Hi there, I’m trying to figure how to display and edit x,y,z coordinates of an object in Sketchup.
Why this is’nt obvious in Sketchup like it is in any other design softs I used in the past is beyond me…
Component options window is supposed to display such informations, but it remains desperately blank with “There are no options to choose on this component” message. It works on my laptop but not on my desktop (yes, i already cleared the Explorer cache as advised). Go figure !
Sketchup 17.2.2555 64 bit
Windows 7 64 bit / Explorer 11
Are you referring to Dynamic Components? The coordinates will only show in the Component Options window if you’ve added those parameters to make them show. The coordinates can be changed if you set them up to be changeable, too.
Per @Espressif’s profile information, he only has Make, so this will only work if he’s working with a Dynamic Component, created by someone in Pro, who has exposed the X, Y, and Z attributes as (at least) “Users can see this attribute”. He can’t expose them himself - no Component Attributes access! - much less edit them (unless the creator set the options to “Users can edit as a textbox” or “Users can select from a list”)
Use the ‘Text’ tool to reveal the X, Y, Z values of vertices. Click on any vertex (if inside a group, open it first) to attach this text to the vertex.
Except that it explains why his Component Options Window [quote=“espressif, post:1, topic:46591”]
remains desperately blank with “There are no options to choose on this component” message
[/quote]
Ok, I figured it now (btw, this issue is unrelated to components being dynamic or not)…
Only Pro users have the immense privilege to directly view/modify components coordinates!
I’m still on the Pro trial on my laptop, that’s why I can acces the component attributes window.
Once again, IMHO this is really dumb. Basically, objects coordinates should be directly available/modifiable to any user in real time. This should not be an optionnal feature you need to set individually. This is a basic requirement of any design software!
Depends what you mean by ‘directly modifiable’. In SU, you modify components graphically through the UI, with tools such as Move, Rotate, Copy, or by opening a component for editing, and moving its elements - edges or faces, or changing arc or circle radii, or the number of segments used to represent them.
While you are drawing in the first place, until you change tools, you can specify exact dimensions in the Measurements box, as many times as you need, until you commit by changing tool.
For most people, most of the time, this plus the inferencing system, is a lot easier than modifying the coordinates themselves directly.
Creating Dynamic components is indeed a Pro only feature, but very far from ‘editing the coordinates directly’.
Perhaps not so dumb, but definitely different, and maybe easier, if you are not pre-conditioned by using other CAD software.
Alas, most of what you wrote is wrong and suggests that you don’t understand how SketchUp works or the difference between simple Entities, regular Components and Dynamic Components.
In SketchUp you don’t open some sort of properties window to modify an object’s location, you activate the Move Tool and drag the object to the location where you want it. You can also initiate a move and then type the absolute or relative coordinates of how you want the object to move. If you just want to view coordinates you can use the Text tool as @Wo3Dan showed earlier. Neither of these actions is restricted to the Pro version, they work exactly the same in Make and are fundamental to SketchUp.
Dynamic Components are a special kind of SketchUp object which can have special programmed behavior. The dialog you are seeing is the Pro version’s editor for creating and programming a new DC. Coordinates are a default variable set available to use in the programming.
First, please forgive me all for my disrespectful and incorrect langage, I’m sorry for that.
1.You’re right, I misunderstood the Component attributes window…
2. The text tool trick can be of some utility, but it do not work with components and the coordinates are not updated when you move, resize, etc., so…
3. I may understand that the design process in SU is different, but I think SU peoples should also be aware that users should be able to chose by themselve the info they need to work giving their working habits. What is the cost of letting them see actual coordinates and dimensions of a selection (be it a simple object or a component) in the status bar?
It does if you open the component for editing first, as many levels of nesting as you need, until you reach geometric entities to which to attach the Text label. Agreed, it doesn’t auto update.
How would you show all the information about a complex face, linked edges, or a mesh? Not all elements or components are as simple as an edge, rectangular face or box. You couldn’t fit it in the ‘status bar’, and it would not even be easy to design a revised Entity Info window to show all the possibilities, let alone implement it.
Every design soft (2D, 3D, CAD) I know of provide exactly theses informations in real time. And they manage grouping or complex models with binding boxes. Take a look at Unity for example and you’l get the idea…
The ‘Text’ tool works on vertices when being inside the editing context of a group or component.
Then, after closing the group/component, you can move it relative from its position (see 1) or to absolute coordinates (see 2) in the current axes system.
grab the group/componetnt by formentioned vertex and move to arbitrary position. Then type <X,Y,Z<X<>> and hit [Enter]. X, Y and Z are the values to be used to move relative of current position.
grab the group/componetnt by formentioned vertex and move to arbitrary position. Then type
[X,Y,Z] and hit [Enter] to move the object to absolute X,Y,Z position in the current drawing axes system.
In short: use either <X,Y,Z<X<>> or [X,Y,Z] and hit [Enter]
While you’re still in the trial, you can make an dynamic component as @sjdorst explained and save it as a component for use in future projects. Here’s one example of a guidepoint with the attributes set as edit :
The mystery part in this file is when you both select the group and the POI-DC , and the Component Options shows the XYZ-coordinates of the DC, I get to edit the position of both…POI.skp (21.9 KB)
Component Options is a part od the Dynamic Components plugin that comes pre-installed with SketchUp. It’s not a part of the software’s core. As pointed out you are probably looking for Entity Info.
