Disappearing objects (editing groups)

Attached is a once very neat and now very overworked drawing. It started out with a drawing of the current arrangement of my kitchen (Outline: __Current Group); Objects in the kitchen that were fixed and would not change (Outline: Fixed Cabinets and stove); the refrigerator with an open door (Outline: Fridge with door); the floor, including the raised tile (Outline: ____Floor): the wall with the light switch from which all measurements were taken and all objects placed (Outline: ____Wall); and most important, and subdivided into relevant sub-projects the new objects to be placed/constructed (Outline: New Cabinets), etc.

Originally the Outline was configured in ways I would normally configure Layers in a CAD program. Because I could not arrange ā€œlayersā€ anything but alphabetically, I used under-bars to create the arrangement.

Progressively, as I made changes, I needed to ungroup sub-sections of the outlineā€“so the mess began. My latest two changes were moving ā€˜End Verticalā€™, and ā€˜Vertical between fridge and counterā€™ out of Cabinet behind/above Fridge//Vertical Components to Cabinet behind/above Fridge. Apparently I have not moved them out far enough.

There are three subjects Iā€™d like to explore:

  1. How I use CAD software: Iā€™ve typically used CAD software to a) create a before; b) manipulate that before into in-betweens; and c) finally create a finished, new design. I know this is possible in SketchUp. What I want to know is, in your opinion: Is this a legitimate and recommended way to manipulate drawings in SketchUp?

  2. How I like to structure objects in CAD software: Iā€™ve typically structured Layers in CAD software to handle related objects so that I can call them up or disappear them as necessary as the design process is going on. Because I have only an outliner available in SketchUp (sorry, but ā€˜Layersā€™ and ā€˜Tabsā€™ as Make and Pro respectively offer are not the equivalent of Layers) In your opinion: Is this a legitimate and recommended way to structure drawings in SketchUp?

  3. Disappearing Act: I now want to present a few objects (to reduce the problem to itā€™s very essentials): End vertical, Vertical between fridge and counter, Floor, Tile and Wall. so that I can view the guidelines that I already drew, and simply extrude the Vertical between fridge and counter so itā€™s the same width as the End verticalā€™ (obviously, thereā€™s a lot more I want to do). By the time Iā€™ve clicked down far enough to get the extrude tool to indicate it can extrude the 3/4" edge, everything else in the drawing has disappeared.

a) How need I handle #3 and b) Do so while still retaining the sense of progress and order Iā€™d hoped for in #1 and #2 respectively?

(Note: Iā€™ve always assumed this was the way everyone worked. It could be that most simply have a concept of the finished product and just plug away until itā€™s drawn up.)

Well I guess I have another question. Iā€™ve uploaded my .skb file before but now it is saying image sighā€¦K_30_Top_Hunter_5.skp (898.6 KB)

The SKB is a backup of your model. Hopefully you will never need to use it. Add your SKP file instead.

An .skb is a backup file. You should be uploading a current .skp file unless the whole issue is that the .skp is damaged and you want help retrieving via the backup. But even then you can just change the extension to .skp to upload it.

skb files are backup when using Windows.

Try uploading skp files instead.

Sure.

No. The outliner is not the best tool for controlling visibility of collections or classes of objects. This is what layers/tags are for. They work a little differently but perform the same function you described in your ACAD workflow. Tags are the tool to control visibility, if you discount them you are missing an important part of the intended SketchUp workflow that all professionals are using.

Sounds like you have ā€œhide rest of modelā€ enabled while editing groups and components, this is a user choice to turn it on or off. As I said above, visibility of collections or classes of objects is handled with Layers/tags.

Everyoneā€™s workflow is a little different of course but in general, yes , revision or multiple revisions of an original concept is a part of the process.

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Skp file.K_30_Top_Hunter_5.skp (898.6 KB)

I have looked at your model. View>Component Edit>Hide Rest of Model is turned on, which is why the rest of your model disappears when you enter a group or component for editing.

Do you have specific questions about this model you posted?

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I
a) bring up Scene (no dimensions), notice there is a guideline proceeding along the edge of the tile and also that ā€˜Vertical between fridge and counterā€™ does not quite reach that guideline
b) Turn off and resave whatā€™s left as a new Scene (Scene 9 in my case)
My intent is to extrude ā€˜Vertical between fridge and counterā€™ to the edge of the tile (snap to the guideline)
c) I implement Scene 9. Now I have essentially the same drawing as before but without ā€˜Hide rest of modelā€™ checkmarked
d) I have to click 10X on ā€˜Vertical between fridge and counterā€™ before I get the edge hilited indicating I can extend it to the edge of the raised tile.
e) When I finally do, I switch to the extrude tool and though I can extrude that edge no longer have a guide to snap to.

Alternatively
i) I switch to scene _FridgeBack with the intent of doing the same thing.
ii) Immediately I unswitch View/Component Edit/Hide rest of model
iii) ā€¦ I again notice ā€˜Vertical between fridge and counterā€™ needs to be moved a smidge to the right and that there is a guideline going down the edge of the tile (but now itā€™s greyed out and canā€™t be snapped to)
iv) This time it only needs to be clicked on 5X to expose the .75ā€ edge that needs to be extruded. Regardless, thereā€™s no guideline (or maybe there is and itā€™s greyed out) for it to snap to.
v) (in checking out if the extruded edge can snap to a guidelineā€”and finding it canā€™tā€”I control Z to undo the momentary extrude, move back, and notice the only object showing is the one I momentarily extruded.

Everything else seems to have disappearedā€¦
And for some reason Hide rest of model is checked again.
Just trying to describe the problem takes over 40 minutes.

I need to try this all again, from scratch, tomorrow.

Hide rest of model on or off is a setting that is saved as a part of the scene. You can turn it off via the view menu but if you click into another scene or the same scene again it will be turned on if itā€™s been saved that way the scene. You will need to uncheck the option and then right click on a scene and choose update to resave that scene with the option off. Honestly, most of us have this assigned to a hot key and only use it to ā€œsoloā€ a component when we need to.

Itā€™s a little hard to follow the narrative of what you are doing. Sometimes a screenshot is easier to understand. I think you want to make one side of the shelves a little larger so that its front surface matches the edge of the tile. Does this look like what you are working to accomplish? No guides or hiding of any kind is necessary, I open the shelf with a double click, then open the vertical with a double click, push/pull tool the surface and inference the edge of the tile by pointing the curser to it, then close.

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