To learn about components and how one operation on one is reflected on its’ clones, I decide to try it out in my project, So I’m creating a rectangular shape outside of my main shape just to try out something. So I create this rectangle, then double click on it to select the borders + the surface area of this rectangle, and then I do “Make component”; immediately after that, I double click on it again, and It does seem to highlight in blue the same selections as before (borders + surface area); and yet again it shows me the option to “Make component” and there is no “Edit component”; it’s like the component I just created was never actually happened.
Any ideas? This is just an experiment as I failed to get what I really wanted in the first place, so I am debugging what is it thats not working.
Don’t double click, that opens the component for editing already.
That helped; If I don’t double click then I am now presented with the menu option: “Edit component”!
However, I move+copy the rectangle now from “Corner of component”; but it doesn’t seem to act like a component clone, as I amd rawing circles on top of the original component and those aren’t recreated/reflected on the copied rectangle; any idea?
Are you editing the component to draw the circles?
Though it’s not apparent from your clip that you are doing that; I just tried your suggestion and chose “Edit Component” menu option before adding the circle and it worked! IT did it on both rectangles.
Is that what you do as well? Otherwise, how?
By the way, I am very grateful for your support here “Box”
I double click to open for editing, which as i mentioned before is the same as Right Click Edit Component.
Its the quick way.
Something to keep in mind.
Sketchup geometry is sticky and we put it in groups and components to stop it sticking to everything. You basically wrap relevant geometry in a ‘skin’ and you need to get inside that skin to edit it.
This wrapped geometry has a visual reference, a bounding box. When you single click on a group or component you will see it selected with a blue bounding box. This ‘solid’ blue bounding box tells you it is selected and can be moved etc but not edited, it is closed for editing.
But if you double click or right click and choose Edit Component the bounding box will turn gray and expand which is the visual cue that you have opened the group/component for editing. Clicking outside the box will close it again.
There are others ways to interact with them, for example a selected group will open by hitting enter/return and will close by hitting escape.
There are many ways to do things in sketchup.
Understanding this grouping of geometry is a fundamental that you will work with every step of the way.
This is very helpful Box; the distinction between the blue bounding box and the gray one is something I didn’t know before; much appreciated.
Maybe this worth a different Q thread; but one thing I was wondering about is why sometimes the blue border would only highlight two sides of the rectangle and not the 4 of them when clicking? then I need to click another 1-2 times maybe to get the face + the sides highlighted as well.
Three clicks selects all connected geometry.
One click selects a face or an edge, depending on where the cursor hovers over.
Double click selects a face and it’s bounding edges. Or an edge with it’s connected faces, depending on what the cursor hovers over…
Triple click selects all connecting geometry as @endlessfix said.
This is only true when clicking on raw geometry, not groups and components.
Watch this: https://youtu.be/O81znFiVeRQ?si=jY2p-U9xOzURl0mS
Thank you; the video link is great. I think I was seeing it might be that the browser rendering just hasn’t been consistent or uniform where it should be; so a blue selected surface might appear not blue (unselected) or even sometimes partially blue as in this attached image (bottom surface).
Have you seen that before?
What you have there is what’s called z-fighting. This is when two faces occupy the same place in 3d space and the computer fights to show one or the other as neither is dominant. As you move around you will see the selection flashes as it moves.
So somehow you have raw geometry faces on top of grouped geometry, or a grouped face sitting on raw geometry.
This explains it, thanks Box!