Inspired by ThomThom’s Material Replacer and the native Paint Bucket Tool I have created a Component Replacer plugin.
The tool lets you pick up a component with an eye dropper and apply it in a paint-like fashion. In contrast to other component replacer plugins this one utilizes modifier keys to optionally replace all similar components in the same drawing context, or throughout the model. Imagine drawing a restaurant and wanting to switch the chair you have used umpteen times with another one.; this plugin does it in only a few clicks.
The tool even remembers the component you are using as replacement when switching tools so you can pick up a component in one drawing context, e.g. a toaster in the kitchen of an apartment in a city development project, and place it inside a completely different drawing context, e.g. that restaurants with all the chairs.
Another use case in when you have accidentally created groups instead of componenst.
After modifying one group the plugin allows you to quickly replace the others with it.
In fact I personally prefer using groups over components within components to avoid cluttering the component browser and with this tool that workflow is very much streamlined.
A bug that prevented the plugin from working was reported this morning. I’ve already patched it but it wont be live until the new version has passed the review process.
The bug occurred when the plugin performed the licensing check which is a part of the code I can’t test myself due to how the system works. Oddly and sadly it also slipped through the review process without being discovered there.
I’ll keep you posted when the functional version can be downloaded.
EDIT: The licensing should now work as intended. Please try out the extension and report any unexpected behavior to me.
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