# Cutlist and Layout plugin for Sketchup



## daltxguy

The CutList 4.1 sketchup plugin helps you determine how much of each material you need to produce your design, taking into account nominal sized lumber with allowances for finishing to final size. Then it goes one further and lays out all of the pieces on boards or sheet good sizes of your choosing.

The discussion of this plugin has long lived in my original blog ( where you will still find lots of useful information) but it has grown to where it should live in its own forum.

If you want a copy you can download v4.1.10 here
( I do my best to keep this link up to date with the latest version ). it is easier now to simply install the extension from within Sketchup from the Sketchup Extension Warehouse. (From within Sketchup, Window->Extension Warehouse, then search for cutlist and install from its plugin page)

Note: The Cutlist plugin has been tested to run with Sketchup 6, Sketchup 7, Sketchup 8, SU2013.
Both Mac and Windows is supported, with the caveat on the Mac that the html output for the layout does not work - use the svg output instead to produce the same result ( this is a known issue and current unsolvable because of an issue with the safari browser)

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions, please post them here and I or someone who can help will respond asap. I am the current author/maintainer of the plugin and am committed to making it as bug free and useful as possible. It has enjoyed quite a bit of scrutiny from the woodworking community, and, as a community we have made it a very popular and useful plugin. There have been nearly 22,000 downloads of the plugin to date since the revamped v4.0. first released July, 2008.

I'll be posting 'the best of' the blog and other tips/hints here from time to time.


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## sIKE

Most awesomeness! Your plug-ins all grown up and get its own fourm!


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## daltxguy

*Q. Is it easy to add multiple units?
I mean, sometimes you want to make two units and each one takes about 1.5 sheets.*

*A*. There's no way to multiply the number of units through the plugin, but if you cut and paste a second copy of your model and select it for the plugin, then it would lay out all of the pieces from both.
It's an interesting idea, however, and I may add this option later.


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## FatherHooligan

Thanks for setting this up. A great plugin and one that I have used to help me build (in the process right now) my bathroom vanity.


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## dedov

I have problem importing cvs into CutListPlus. When the names of the parts or materials have non english names they are not recognized properly in CutListPlus, but are okay in CutList.

!http://img26.imageshack.us/i/26471606.jpg/(http://img26.imageshack.us/i/26471606.jpg/)!:http://img26.imageshack.us/i/26471606.jpg/


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## dedov

I checked already and CutListPlus recognized cyrillic names properly. The problem is with cvs from CutList. I had to disable "." as a separation symbol in the ruby code to use ";" instead. I'm trying to adapt SketchUP for furniture design and here in East Europe things are different - we are using mainly MDF, MDF profiles, aluminum profiles and melamine faced boards. Profiles are charged per lineal meters not cubic meters and there is no way to set banding, different sheet goods sizes and profile sizes in CutList.


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## dedov

Thanks, but this is easy in CutListPlus - the problem is with the export of the cvs into the program. I need to use the same names of the materials, hardware and joinery as my suppliers to be easy to order.


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## daltxguy

Hi *dedov*,

Thanks for the feedback.

I have made some changes to Cutlist to accommodate language issues already in the past.

The following rules are applied for cvs files:

If the sketchup language is british or american english, then the cvs separation character is ','
If the sketchup language is anything else, then the separation character is ';' This is to accommodate the use of the ',' to represent the decimal in languages other than English.

Note that I made these changes to accommodate sketchup decisions on what to display and to make it easier to import the cvs file. I key the decision on the language selected in sketchup.

As for the part name, I merely take what it received from Sketchup and write it to the file with no modifications.

Now, having said that. I feel your pain. There are improvements which can still be made which are more sensitive to the needs of CutListPlus specifically. I did not have a licensed copy of CutListPlus, only a very old version when some of the changes were made and I was flying 'blind' as it were. I rely on people like you to point out inconsistencies to make improvements.

I am happy to hear your suggestions and to incorporate them into the next version and have you as the guinea pig to try out a beta version in the meantime.

Contact me via PM using the LJ site and we can discuss what changes are required.

