Am following instruction video about dimensioning but when i move the kitchen table in SU, save file, go to LO, update model refs, nothing happens. What likely mistake am I making please? Also I noticed that when i moved to another page in LO after labelling (just out of curiosity), all the labels from the page I had just left were still scattered about on the screen. What’s happening there? Thanks.
One possibility is that the dimensions are not attached to the correct object. This attachment happens when you place the dim- it will snap to different things, but it’s not always reliable.
Another possibility is that LO isn’t synced with the latest changes made in SU.
To ensure they are synced:
- SU: update scenes if applicable
- SU: save file
- LO: ensure you’re still referencing the correct sketchup file, e.g. not an old version. re-link if needed
- LO: update model reference- one way to do this is to right click the relevant viewport and then ‘update model ref…’
- LO: render model (if you don’t use auto-render)
As for your second issue: Are those items assigned to the On Every Page layer?
Layout’s layer workflow isn’t as smooth as tags in sketchup. You’ve gotta be pretty diligent about keeping track of what is set as the active layer. For this reason I have the layers pane showing at all times.
Thanks Bubbavox, I have updated scenes and saved the file in SU. I’ve tried relinking, but then paused there because I see this (screenshot below) when I start the process and am not sure if the files being offered are the same as the SU file you can see loaded behind my LO file (name: Kitchen_LO_v16 - Sketch Pro23) vs the file name offered in the drop down list in my SU model dialogue box which ends in _48964.skp. I am not sure how to unlink before relinking or if it is necessary. I can’t find that option in any of the commands anyway. And, apologies, I am very new to this, but where will I find the options to auto render my model (in SU or LO?)
Also, I have dimensioned the table from above and believe I have the right bits of the model. I went in very close and it looked convincing.
As for label behaviour, when i highlight a label and look in the layer menu, it says it is on the default layer… There’s an option in there to include only entities from this page or to collect entities from all pages, is this where i choose something that will stop this from happening?
And that tip about the layers pane is very helpful, thanks.
Without seeing your file structure I am going to guess that is the embedded SKP file and not the one you are working on.
Did you perhaps move the SKP file location, change folders, do a save as or similar?
You need to find the file you are working on - I don’t think you have saved it in the location you are showing in the screenshot.
To be safe, do a Save as… of the LO file, then go to Document Setup and References, then re-link the file to where your current working model is located.
Having a tidy file naming and file structure system helps a lot. I never append my SKP file names - I only append when I make major changes and then I do a save a copy, give it a date appendage or description, and keep working in my main file. This cuts down on needing to guess which file is current and what is linked in Layout.
So my folders are:
Documents>Projects202X>Client-Project
Inside Client-Project (example BobtheBuilder-Smith) I have Source and Archive folders. Source is for DWG, sketches, PDFs, etc.
Archive is for older files.
Then I have my SU and LO files.
BobtheBuilder-Smith.skp is the main file, then as the project goes on I might do Save Copy - and give it a descriptor.
I do similar with my LO files.
I know if something goes sideways with dimensions or the scene not updating to check the Document Setup and if I see ‘ref’ or any weird folder structure I can go to the proper folder quickly to get things working again (for me, working alone, this usually only happens if I pull out a project from a couple years ago that might have been moved to my storage drives, or if a client has made some tweaks to a model or a LO file and I need to update or make corrections).
Yeah, that sounds like LayOut is using its internal or temporary copy of the old SketchUp file. I tested this in my own project, by renaming the SU file and then opening the LO file – the reference list showed a SU file in red, with weird numbers at the end of the filename, and its status is ‘Missing’. Or it might be black and say ‘Embedded’. But you probably want its status to be ‘Current’.
Now there are a couple different ways to modify document links, and they have different behavior. I’m on Windows – not sure how this translates to the Mac interface.
1. Document references:
File > Document Setup > References
Each LayOut file keeps a list of external references – including all the SU files linked in the document. Here, you can edit that list of references, and change the file location of any given reference. This change will affect any LO viewports referencing that SU file.
2. Per viewport references:
LO's SketchUp Model Pane > 'link' icon
This will change the file reference only for that viewport. This is helpful sometimes, but usually in my workflow I’m using a single SU file for all my viewports.
So, for example if you change one viewport’s reference to the correct file, instead of correcting the document’s reference list, you will have a 2nd SU file show up in the reference list. I illustrate this scenario in a GIF, and show how to fix it so that all viewports link to the correct file. In this example, I want all viewports to reference a single SU file called SketchUp Project v2.skp .
Might need to open the GIF in a new tab, or download it, for full screen:
In the GIF, changing the reference for the viewport was unnecessary, and it would be more sensible to just go straight to ‘Document Setup > References’.
Also, since you asked about auto-render, I also show how to toggle auto-render off and then on, in the ‘SketchUp Model’ pane, via a checkbox. I usually keep it off, since rendering can take a while (and plus, LayOut has recently been frequently crashing when I render).
As for your issue with Dimensions: This might have been a side-effect of the model reference issue. But generally, an alternative to fixing the attachment link (whatever it’s called), is to manually edit the dimension, by double-clicking, then moving the dots around. But it definitely is nice when it’s properly attached.
As for your issue with Layers: Yes, I forgot: Each layer has the option to be shown on every page. By default there is a layer called ‘On Every Page’, which has that option enabled. In order to fix layers which were accidentally shown on all pages, I think you need to go to the page where you want them to show, right-click them, and 'Move to Layer > [desired layer]`. At least, that would be one way to fix it. If they have already been accidentally moved to a different page, you can Cut or Copy those objects, then go to the page you want them to be on, and Paste. It’s equivalent to SketchUp’s wonderful ‘paste in place’.
General tip: Make changes in SketchUp rather than LayOut, when possible. For example, rather than customizing the style or tag visibility via Layout’s ‘sketchup model’ pane, make a new Sketchup scene with those settings, and then set the LO viewport to show that new scene. Because D.R.Y.. One exception I can think of is setting custom line weight and color for a specific tag – LayOut offers more options. In my GIF, the purple lines were set via LO. Another exception might be setting the camera position in a 3D view, because it can be tedious to fine tune it between the 2 apps.
Tips about LO performance (Not necessarily verified, but worth a try).
- Rendering in ‘Raster’ mode seems faster than ‘Vector’ or ‘Hybrid’, but each mode has its tradeoffs, such as the way it handles transparency. Sometimes I will render everything in raster until I am done with the project, and then set things to Vector or Hybrid. Sometimes I have layered viewports, and must set the top viewport to vector so that I can see the raster viewport below. Not sure, there might be some way to set transparent backgrounds in SketchUp, or something, to allow transparent Raster viewports.
- In Document Setup > Paper, I set ‘Render resolution’ to low or med, and ‘Output resolution’ to high. I’m not sure whether it will remember this setting for a new file, but it will if you save it as a Template.
- Generally I minimize the number of objects show in any given scene, hide unnecessary tags, and make the objects shown as simple as possible (simple solids vs. thousands of polygons). Sometimes, if you use models from the 3D warehouse, or exported from other CAD apps, they will have overly complex geometry.
- The worst aspect of LayOut for me is the laggy text editing, and I don’t have a solution for that. It happens on the highest-end hardware. I wonder if messing with the OS (windows in my case) font / performance settings would help.
You may want to investigate LayOut Essentials.
Another option is to post the .layout file for examination.
Fantastic thank you. So much wisdom and generosity of time. That is exactly what was happening.
Thank you so much. Really valuable information. I’m very grateful for your time and advice.