SketchUp the layers become tags but the proper way of working on SketchUp is to have all the lines and faces untagged, only groups and components must be tagged, there’s a plugin called default layer geometry that removes the tags from all the lines and faces in your model and assigns the untagged tag.

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when I run the purge then I have no way to differentiate the geometry into the different parts and thus can not turn them into components and re-assign them new tags. in the file as is, if I isolate any of the geometry by tag and then try to make it into a component, SU gives it a random name other than what I name it. The goal is to be able to keep the geometry associated by its current tags. I was thinking that I can do a “go around” by turning off all tags but the one I’m trying to turn into a new component and then re-assign the tag, but it seems that because the tags are all in the same component labeled phillips-chesbro that the invisible tags are getting in the way.

You cannot isolate geometry by using tags, that’s what groups and components are for. After creating a group or component you can assign them a tag. Tags are for visibility purposes only.

Every ‘rule’ has its exceptions.
Even if it’s not a rule per se, but just a tip for beginners - keep the geometry Untagged, until they manage to learn and understand basic things on SketchUp, in this case, it helps you understand one of the exceptions.

DO NOT use the 'Default Tag Geometry' plugin (at least, not in this case directly), you have a (almost) well-made drawing (with layers from CAD), and the automatic transfer of geometry to Untagged will remove useful data and make your work much more difficult (including organizing a useful model only with groups and components with tags and geometry Untagged).

This happens if you use directly the plugin ‘Default Tag Geometry’ + Purge - you will remain with the Untagged geometry, but without any information about which is the road, which is the tree, etc…


If you want to arrange your drawing, with Untagged geometry, but grouped with the respective tags for each individual element

In addition to the two methods in the video, there is a third one, you group and assign each group the appropriate tag, leaving the geometry with tags, as it was at the beginning, and then, after ordering everything, run the plugin and it will remove the tags from the geometry, but you will be left with the tags to the groups.

With the drawing arranged in this way, once you import it into the other model, you will easily be able to keep visible the element you need at each stage, for example: you only need the ‘road’ to drape it over the existing terrain, you will only have the ‘Road tag’ turned on and the others turned off. Then, when you need ‘trees’, to drop them on the terrain, you will also have the ‘Trees tag’ on, and the rest off.

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you nailed it! I understood the whole need to group everything before but I had been getting stuck because I didn’t realize I needed to reassign the geometry to untagged so that was causing me problems. This was very digestible and exactly the solution I was looking for. I also am very clear now that raw geometry should never be tagged. I don’t know why there is no solution button option with your offering but I would use it to let the forum know you crushed this one!

Each thread can have only one solution, and only the OP can mark a post as the solution. As you are continuing an existing thread you do not have a solution button. In the future you can start a new thread with each fresh question to keep things tidy and be able to mark solutions. :+1:

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