I’ve copied a component, Fold out table angle support 1, and made unique. The name of the component copy is “Fold out table angle support 1#1”. I’d like to change the name to “Fold out table angle support 2”. However, when I highlight the component copy, right click, and select Rename, the name blanks. Then, when I type “Fold out table angle support 2”, the name of the component copy now is “Fold out table angle support 2” followed by the original unique copy name in brackets (<>) and it doesn’t fall in the Outliner component list immediately below “Fold out table angle support 1”. Why is it placing the original component copy name in brackets (<>) and is there another way to rename components without this happening?
Sounds like you want to change the definition name. Do that in Entity Info. Renaming in Outliner is for changing the Instance name.
FWIW, if a component has have instance name the format of the naming is as you’ve seen Instance_Name<Defintion_Name>
Perhaps you can clarify the difference between the definition name and the instance name. Though there will be 4 fold out table angle supports, I would have thought that the instance name would be “fold out…support 1”, “fold out…support 2”, etc. What is signified by the unique component name “…#2” is the “#2” to indicate a second instance?
The Definition name is the name the component gets. If you skip typing in a name during creation SketchUp gives the definition name as Component#1, Component#2, etc. An instance name only applies to a single instance of the component. So you might have four identical table legs–four instances of the same component–but give each one its own instance name such as front left leg, front right leg, and so on.
If you make an instance or instances of a component unique, SketchUp initially appends a number to the definition name and you can rename it as desired. Again, that’s the Definition Name.
Not the second instance, the second defnition.
What is your purpose for using Make Unique for the support?
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Thanks Dave. I am relatively new to SketchUp. However, it has been my understanding that what distinguishes components is that you can have multiple, what I would call, instances and that if not unique, editing one instance will edit all of the instances. Making the components unique would result in editing one not editing the others. Am I incorrect? Are there other considerations that are important here or have importantly different applications?
Steve
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.” (Vivian Greene, 2006)
That is correct.
No. That is correct, too.
Well, it depends on what you need to do with the component that makes some different from others. Starting from a common component and using Make Unique can be a good way to create new components when many of the details are the same or at least similar. For example, on this bed, the horizontal components in the foot and headboards are identical so they are instances of the same components. The vertical components are different but not by much. I modeled the footboard first, made a copy of the entire footboard to use as the headboard. I made all of the vertical components in the copy unique and then edited them to increase their height as needed. Of course I also edited the names of those parts such as changing Fotboard Leg to Headboard Leg.
I have seen some users apply Make Unique when it doesn’t make a lot of sense. For example when the left and right legs are identical but mirrored, there’s no need to use Make Unique on one them.
FWIW, I rarely ever care about giving instances their own names. Only the definition names have value in most of my models.