Now the other thing which I might add to reassure you a bit is that I have recently made contact with Todd Peterson, who is the author/owner of CutListPlus and he has provided me with a license for CutListPlus and I have arranged to have a closer cooperation with him to make sure CutList keep up to the capabilities of CutListPlus.

I am aware that the two tools are being used together and I can see why it is useful to do so and I hope to sort out any issue which you may have which might be under my control.

The last thing which is important to know is that i make no money off of Cutlist or my work on collaborating with CutListPlus. I do it in my spare time because I believe strongly that technology should help to save some wood if possible.

Your comment about including linear metres is loud and clear. I had intended to put an option in the next version which would then list in both metres and cu.m.
Also, the ability to customize sheet sizes in on the todo list. In any case if you are using CutListPlus, you need only to import the correct details of your parts and let CLP do the rest.

Feel free to contact me and we can discuss further the changes which you would like to see.

Steve


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## dedov

Hi daltxguy,
And thanks for your help. 
I thought that the choice of the cvs separation character is based on the locale of the Windows, not SketchUP.
I replaced ',' with ';' in the code to always use it because in my country we are using ',' as a decimal symbol.
For the profiles (moldings) maybe another check mark Include-Profiles, field for Profile Word and option to give length in lineal meters. For the banding I can include in the name of the component banding abbreviation as in CutListPlus, separeted with the cvs separation character - Nameofthecomponent;1W-2L.
If you can somehow use this to put additional column in the cvs for import in CutListPlus. I see a lot of potential for SketchUP and CutListPlus here in East Europe in furniture design. Most of the specialized software is based on AutoCAD - it costs around 4500 euro in my country. SketchUP is easy, free, flexsible and perfect for our type of work - 80% melamine faced boards here in Bulgaria. The most used low cost program here and in Russia is Pro 100 - http://www.pro100usa.com/
But it is closed - no import-export and no longer in development. I have program that translates text files produced by Pro 100 into format to import in CutListPlus and it works perfectly with cyrillic names. Sory, but i don't have 5 messages to send you PM. And sorry for my english !


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## formerflyer

You may have answered this in previous posts, but has the problem with displaying the layout using Safari on a Mac been solved, other than using SVG output then opening the file in Firefox? I'm sorry is this is an old question.


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## daltxguy

Hi *formerflyer*/Tim. Thanks for your question. I've answered your question below along with some related questions that may arise from my answer.

*Q. Does the Cutlist plugin layout work with Mac with the Safari browser?*
The short answer is no. The only option is to generate the svg file and view it in a svg capable browser like Firefox or with an open source program like Inkscape

*Q.Will the layout in a web browser window be fixed for a Mac?*
Unfortunately, there is no real solution without a redesign. The utilities I use to draw the layout creates an html script which must then be executed by the browser. Safari doesn't allow it to be executed. It's a security thing because this method is a common and very simple way that viruses sometimes use to infect your computer.

*Q. Can I select the browser to use for Sketchup?*
A. No. Sketchup doesn't allow this, otherwise that might have been a solution, though I think Google Sketchup people have received an earful about this already. I think it should use the default browser for your computer or at best be settable to the browser of your choice. It's not there yet, however.


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## formerflyer

Steve,

Thank you so much for your reply. The plug-in is excellent even with this glitch. I go the route of generating the .svg file then opening with Firefox or Safari (both seem to open the file O.K.) then print it out from there. Your work surely saves all of us a great deal of effort. It is greatly appreciated.

Tim


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## Innovator

Thanks for the link. I downloaded the file and I will install it in a few days.


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## daltxguy

Thanks for your comments *formerflyer*(Tim) and *Innovator*
The svg format turned out better than I thought it would. It's quite easy to generate and it gives you many options for printing etc.

Another idea that has been suggested by several people is to generate the layout inside the sketchup model putting the actual parts inside the board/sheet and creating a view. This is something I'd really like to try but it's going to take some work, so feel free to encourage me if you think this is a good option, but also be patient!


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## dedov

Hi daltxguy,
I meant no offense - it is just really hard to me writing in english. I also would like to thank you for this wonderful tool and your effort helping us!


