I envisage dragging the thumbnail off the scene docker and having it ‘float’ in it’s own window and/or having a r-click menu item.
The window it’s self could have;
a drop-down to change scenes
a button to turn user location on/off (displays a dot within the scene to represent the current location of the camera - possibly arrowed to show viewing direction)
a button to open the scene docker.
a button to transform the current working space to match the scene.
(Note this is just a scene view; all editing or managing the scene would be done from the existing tools)
This window could be stretched/scaled and docked. Possible to have multiple instances for different scenes.
It could be used for many things; an interactive floor plan, seeing how things look from a distance, what changes made on one side of a model will look like from the other side, show persistent information when presenting the model…
Gully’s wishlist thread is a good example of Box’s suggestion, however sometimes it may be good to start a fresh thread about a certain request. I can see both sides.
Just be careful to not flood up the forum with feature requests! Perhaps combine similar ones into the same thread?
I did consider consolidating them all, but it’s waaay easier to get feedback and clarify individual ideas if the threads are separate: If I lump everything together then it would get really confusing when trying to reply to individual items.
I could also be missing something that’s existing or spark an idea from someone else.
(I have read Gully’s - I normally try and make sure I’m not duplicating an existing feature request)
I’ve about another 10 or so ideas noted down - I thought I was taking it easy by only posting about 1 a day ;-p
My train of thought was this:
I seem to take a lot of inspiration from games - why? - because they have intuitive control systems and information at your fingertips - the most common/useful information is a map (even in cars the GPS is ever-present) - how can I have a map in SU? - a map is a sectional floor plan - this is the same as a scene - how can I have a scene as a floating window?..
I think that most people in the past have been coming to SU from an architectural background where “viewports” are used to produce 2D images, like in Layout. I think that presentation is changing from 2D paper to 3D models and the best presentation of 3D computer imagery is seen in the current generation of first person games. I don’t think it’s a bad thing to learn from them.
It’s also not a bad thing to learn from the ancients, once upon a time people used burnt wood to make marks on reconstituted trees that some people have said almost looked 3 dimensional. But no doubt that was more than a year or so ago and therefore unimportant.
neither do i… the thing i’m failing to recognize is what, exactly, is there to learn in these regards?
i use an application that allows you to see/interact with multiple scenes at the same time:
it’s sometimes good to use a 2D view alongside a Perspective view simply because commands in a 2D viewport act differently than in 3D… (lines can be constrained to different planes etc depending on which viewport the cursor is in)… but even then, it’s still only helpful some of the time…
for the most part, all it does is make small viewports instead of one big one
what are you expecting to do with multiple visible scenes? i get it that it seems like it might be cool… but beyond that, do you foresee the capability assisting you in modeling? or presentation? or something else?
I could see myself setting up sections on each floor of a building as different scenes and having a small window showing where I was on the plan - change the scene as I move up a floor to show where I was in relation to the rest of the building.
When working out where to position window apertures from inside a room I would have an exterior “presentation” view as a small window so I can see how it looks from outside. (or the reverse)
When working out sunlight and how shadows fall, I would have an internal scene as a window while I did stuff outside to make sure that things didn’t block the light.
I could set the scene window to look at (eg) an array of roof rafter components, but copy a component into a blank space away from the main model and edit it - the window would show how the edited component affects the rest of the model. I then delete that instance and make the scene my primary workspace again.
I could change the main view to a section plan so that I can position cabinetry and have a scene view to show how the room actually looks
… All of which only really need one window.
When presenting I would I would have something “hidden” on the main model with the clients details that would be set up as a scene. When navigating away from this I would set up the scene to be the most impressive view I could and keep it as a floating window to remind the clients of the over-all scheme while I whiz round the main screen. I would change it to floor plans when giving a guided tour of the building/room. I might even have another “hidden” scene with my company logo and corporate branding acting as headed paper or watermark during a presentation.
[quote=“gadget2020, post:9, topic:9839, full:true”]
I’m not 100% convinced about multiples;
I could see myself setting up sections on each floor of a building as different scenes and having a small window showing where I was on the plan - change the scene as I move up a floor to show where I was in relation to the rest of the building.[/quote]
with multi-floor buildings, i think you’re better off using layers… if you need to work on the 3rd floor, use the layer 3rd floor.
i think the idea of a model map in the gps/video game sense just rubs me the wrong way… with a video game, the map is helpful as it shows which way you need to navigate in order to get from point A to B…
with sketchup, the model itself is the map and you can just zoom/pan/etc through walls and floors and whatnot. point A to B is often a straight line… you don’t have to walk down the hallway then turn left to get to the stairs then go up to the next floor.
the axis lines and the horizon keeps your bearings strait ()… proper organization/naming/layering goes a long way too.
[quote]
When working out where to position window apertures from inside a room I would have an exterior “presentation” view as a small window so I can see how it looks from outside. (or the reverse)[/quote]
might be helpful or speedier sometimes… switching between scenes wouldn’t be bad either.
[quote]
When working out sunlight and how shadows fall, I would have an internal scene as a window while I did stuff outside to make sure that things didn’t block the light.[/quote]
this one sounds helpful
[quote]
I could set the scene window to look at (eg) an array of roof rafter components, but copy a component into a blank space away from the main model and edit it - the window would show how the edited component affects the rest of the model. I then delete that instance and make the scene my primary workspace again.[/quote]
that sounds neat… a separate windows for editing components
personally, i’d rather just do the moves in 3D as opposed to a plan view.
multiple instances of sketchup or multidocs on mac for that… each display has the model opened
it’s not a bad idea… like i said, i have a program that does it and i do use it… albeit, i mostly use the plan views as a means for easy access to tool variations… if sketchup were to acquire the ability, it should probably also gain a more robust set of 2d drafting tools… and that’s pretty strongly against what sketchup has been about up to now.
i like that you have so many ideas and i’m not trying to discourage… more like encourage the thinking until you get the really really really good idea… most user feature requests don’t find their way into the app… a super good one that falls within the sketchup scope possibly would.
)… proper organization/naming/layering goes a long way too.