Issue with copying using the move tool

Hello guys I am in need of help here. I can copy objects using the move tool, however the distancing is off. I believe that SU is measuring the distance between two objects by the midpoints. I want the distance between the copied object and the original object to be measured from outer edge to outer edge. So if I copy and move a copied cylinder and enter 2 feet, the objects will overlap each other.

SketchUp does not know where the bounds of an item are. The dimension you enter is measured from the point you click to select the items.

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That’s just not the way the Move tool works. You’ll need to figure out the required move distance and enter it or use a guide as a reference.

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I have watched videos on youtube by this person called Sketchup essentials. He shows us how to create a copy of an object (for example a cylinder). The way he says we should do this is through the move tool because it will allow us to create copies of an object with precise distances. So If I wanted to create 5 cylinders of the exact same dimensions and same distances from each other, copy and pasting would be more difficult and unnaccurate. That is why he reccomends using the move tool where you can enter in a distance.

skip to 7:30

Yes Move/Copy is the way to do it. As Aaron says, the move distance is the distance between clicks. Justin shows that in his video.

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My problem is that I follow the exact steps on the video and the distance between my objects is off. I’m not sure what you mean by the move distance is the distance between clicks.

You need to account for the size of the object, as well. If you want a 1’ cylinder 2’ from the next, then you have to move it 3’

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How wide is the base of you cylinder? Because it looks a lot bigger than 2’

well that makes it complicated for no reason. Why do I have to caluclate the differences of the distance every time I want to copy and paste. In the video Justine does not mention that and he demonstrates in a simpler way. He doesnt take into account the lenght of the cylinder. He just enters a distance and SU automatically places it for him. Not the distance between the midpoints, but the distance between the outer edges of the objects.

Please look at 9:15 of the video I linked before. He demonstrates moving an object 10 ft. No where in the process does he have to account for the size of the object.

It simply an issue of length. You are moving the cylinder less than the thickness of the cylinder. That will cause them to overlap. Move is a relative process. How far from the start point to the end point.

Also, that is actually what Justin does in his video. He is just moving smaller cubes, so they don’t overlap.

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and from the looks of it, his cylinder isn’t that much smaller than mine.

Watch his video again and pay attention to the numbers he enters in the lower right corner…

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He puts in 10ft at 9:15 of the video. He doesn’t put anything larger than that to taken into account the size of the cylinder.

Right, but his cylinder is only a few feet across… not over ten.

If you want to follow Justin’s video, you have to follow ALL the steps, including the ones he used to create the cylinder.

I am on my phone so I cannot see his exact input, but it is well below 10’

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in 10:09 he moves the cyldiner 3 ft and it still works for him. No overlapping. So im pretty sure its not the correct way to take into account the thickness of the cyldinder.

Also, I think thats something that Justin would’ve mentioned since it would be an important step to the process. I’ve seen two of his videos so far and he is pretty straightforward about everything.

The radius of the cilinder is 10 ¾” , so, entering a ten feet distance would create a gap of 8 feet and 2 ½ inches.