How to create a component with existing entities in a component by ruby?

[DanRathbun]

@Zephan

In fact, the exact problem that I want to work out is to copy a component instance which is a box to the origin. But the instance has been scaled. So I can only get the instance as big as the original definition of the instance.

You can instead use the IDENTITY transform. It is referenced by a global constant, defined by the SketchUp Ruby API, during startup. So it is always available, in any scope. (I showed using it in my 1st example, above.)

Simplified example:

mod = Sketchup.active_model
def1 = mod.selection[0].definition
copy = mod.entities.add_instance( def1, IDENTITY )

---

You can also just use Geom::Transformation::new in place of IDENTITY, because the class constructor (new,) with no arguments, creates a new identify Transformation.
See API class documentation: Geom::Transformation::new()

---

@Zephan

But I am sorry that I can’t understand all of it bacause I have just learned ruby for two weeks.

ADD: Simplified copy method:

def copy_selected_component()

  mod  = Sketchup::active_model
  sel  = mod.selection
  ents = mod.active_entities
  
  return false if sel.empty?
  cget = sel.grep( Sketchup::ComponentInstance )
  return false if cget.empty?
  cmp1 = cget.first
  def1 = cmp1.definition

  copy = ents.add_instance( def1, IDENTITY )
  if copy.is_a?(Sketchup::ComponentInstance)
    return copy
  else
    return false 
  end

end # method