We are trying to use sketchup in a team environment and need to ‘reference’ the different parts of the building each is working on into our own Sketchup working space. (Trimble Connect is too slow and the workflow is too error prone for us. The functionality there requires you to re-Pubilsh your model periodically as well as Save, and with many users and many references it is difficult to be sure you are working with the latest referenced models. Anyway:)
We need to be able to use the Import function, so that an imported component that is acting as a reference can be ‘Reloaded’ and therefore updated. However, importing hovers the component with the ‘move’ tool active, and it must be placed manually by eyeballing it. This isn’t satisfactory - we need to be able to reliably place it in the same location it exists in the original file.
‘Paste in Place’ does this, but then there is no way of ‘Reloading’.
Please help.
You can save a component to storage (as a separate .skp file) using the Save As… function on the context menu (typically right-click) when the component is selected. At a later time you should be able to use the “Reload…” function on the context menu (when an instance of the same component is selected) to replace the contents of the component with its stored version. It will be replaced exactly in-place for all instances of the given component that exist in the currently-open model.
Hi.
Thanks, but perhaps i am not understanding.
I want to import a component into the same place in the model space that it exists in the source model. I cant see how your suggestion does this.
Reloading is not the problem. The initial placement is.
My workflow uses a master model with sub-models imported in, which sounds similar to what you are doing.
The only solution I could work out was to have a unified import point. This is not necessarily the zero point but an object, usually a 100mm cube component that is the only object on a special layer (same in each model). When I place a new sub-model I turn on the placing cube and drop it onto the others. It helps if this point is set away from the main model in an area that is not going to be populated by other models.
To retro-fit this method you would have to add the cube component to the main model then copy into each of the sub-model components before each sub-model back out (right-click - “Save As”).
I may not understand your workflow, so perhaps my earlier reply is not relevant. Here is a scenario where my earlier reply could help. If this is not your scenario, then perhaps you could explain your scenario again.
Say that you have a SketchUp model of a box. The box is a Component, in SketchUp terms. You want to use this box in some other SketchUp models (e.g., a model of a shelf that has an instance of the box on it; a model of a table with a few instances of the box on it). Those other models (shelf, table) are stored as separate .skp model files. Store the box in its own .skp model file. This could be done by originally creating the box as a model by itself, and saving it. Or if the box was created within another larger .skp model, then select an instance of the box component within that larger model, right-click the box, and choose “Save As…” from the pop-up context menu and then write the box Component to its own box.skp model file.
To modify the box, open the box’s box.skp model file and make changes, then save the box’s box.skp model file to create a new version.
To pick up those box modifications within another model file (e.g., the shelf model file), open the other shelf.skp model file and select an existing instance of the box component. Right-click the box, and choose the “Reload…” item from the pop-up context menu. Using the file browser that appears, locate and select the box.skp model file that contains the box. As soon as that is complete, all instances of the box component that are in the shelf model (as an example) will be immediately updated with the recently-saved version of the box model. The Move tool is never used in this scenario. If there are 1 or 2 or 5 or 500 instances of the box Component in the model, all of them will update in-place with the recently-changed box model after the “Reload…” function has been used to pull in the modified box Component.
Yes, thank you Anthony, we were doing this too, but as you wouls agree it is a little clunky.
And thank tou tdahl, I see what you mean, we worked out the save out method too, but when 4 or 5 people are working on a project and each is relying on up to date cross referencing of other’s work it becomes a frenetic unproductive workflow.
I think i was mistaken earlier as ive had another try of the paste in place functionality. I may have tried reloading a group without making a component, as i tried a component last night and it is possible to reload it. This obviates the need of a cube as used by Anthony, and the need to save out.
In any case i will be getting a developer to automate a cross referencing solution now that i know it is readily possible.
Thank you for your replies.
Thanks John.
Yes it is useful, but it looks like we will be specifying our own solution
soon to better meet our needs.
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Law Architects Pty LtdThe Old Dairy
45 Watkins St
Fitzroy North 3068
T: 03 9489 9200 www.lawarchitects.com.au http://www.lawarchitects.com.au/
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Hi,
Thanks for the contact.
I have a functional spec and will be asking for a quote via the Upwork site
within the next week or so.
Would you be interested?
Do you have a website or can you tell me about the work you’ve done with
the Sketchup API?
Thanks,
George.
Business Manager
Law Architects Pty LtdThe Old Dairy
45 Watkins St
Fitzroy North 3068
T: 03 9489 9200 www.lawarchitects.com.au http://www.lawarchitects.com.au/
The information contained in this e-mail and any attachments are
confidential
and are intended solely for the use of the addressee or someone authorised
to
receive the addressee’s e-mail. If you have received the e-mail in error,
please
notify the sender by return e-mail, delete the e-mail from your computer
system and destroy any printed copy. There is no warranty that this email
is
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represent the view of Law Architects Pty Ltd.
Will you be making your solution publicly available as it sounds very interesting. I would be keen to know how your solution varies from and if it will be fully Mac compatible.
Hi Anthony,
For us a solution to this will be the lynch pin for making this a viable alternative to Revit and Archicad, but I will be funding the development myself.
Yes I intend to put it on sale so I can recoup some cost, but it will depend how much extra it will cost to debug and develop it for Mac as well.