Components why can we not get a straight answer on how to find components there are hundreds of requests

I would like to find and refile my components under various headings and it is a “mystery”

Are you referring to making local collections or the 3D Warehouse? Where are these “hundreds of requests”?

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Dave,

If you google the information I am after, there are pages requesting the same info, we all would like to find a way to move and set up our components in a decent library so they, like me want to be able to search their PC and find all their components. We are looking for that *.type

Set up but it would seem we have to go through the Sketchup system which is restrictive . I would like to find my plumbing and roofing items and as I have many it would be good to be able to sort out in quick time.

I have downloaded component Finder and it only finds what you find and put into it but looks to be useful when you reach that stage, and maybe as there are thumbnail shots ,I may be able to set it up.

Ken

You can search your PC for .skp files and file them appropriately, then easily access them from within the component browser by creating a local collection or via windows explorer.
The ability to find a specific file amongst a bunch of other files requires a filing system that is well organised for ease of use.
It is easier to find something in a filing cabinet than in a hodgepodge of stuff on top of your desk.

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As Box indicates, the components are just .skp files. You can use File Explorer to search your computer for them. If you organize them with useful names in collection folders they will be easy to find. I don’t know why you think the “SketchUp system” is restrictive. You can choose where you want to keep your components Set that location in Window>Preferences>Files. I choose to use the default location, which is a normally hidden directory intened to keep the contents safe from casual deletion, but you can choose your own location. Within that directory you can create as many folders abd subfolders as you wish.
Screenshot - 3_24_2022 , 2_25_52 AM
In the Components browser in SketchUp it looks like this:

And in one of those folders:


which looks like this in SketchUp.

You can save components from your model to a collection by right clicking on it in the model space and choosing Save as… If you have a bunch to put into a common collection, say you’ve modeled a series of pipe elbows, you can go to the In Model components panel, open the Details menu to the right of the search window and use Save as a local collection…


You can also open or create a local collection folder via the Components panel.

If you want to add a component to an existing collection folder you can also open the secondary pane by clicking on the button in the upper right corner of the Components panel.
Screenshot - 3_24_2022 , 2_50_25 AM

Set the primary pane to In Model and the secondary pane to the desired collection. Drag the thumbnail for the component from one to the other.

You can also use this method to rearrange components between collection folders if you wish.

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A better alternative to Windows Explorer is a program called Everything.

Maybe have a look at Connector

I think what annoys @kennyutt is that the search bar of the componant browser searches the warehouse. This would be an easy fix for SKETCHUP and something rather logical if you look at all the other windows. Tags searches the tags of the documents. In the outliner search searches all items in the document. I think the only reason why the search field of the component window searches the warehouse is because back in the day there wasn’t a dedicated warehouse window / website like there is today. So that would be my feature request as well: make the search bar of the component window search the local components and one would have a lot more satisfaction having a well organized component library the way @DaveR explained.

I wonder why he didn’t write that.

(He needs me to interpret) :smile:

DaveR,

Thanks for that info , I will follow up on the same

Thanks Dave,
Seeing how others Organize and Name Components is Interesting, Helpful, and Validating. Keeping Organized in Sketchup and Layout Takes a Lot of Forethought Time to Set Up an Office System. We try to keep Components Named with Noun First so that all the same things show up together in the list. Not always easy and things fall through but having a system is key. Keeping File Sizes Down is another Level of Organization. The struggle is real (a castor, for the restaurant design we do, shouldn’t be 259KB).

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Organization in your models is important as is organizing the resources you use to construct them. And you’re right, unless you are manufacturing the caster, it probably doesn’t need to be 259 Kb.