I am curious why SketchUp has no warnings when a user is inadvertently deleting a component.
I am working on a dense and component-rich model. Twice I have erased “Loose Thread” lines only to find out that, without any warning, I had erased a valuable component hidden in the model.
If I catch the error in time, I can hit the UNDO key 30-50 times to step back and get my component back. The last occurrence, the program saved before I could reach it, and not only did I lose my component but all the subsequent steps that I had undone.
I find it had to believe that a program this sophisticated can’t do a simple thing like ask “Do you really want to erase this component?” instead of just silently erasing valuable work and leaving it for you to discover later when it may be too late.
Do you use the Trimble site to save your work? There is a way, if you do, to pull up an earlier saved file that should have the component.
If it’s a component you’ve deleted from the model why not just drag a new instance of it in from the In Model components? One of the many benefits of using components is they remain in model even if deleted from the model space unless you purge the model of them.
If you want to only select loose edges in the model, you can use Selection Toys and select only edges. Then press Delete. That way you won’t inadvertantly delete components.
Neither of these give you a warning that you’re about to delete something you want to keep but there’s no way SketchUp will know what you want to keep and what you want to delete from a selection set. In any case, these are things you can do right now without waiting around for a feature to be added to SketchUp.
Thank You for the advice. But, I don’t think my web-based version has those nice toys. I could not find the lost components in Outliner.
The components will be in the components drawer, not the outliner. Outliner contains instances, the component drawer contains the objects that define the instances in your model. When you drag something from the component drawer, you are creating a new instance of that object.
I should clarify. The outliner contains a list of instances of components as well as any groups. The components drawer only contains the definitions of components.
Groups are weird, in that they are instances of an object, with the definition of the object also being the object. Thus if you change a group, you only change that instance of the group. Copies of the group are unchanged.
Changes to an instance of a component, on the other hand, will change all instances of that component in the model as well as the original definition of the component that is stored in the component drawer.
Hmm, I could make that clearer.
I was curious so I took a look at the current Online Version (Its been a while) It treats components a little different than the Desktop. But a deleted component becomes “unused” and can be clicked on and brought back.
In the desktop version you can “Lock” entities so they cannot be deleted. The Online can also lock an entity. Geometry or grouped geometry will not be made unused you have to create a component.
I never said anything about looking in Outliner. Look at the In Model components in the Components panel.
@DaveR His profile says Sketchup Shop. I believe he is using a Go subscription. The components are in the Outliner in the online version. I also believe he is using the word component to describe a group.
But they will only show in Outliner if the exist within the model space. Since he is complaining that he’s deleted the component from the model space, my instruction is to grab a new instance of it from the In Model components int eh Components panel, not Outliner.
He used the word Component so I, perhaps mistakenly, thought he was referring to a component, not a group. If he’s referring to a group, then of course there’ll be noting to find in the Components panel but then there’ll also not be a group to find in Outliner, either.
In a recent sneak upgrade. The Components button disappeared and I got a popup that said I’d find my components in Outliner. If you know about another way to access components, I’d like the hear it.
Hit the icon in the outliner:
Slow down.
When you select a component that has errant lines the blue bounding box will be large enough to encompass the groups or components that the errant line might be part of.
In the desktop app I always have entity info open so I can see what I’m working with. Not sure if this is the same in the web app or Go - but if you select something it will tell you what it is - and if it doesn’t look right you can investigate why.
hi RobertLever56,
before UNDOing to retrieve your component or any deleted things, you can COPY the geometry that have been modified since that moment, go back to the moment you make the mistake with UNDO, delete the geometry you have modified, and PASTE IN PLACE the geometry previously COPYed. like that you have a model up to date.
I often use that method when I modify a component that I should have make unique before modification. If I see the error even when I’m doing it, I finish the manipulation till the end of it, then I copy the modified component, I undo back and delete the component that need to be modified and I paste in place the modified one. it comes with the same name with an #1 at the end.
It’s like going back to the future…
I have had this issue when deleting guide lines that are part of a group or component. This issue is also closely related to another problem I experience often, which is editing a component thinking it is a group, then realizing that I need to undo, make unique, and edit again. It would be nice if after editing a component it prompted with a choice to either ‘update (x) instances of this component’ or ‘make unique’. We do residintial design and this happens regulary as we fit windows, doors, railings, stairs, etc. The editing is often done zoomed in close to the model, and the other instances are often not visible.
Open the group or component for editing and use Edit>Delete Guides to get rid of the guides without touching the edges in the object. A keyboard shortcut helps.
Perhaps more consistency in your modeling workflow would help. Keep Entity Info open at all times and keep an eye on it as you are working. (Personally I only use components in my modeling so there’s never a question of whether I’m editing a groupr or component.)
There is an extension from Sketchucation called Edit Flag which will alert you when you edit a component.
I delete guides with a shortcut. No need to pick them, even if they are embedded in a component. But I use guides as temporary things… so I use them, make my changes and delete them.
I hear you but… I’d find it pretty frustrating to have to click a box every time i actually wanted to delete a component. It sounds more like a navigation thing while tidying than the need for a popup.
Btw You’ll find deleted components in the component menu in the default tray. Also you’ll most likely find it in the Skb.
Try setting up a keyboard shortcut for “hide rest of model” this will solve your issue and make your models easier to work with.
It did it again.
I edited the floor of the outdoor terrace, and the treacherous, adversarial program deleted a huge chunk of the interior dining room/stairwell wall 50 feet away.
I can only find components under Outliner -there are no drawers. The miserable program does not put the components in either a alphabetical or chronological order. There is no search engine, so I went through hundreds of components 3 times without any success.
I am going to have to load up my last saved version of this mess and lose a weeks work.
A million dollars could not bribe me to say this program is user-friendly.