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## daltxguy

Hi *dedov*,

No offense taken. My apologies for not getting back to the discussion yet. Your comments covered a lot of ground and I haven't had a chance to get through it yet to see what might be changed as a result. I was away for several days on business. I promise I will comment in greater detail within a few days.
Your English is very good, btw and just as a note, English was not my first language either as I grew up in French-Canada with Hungarian parents but then eventually went to an English school!


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## CanadaJeff

Has anyone been able to get this to work sucessfully on a mac?

I can open the html but when i try to run it it crashes. Any installation advice for us mac users


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## dedov

I see. Thanks again!


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## daltxguy

*CanadaJeff*,
Apologies for the late reply. Yes, absolutely, it works with the Mac and there are many people using the plugin successfully.
There is a known issue ( as discussed above) regarding the output of the layout in the html format. This simply does not work on a Mac. Read the Q+A above for a more detailed explanation why and the workaround.
Everything else should work the same on both Windows and Mac OS systems.

For installation advice refer to my previous Cultist blog where someone was kind enough to share the instructions for the Mac. As I don't have a current Mac, I rely on the kindness of others who have done this.

If you still have issues, detail them here or send me a PM and we'll work through them.


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## daltxguy

Hi again *dedov*.

Some comments on your comments.

I use sketchup.getlocale to determine the language and therefore which delimiter character to use for the cvs files.

Sketchup documentation says this about this method:

"The get_locale method returns the language code for the language SketchUp is running in."

I assume that the language selected for sketchup is independent of the language selected for your OS and dependent on which version of Sketchup you've downloaded ( there is no way to change the language that i can see in Sketchup). So, I guess if you have downloaded an English version but running on a version of the OS which is other than English, you will still get the delimiters selected for the 'English' system.

A true choice of delimiter will be the final solution here, so you can put it to anything you want.

In any case, those adventurous like you can always change it by changing the ruby script. Look for this in the code:
if ( locale 'en-US' || locale 'en-GB' )
# The following line, if uncommented, uses tab characters instead of ',' as the delimiter
#@delimiter = "\ci" 
@delimiter = "," 
else
@delimiter = ";" 
end

As you can see, I've even inserted an option for using tab characters.

As for a better integration of CutList and CutListPlus, I totally agree and as I mentioned I have taken the first step by forged a relationship wuth Todd Peterson. Watch this space.

I like your suggestion for including profiles as another separate listing. This will make more sense when I have the option of customised boards lengths/widths and sheets because as you can imagine, profile/moldings are a whole other set of totally different and incompatible sizes from one country to the next.

I will take all these into consideration in a subsequent version but this will take some time. If there is anything quick and immediate I can do to make your life easier, I can consider making you a custom version for trial.
Please let me know.


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## dedov

Hi daltxguy,
I already changed the delimiter to ";" and it works fine. I appreciate your efforts, so take your time - we are grateful to have what we have now ! The main issue that bugs me is the problem with cyrilic characters and now it even stopped generating cvs - i didn't change anything! Maybe something with Java or Internet Explorer - i'm on XP SP3 and updated to the latest Java and Internet Explorer 8.


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## tooldad

Got it working on one computer, but not the other. Anyways, how can I print the lists. If I click on print view it goes to some weird web page with just the print view button. Any suggestions?


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## JackBarnhill

Hi daltxguy,

I just loaded the plugin and was looking it over. It looks very good but I was wondering if there will be Layout support for baltic birch ply that comes in 5'x5' sheets in the next release.

Thanks for the plugin and thanks for considering this inquiry.


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## daltxguy

Hi *tooldad*,

Are you using Mac or Windows?
Are you trying to print the cutlist or the layout?
Check at the top of the window which pops up ( the one with the print button in it). There might be a banner which comes asking you to enable ActiveX. If it does, then answer yes.

Your other option is to generate the excel readable 'CSV' file ( CSV stands for 'comma separated values' and it's just what it says. The data is written into a text file, each data column separated by a comma.) Excel is very happy to read these files and you can print it from there too).

