SketchUp Extension: Regroup

Extensions
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Regroup is my new SketchUp extension and in this video, I explain what it is in more detail.
I also compare it with a similar extension named Axis Tool by Thomthom and explain the difference between each other. Enjoy!

I plan to develop more SketchUp extensions in the future!

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Hi Rafael (@indie3d ), at the end of your video you ask for feedback.

I’ll always look for ways to do things with SketchUp’s basic tools and operations first. Exploding is one that I try to avoid.
Extentions are great for repetitive operations or with (for instance) more advanced math involved, no doubt. Like selecting more than one group to instantly reposition the local axes and local origin for all.

I do have one major issue with your extention though. At 4:48 to 4:52 you say that the group will be exploded and regrouped. That introduces the problem of default basic geometry inside the group’s container inheriting tags and materials applied to the container of that group
(I can’t check your extention right now, no PC at hand).

Maybe there is a way to change the local axes when being inside a group to match the current drawing axes just outside the container. Iterating through all the groups in the selection. More or less like doing it manually. That would avoid tags and materials issues.
I don’t know much about Ruby and programming but users should be aware of these “exploding” issues.

Saludo,
@wo3Dan

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Actually I would love an extension that explodes a group or component and set all the entities tag properties to “untagged” (better Dan?)

that should be the default action by native sketchup “explode”.

the mess that the native “explode” tool creates is bloody annoying and completely NOT intuitive

in fact contradicts all the advice both Sketchup and experienced users provide!
thanks for the reminder @CarolynF

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That part can be handled by:
Default Layer Geometry | SketchUcation :wink:

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“…completely not intuitive” you mean?

I know about how SketcUp handles ‘Explode’ now but my warning was for those who forgot or don’t know at all.
@dezmo, is this only for tags or also for materials?

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It will assign layer | tag [to Layer0 | Untagged] for all selected “geometry” AND also any “geometry” inside selected Groups and Instances.
_

This one adds various methods to remove material from your models:
tt_material_tools SketchUp Plugins | PluginStore | SketchUcation

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I need to correct this misstatement. Tags (formerly Layers) are not geometric collections, so cannot “hold” entities, nor can entities be in or on a tag/layer.

Tags (formerly Layers) are shared display property sets. An Entity has a property that is assigned to point at a tag. The tag properties tell the SketchUp rendering engine how to and whether or not to display the entities assigned to use them.

Weirdly, “Untagged” is actually a model’s default tag. (Formerly a layer named “Layer0”.)

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I learned the hard way about what ‘exploding’ does by watching random stuff turn on and off like a twinkle-light Christmas tree while toggling tag visibility. I spent hours figuring it out. It’s ironic that the SketchUp online user manual specifically mentions that users should refrain from assigning tags to loose geometry, yet the program goes right ahead and does exactly that without any warning at all.

Just a simple popup warning would have been very helpful.

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Thanks, good to know… I usually resort to “Cleanup3” extension for that capability… but would be nice to have an extension that both exploded and put everything on “untagged” in one shortcut key… “x” in my case!

PS just added the “Cleanup3” Geometry to Layer0 function to a shortcut “Alt-x” so at least that is on quick call too! almost as good a a single keystroke

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Hi @Wo3Dan, you are absolutely right about issues with exploding groups. At first, I was not considering the negative effects of exploding groups & components.

One developer offered me an example code where the local axis can be fixed without the need of exploding by using transformation instead. And, it fixes both the position & orientation. Again thanks for the valuable feedback!

I was also not expecting that a TAG assigned to SketchUp Group would transfer the TAG value to the loose geometry when exploding that Group. Seems forced to me and I agree that a Yes or No UI Message Box for choosing whether to transfer TAG to the result of an explosion can mitigate people getting surprised by this automatic action.

This is useful but seems SketchUp’s default explode feature can be changed to avoid confusion about TAG value Transfering without people knowing.

Thanks for the info!

This is a good example of what can go wrong when transferring TAG value to resulting lose entities of that explosion.

That is a nice idea. I was thinking of developing a tool called ‘Nuclear’, ‘The Bomb’ or something along does lines that would explode everything and assign it to “untagged”. This will include exploding groups inside of groups, inside of groups, etc.

Also, it would be nice to have a UI HTML dialog for selecting various destructing options. For example, removing all materials, scenes/pages, tags, etc.

Of course, before activating the tool it would need to make a dramatic WARNING message explaining the severity of the tool’s action.

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