Hello all, Still using sketchup 8. While searching the internet and help, I think the answer to my question is a solid no but here it goes.
Is there a way to have the " Layer" update/active automatically to the current group or component I am editing? I have a camper design with a ton of layers for the interior, frame, suspension etc and it would be great if when I click on a group to edit the “active layer” would be the group i just clicked on.
By default it remains on the layer last selected. Good enough, but to many times i need to adjust a component/group due to another change and I forget to change the layer when making the edit…
If you were using Layers correctly there’d be no need for what you ask. Layer 0 should be left active at all times. ALL edges and faces should be created AND remain with Layer 0 associated to them. Only groups and components should be give other layers. If you follow this correct workflow you won’t need to chase active layers as you work. You won’t even need to know what layer has been given to the group or component when you are editing it. You just open it and do the editing.
Dave,
Thanks for the reply, What is happening is if i edit a group (on a layer) i feel the edits are sometime not on that layer but whatever I was last working on.
I am sure it is user error. BUt as an example, I am modeling a off road camper,. The Frame ( made of groups and components) its own layer. If I open a group, make or add a change, the change will be on layer0.
with the Layers window open, why/could the active layer not click along with what i am working on in the model. I have ~20 layers. If i click on any of them the “dot/highlight” in the layers window remains stationary.
I understand in some instance having the active layer follow along would be bad, and sometimes helpful. Anyway to toggle this feature on/off?
This is normal if you’ve given the geometry inside the group the wrong layer (tag) and when you’ve not followed the rule of leaving Layer 0 active at all times.
It should be. Only the group or component needs the layer or tag. ALL geometry should be created and remain with Layer 0 assigned to it.
If you follow the “rule” of leaving the geometry on Layer 0, there’s absolutely no reason for what you ask for to occur. You don’t even need to know which layer you’ve given to a group or component. Why do you want to make your work more difficult?
No. There’s no way to toggle this “feature” on/off. Just make your work easy. Leave Layer 0 active at all times. Keep all edges and faces on Layer 0. Only give layers to groups and components.
If i am working on Layer zero, and open a group that is assigned to Layer “trailer frame”… If i add a change to the group on layer “frame”, the new edit will be on 0 unless i manually change the active dot from 0 to frame.
If i forget, and make an edit, the edit will not be on layer “frame” even though the group in on the frame layer…
What i am asking is , when clicking on and editing a group on a layer not 0, the active layer is design to stay on 0 unless i manually change it?
If you are following the “rules” and leaving ALL edges and faces with Layer 0 assigned to them and you leave Layer 0 active at all times, it doesn’t matter what layer is assigned to the group or component. Any new geometry (edges and faces) you create while inside the object will also have Layer 0 assigned to them.
No. You are using layers (tags) incorrectly, no amount of switching the active tag or vigilance when editing is going to make this work for you. The feature you are asking for does not exist because the program does not work that way and nobody uses it like that. The best thing you can do is take a moment and re-learn how to use tags/layers properly then your future modeling will be smooth sailing.
Groups and components are the only thing that isolates geometry from interacting with other geometry. If you have a specific assembly like the frame of your camper it should be its own component or group. It sounds like you are already doing this. The difference is tags should only be applied to the outside of a group or component. The entire group is assigned a tag so that its visibility can be easily controlled. All of the geometry inside the component is still on layer0. All geometry everywhere should always be on layer0. The function of turning an assembly’s visibility on or off with tags will work the same, but when opening an object for editing you will be working with the geometry inside on layer0.
So rule number one; set the pencil on layer0 or “untagged” and never move it again. This is always the active tag.
Rule two, how to apply tags: start drawing geometry (untagged or layer0 is the active tag). Make some geometry you want, select the geometry and make it a group or component. Select the closed group or component using one single click so the blue bounding box is showing. Assign that object a tag using the drop down list of tags in entity info window or the tag tool from the tags window.
Turning off that tag visibility now hides that object.
To edit an object double click on it to open for editing and simply start editing. Do not change anything in the tags window. Your changes are all contained in the group or component so will continue to be controlled by the tag assigned to the outside of the container.
It sound like you have gone pretty far down the wrong road, using tags/layers like they are used in 2D programs which is impossible in this environment. It might take a moment but it’s well worth understanding and correcting your workflow now.
Cool, glad you’re on the right track. It may take a moment to correct your current model. Open a component for editing, triple click the contained geometry to select it all and then use entity info to assign all the raw geometry to “untagged”. Do this for all components until all raw geometry is untagged. There are also several free extensions available that will process your whole model and move all raw geometry to “untagged” with one click.
One extra thing to be aware of…
Whilst all geometry inside a group/component should have untagged/Layer0, if you explode a tagged group/component then anything that was untagged inside that container is now given the container’s tag. This can obviously be confusing. So after the explode the resultant geometry etc remains selected, so immediately use Entity Info [its dialog should always be open] to de-tag the extracted geometry…
This is an annoying thing that’s long been known and a fix asked for…
Hello all, I have been drawing 100% on layer zero and life is good… an occasional hiccup but easily found and fixed.
May i ask while this is active? Is there a way to zoom at the same rate regardless of mousing over the model or infinite space? When working on framing/studs etc. there is not a lot of model to mouse over and a lot of empty space.
The zoom function is connected to the curser position. The center of zoom is the object under the curser, and the rate of zoom is calculated by the distance from the camera to that object. So as you have noted zoom towards infinity is different than zoom toward a wall that is 1 foot away. This cannot be changed.
You can use zoom extents to fill the screen with the model (or editing context if you have an object open for editing. Or right click on an object and choose zoom selection. Or use scenes to manage working views.
You can set a keyboard shortcut for zoom selection which will let you drag a quick selection box selecting a few objects in the general area you want and punch a key to fill the screen with that selection.
Small FYI, it’s best to mark a given thread as solved when it’s wrapped up and start a new thread with a new title and question. This keeps the Forum tidy and searchable by title which helps other users find solutions in past threads.
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