Warning:Contains Technical content:

*Q. Why would my browser prevent me from seeing the print screen?* In order to print it creates a new window with html that must be executed. Browsers sometimes frown on this because it's similar to how some viruses work.

Let me know if that helps. If not and you need more help, contain me on PM and we'll work through it.

Steve


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## daltxguy

Hi Jack ( *Jack Barnhill* ),

You're in luck. I've already done this for the next version. If you want a pre-release version, contact me on PM and I'll send you a very early copy of 4.1.0. It's v4.0.7 with some tested new features - not nearly enough to be legitimately called v4.1.0 and not enough to release a v4.0.8.

Let me know if you want a copy.

Steve


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## stephenashelton

Great plugin, I appreciate your work.

It doesn't play very well with Sketchup under Linux + wine, I find myself having to boot windows when I want to use it. I suspect there's not a lot that can be done about that though.


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## daltxguy

Hi *stephenashelton*,

Thanks for your feedback and welcome to Lumberjocks!

I haven't tried running the plugin in Sketchup on Linux/Wine. Do any other plugins work?

I found this on the wine site( http://wiki.winehq.org/GoogleSketchup ), it could be this:

"bug 16511, fixed as of wine-1.1.11: To use the Ruby scripts (sketchup.google.com/download/rubyscripts.html) you'll need to convert them from DOS format to Unix format. (e.g. sudo apt-get install tofromdos; dos2unix -f parametric.rb windows.rb)"

There is only 1 ruby script for the plugin: CutListAndMaterials.rb
Maybe it needs to be converted, but if you have Wine 1.1.11, maybe it is ok now???

Steve


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## stephenashelton

daltxguy,

Thanks for the tip. I'm running wine 1.1.12, and I've tested other plugins which work just fine. I tried converting the line endings, but that didn't get me anywhere.

The initial window shows up, with the Cut List banner and "Run," "Close," "Save Settings," and "Help" buttons, nothing else. There is some console output that looks troublesome, but nothing looks particularly obvious.

I will create a bug report with Wine, as this probably has little to do with you 

Edit: Someone beat me to it:
http://bugs.winehq.org/show_bug.cgi?id=17221

Thanks a lot


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## daltxguy

Hi Stephen (*stephenashelton*),

Indeed someone did. I will keep an eye on this though, in case there is something that I need to do differently. It may not so much my plugin but some part of Sketchup I am using as part of the plugin. I am invoking an html script from within the plugin which requires it to be opened using a browser.

I know sketchup uses its own default browser ( no matter what your browser default is set to). In the case of Windoze, it's IE and for the Mac it's Safari. I suppose if you don't have IE installed on wine, it may do weird things. I don't know if Sketchup installs its own version of the browsers or relies on you having it already installed.

When I get a chance I'll get my linux system working again (I've had to switch to Windoze for compatibility with work since I now work remotely) and see if I can reproduce and add anything useful.

Thanks for taking the time to report this and to follow up to add a bug report ( even if someone did beat you to it!)


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## ddc

Hi,

I'm seeing some weirdness with web page layout. Quite a few components laid out successfully on 7 6"x8' boards. Then 10 or so components laid out successfully on 4×8 plywood.

However the text for the next 7 components were printed back up at the top of the web page, overlapping the 1st board's efficiency. Down at the bottom, the gray background was drawn, and the cross hatches started, but they only covered the 1st 25% of the area, then stopped in the middle of a line.

I spent some time understanding the ruby & dynamically generated drawLayout javascript. I couldn't find a bug. I'm now wondering if the problem is simply caused by some graphics limitation in the browser running in sketchup?

Since I wasn't able to solve the problem, I worked around it by having the layout output to .SVG files. All the components laid out successfully in a series of 6 .svg files.

Finally, even though I have a workaround, I wanted to describe the problem while it's fresh in my mind & see if this is a known problem and whether my guess about it being a problem at a lower level than the plugin is correct.

David


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## daltxguy

Hi David,

Welcome to Lumberjocks!

Good on ya, mate for working so hard to understand this so well. You've described the problem most accurately!

