It’s no secret that SketchUp is a great design tool, but our team had some problems using it.
We are an interior design team and we use SketchUp to design everything about their private homes for our clients.Now, as our business grows, our need for the function of section box is increasing day by day.But SketchUp doesn’t have this feature.Although this can be achieved through the multi-group feature, it will bring more lag as you use it.As a result, our team had to consider changing tools as needed.Before we do that, we wonder if SketchUp will update the Slice Box feature.Thank you。
Thank you and look forward to your reply
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The section tool is a 2D feature in a 3D world. Yes it has its place in documentation, but as modelling becomes increasingly detailed the section tool also needs to move into the 3D domain to quickly deliver constrained views.
I do think representative section fills is and will be the biggest challenge for the developers though.
Do you mean something like that:
If so, I absolutely back you up on that. The integration of such functionality in Sketchup would be great. Achieving that involves work arounds way too heavy to be viable on big models.
Or simply destructive.
But I get your point for the toll taken for section fill @DGSketcher
Though… Isn’t it somewhat similar to displaying an object with several nested active section plans intersecting with each other?
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I have an opposite view of what the Section Box in your image should be doing. For me I think it should be the other way round e.g. the box retains the contents. There is merit to both options. I just think that the primary need is limiting the elements outside the box to allow the user to focus on the contents. Think of it as a temporary clipping mask or crop tool. It would be awesome if it basically worked as a boolean intersection with any solid shape…
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both ? both.
The same way a section plane can be flipped to look one way or the other, a section box should be switch-able to either show or hide content. as you say, like a boolean tool that would either clip or intersect.
that could be a good tool. not sure how simple / complex that would be in SU.
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Moved this revived thread to feature requests.
+1 for this idea of a “shaped section”. No reason it could not be reversible like current section planes to cut inward or outward. This same tool could also be used to create adjustable nondestructive voids in geometry. Imagine a “box section” grouped with a window element that cut holes in any multi plane wall it was placed on. The corresponding void would move with the window and the wall it was placed on would not require adjusting. If the section fill material was set to the same material as the wall (could be an available setting per section to adopt textures from planes being sectioned) then the “box section” would appear as a cut window hole in a solid wall.
This type of multi plane cutting component has also long been requested as a feature. If developed with these workflows in mind it’s possible one tool could support both requests here.
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If I remember correctly, Navisworks allows for two “cutting planes” defining a visible slice of the model.
For SketchUp, I am thinking of adding a contextual menu for an existing cutting plane with switches to specify single plane or double plane and, for each plane (when double is selected), a switch to specify the cutting direction for each one. Then once defined, the user would be able to move each plane to proper position and would also be able to rotate the pair of planes around any axis or any edge, like we can already do with regular cutting plane.
A pair of cutting planes could be like a group. The group being moveable and rotatable at will.
A double click on the group would allow moving individual cutting plane to widen or flatten the cutting box.
I agree with you. Scan Essentials already does it so it would not be a problem to include in SketchUp
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Yes this one is useful too, but there is an easy workaround for that already.
A cube with nested section plans:
This is scalable and quite easy to manipulate,
Provided that you then put your geometry INSIDE that hierarchy tree monstrosity:
But it works.
The reversed version of that though, the one in the first picture, is impossible to do without breaking all your geometry, or copying it over iself multiple times… a no go.
Since the original poster is working in interior design, I believe that’s what he had in mind.
When doing architecture, there is one major use for a section box retaining the inside for me:
Dealing with depth clipping
It would certainly be easier than using 2 nested Section plans.
Yes to that.
Now a “Shaped section” not limited to a box shape would be a step even further.
To keep things relatively humble, even an “editable” 6 sides box would open nice possiblities, and probably not make the math much different than a regular box.
Yes, I would use that one too. And probably not just in architecture.
But if the section material should match the object it cuts, it might be very close to the live boolean function that Justin brought up in his feature requests.
I’d make it 2 separate tools though. To leave sections plan or boxes in their own category, with more restricted behaviours.
+1 request for this feature.
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I don’t disagree the solution offered works, BUT Trimble should be in no doubt that this isn’t an “easy” or practical option when requiring multiple different box cuts. Quite simply it works once on a model and therefore requires duplication or separate files for each area/volume** of the model requiring isolation.
In the same way the Section Cuts are stored in Outliner, the same should apply to a Cutter so it can be selected as “Active” and its “Clipping” or “Cutaway” mode selected.
.
**A volume might be the lift shaft, stairwell, kitchen, bathroom or any other room or feature that needs viewed in context without elements that fall outside the immediate focus.
Oh yeah I’m with you on that, it is certainly not practical.
And as you point out it works once, unless you make your model an even more hellish nested thing.
It remains a workaround, and that was a stretch to call it “easy”.
It is easy just in comparison to the reversed version of that: The hole opening box.
Yes, exactly like a regular section.
And probably one more button in the section toolbar:
(no idea what are naming conventions for section boxes)
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Twinmotion has section boxes (that can be animated). It would be fun to have section boxes that can animate via scenes the same way current section planes do.
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Trimble Connect 3D Viewer has a “section box”, too
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I also agree with all of these requests.
However they could be solved if sketchup would allow more thwn one section to be active in a single context at the same time
AND
that the effects of a section would be cut off when intersecting another section.
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Interesting timing.
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Hello,
I liked the idea of your suggestion, and I don’t know if Trimble will respond favorably.
In the meantime, here is my proposal via my plugin SJ SectionBox.
I hope it will meet your expectations.
I remain open to any suggestions for improvements, within the limits of my skills
Thank you for your feedback
more explanation https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sj-sectionbox/306336
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thanks for the promotion !
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Cool. Interested to try it out. I’ll keep feedback to your other extension specific post.
For this feature request thread:
Would anyone be interested in a “master section” designation that made a section plane cut everything it touched regardless of grouping or nesting? Imagine right clicking on a placed section plane and choosing “make master section” then that plane would cut all geometry in a model, rather than respecting context.
This idea could be elaborated on with options like “section by tag” or section by nesting level. But to start with it could be either in current context (as it is now) or cut everything if master section.
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