I have been fiddling with scenes (SU 2017 MAC computer) for the better part of the day.
I realize that altering any object unless I make it “unique” will change any copies I have. With that said, I created the first scene with my objects. Then I created the 2nd scene by just saving the1st under a new scene name. Then I started making changes to the 2nd like hiding objects. Something simple. But then I go to the 1st and the same objects are hidden.
I downloaded (very elaborate design) an example from someone and trying to follow it by clicking on Entity Info and looking at names and viewing the scenes and their names and what existed in each scene. They seemed to be able to hide what they needed in the other scene. Their example also didn’t appear as though they made unique objects. When I click on on scene and an object then click on another scene and the same object, it’s the same name.
As an example, if I make a box with rabbets and that scene is the final, all put together. Then I want another scene with the box but show it exploded out with the 4 sides farther apart to illustrate the rabbets.
I don’t see anything in the animation/scenes that control the objects.
I googled for examples and watched a few videos and there is some documentation I browsed through but the more I looked the move I got confused. I tried to follow one example creating a scene and then doing something with layers but I can’t get the two scenes to not affect one another.
look in the Scenes window --open the second pane by clicking the button in the upper right. See what is supposed to be saved in the scene. It’s possible not to have hidden object status saved for as scene so that when you activate it there is no change to hidden objects.
to have an exploded version you have to have new instances of every part that is to move out. So a piece of wood can be a component the same as in the other scenes but it is an new instance (copy) and it 's moved. The exploded parts would have a different Tag so you can hide the Tag with the un-exploded version.
components you can see in different scenes may have the same name there may be other copies in the model --“Component ( 2 in model)” etc. They could have different Tags. all can be seen in the entity info window.
Scenes to not store locations or state of geometry, so if you change where a thing is, it will be reflected across all scenes. To do what you are trying to do, you will need multiple copies of the objects on multiple tags. On tag 1 everything is exploded. In tag 2, everything is assembled. Then turn on tag 1 and create a scene. Then turn tag 1 off and tag 2 on and create a second scene.
Native SketchUp does not animate entities using scenes. You will need an extension like Animator for that.
I am not trying to animate I just used that language because it was in the menu selection. Scenes are what I am trying to create.
I did make a copy of my component that has several objects.
When I created the 2nd scene and the layer and then changed the 2nd scene objects to that layer, they changed for scene 1 as well. Untitled 2.skp (411.3 KB)
Correct. Changing a component will change all instances of that component in any scene. To make the change, you need multiple copies on multiple tag/layers
I tried multiple copies but that didn’t work - I am not doing something right. I am following the first video you posted, which is a lot simpler than the ones I found. It’s a better step-by-step…
If the issue is still not resolved, re-upload the model in it’s current state. Maybe @DaveR could take a look, he is really proficient at troubleshooting models and providing detailed solutions.
Check the first scene tags or layers. When you add a new layer it is present in all scenes. You have to turn off the layer in existing scenes and update those scenes (or use a plugin to control the new layers). You may need to share your file for others to help.
Have you tried a simple scene set up? Two components, two tags, two scenes? It’s really no different. First just each component assigned to a separate tag (layer) .Hide one tag, then hide the other instead. Works, right?
Then create a scene in each case. All the scene does is save a state of which tag is hidden.
On another guess, are you working inside a component then assigning the component to another tag (layer)? Your changes should probably made while working in the base context, not inside a compoent.
Yes that’s could be a problem. I mentioned it above but I hadn’t really read what you wrote… Not through the first cup of coffee yet. I wouldn’t say it that way. You need to make new copies of your component (and your changes for the new scene) in the base or zero context. (In some scenarios this might not apply, but let’s stick to the simplest setup)
As for “Layer0”, I think it is a good idea to keep all elements (especially the raw edges and faces in Layer0 (untagged). Then you only assign layers to groups and components for the purpose of hiding them.
This is a test SU I did following the first video.
I created an obscure shape, made a copy, then created 2 layers, put each in a separate layer, then created 1st scene, then create the 2nd scene. I go back to the 1st scene and hid the copy of the shape I created and update the scene. I go to the 2nd scene and hid the original shape and modify the copy of the shape and save the scene. When I go back to the 1st scene, the shape is altered from what I did in scene2, this is not how I want this to work. These are the same steps in the video but this is not working when I do it. test.skp (20.6 KB)
Yes I tried a simple creation of a shape and made a copy and 2 scenes each in their own layer but when I go to modify the copy in the scene 2, the scene 1 original shape also changes. I can’t figure out how to not get that to update in scene 1.
Ultimately i just want to be able to have several components in a scene 1 and have the same in scene 2 but scene 2 will have hidden some of those components. When I do this it affects scene 1 and I am not able to not have that happen.
Layers or objects (components or groups) can not ‘hold’ scenes.
It’s more like the other way around, meaning scenes remember the hidden state of an object and/or remember which layers are visible.
Since the copied object is still visible in the second scene, altering it would mean it is altered, regardless if it is somewhere hidden or not visible because the assigned layer is set to visible in a scene or not.
After “much” trial and error I read this again and decided to take the original SU model although it had a lot of objects in it, and explode my component that contained multiple components.
So to back up starting fresh and I don’t know if this is the correct way to do this but it appears my scene 2 now had my assembly divided and hidden and did not affect scene 1.
This is great but if I want to move all my components I have to select all of them rather than having them inside a component that I can just drag across the screen. Meh…
Then I cannot alter a ‘copy’ of an object because it is tied to the original (?) in the other scene. Ok.
But I should be able to reposition my objects in a scene without it altering the appearance in the other scene (ie scene 1), which is what I was trying to accomplish.
I just posted another test I did and it appears to work although I don’t know if it was the correct way to do this.
there are two kinds of objects, Groups and Components. Components are defined by the definition in the Component browser. It doesn’t matter if there are ‘instances’ in the model or not, when you alter it, all instances would receive the same treatment (hidden or whatever layer is assigned to them)
You would need to make instance(s) ‘Unique’ (rightclick on a copy and choose ‘Make Unique’) to change only that definition.
Groups on the other hand are actually made unique components, therefore their definition isn’t displayed in the Component browser.