I've also searched for this bug for quite a long time and I've tried many things to try to mitigate it such as increasing the size of the display window and limiting the number of boards for layout. The first did not have any changed results, the second turned out not to be practical because it limited the results for the svg output as well and the limit has now been set very high.

The solution *is *the svg file which was put in to get around this issue, the issue of printing the layout and having a layout option for people running the plugin on a Mac. My best guess at the problem is that the use of the dynamic drawing javascript hits some limitations of the browser or the javascript utility so the best advice is to use the window display for smallish projects and to use the svg output for large projects. You'll find the performance of creating and drawing the html for large projects, even if it does display properly to be annoyingly slow.

Bottom line:

*Q. Which layout output choice is best for my project? html window or svg ?*
For small projects, you can use the html window ( or svg ) output
For large projects, use the svg output

*Q. How do I decide if I have a small or a large project?*
It's not so black and white but if the html output is taking too long to produce/generate or if the html output seems messed up and starts overprinting at the top of the output, you should select the svg output instead as it will generate the correct result.

*Q. Will the html output ever work for large projects? or for the Mac?*
Not in the foreseeable future. A whole new method of drawing graphics to html is needed. The current tools were probably never meant for anything as complex as what Cutlist does. This method cannot be simply extended and it isn't worth doing so because html layout in a window is already problematic for other reasons such as when running from a Mac (see previous posts) so it's best to redesign this portion. In the meantime, svg output is actually quite handy for printing, zooming and export to other display software and tools.
One idea I've often mentioned and keep thinking might be cool is to draw the layout directly in sketchup as a new view (This was not actually my idea but it's a good one!)

Steve


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## p0peye

Hi Steve,

first, let me thank you for your work, and making my life easier 

I am an amateur, using GSU to model the peaces of the furniture that I (might) make - if the project get the "green light" from my command… my wife - that is 
The idea is to design it virtually, and then we could discuss if something should be changed, so I could make it just as my lady likes it - in the end… 

For now, the furniture is quite elementary, contained of 18mm wide plywood. 
I'll check what are the standard dimensions of the boards here in Serbia (I suppose that' approx 2,5m x 3m).

I most definitely agree that it is important to know what will the cutting plan look like, and to add/subtract the part of two in order to maintain the better utilization of the wood plate… (Yap - I am also "thinking green" - it would really be pity to waist some parts when they could be used well… If we are cutting trees - then let us not waste it - right?)

But I am afraid there is a tiny problem there: your plug in allows the thickness of 4/4 to 8/4, and the predefined dimensions, if I understood well. 
Can these dimensions be changed? 
What if one use a part of the board, cut one project (lets say 48% of the surface) and then have another, smaller project - could the rest 52% be used for the next project?

I am really new to all this, so please forgive me for asking maybe some obvious questions. I might have waited to finalize one project, and then ask questions, but this way I can be prepared for potential issues… 

Once again - thank you for this plug in!
Cheers,
Nenad


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## depictureboy

if you have 2 projects that are going to share materials I copy both into a single sketchup file and then generate my cutlist…Is that what you mean?

If you want to define the actual sizes of the boards you have to use, I dont think that will work because of the above HTML layout issues, as well as the enormity of the coding calculations that would be needed. Even professional Cutlist programs dont let you do that(that I know of)


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## ddc

Hi Steve,

I changed the 4.07 version of cutlistui.html to uncomment the kerf size option. I made corresponding changes to the ruby script (LayoutBoard.insertPartInTree) to make the layout behave correctly. I've only tested with my current model, but it appears to be working so far.

Would you like a copy to review my changes and possibly fold them into the next version?

I also added quite a few log statements to help me understand the program and debug my changes. They are conditional based on additional $verboseN variables.

David


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## daltxguy

David,

You're a brilliant and kind man! I'd be happy to take whatever mods you've made and incorporate them into the next version.That kerf thing, as you can see has been 'almost' there for quite some time - or at least a rudimentary version of it. I'll contact you offlist so you know how to get it to me.

Thank you!

Steve


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## ddc

I'm glad I can help. Thanks for all the work you've obviously put into cutlist. I'll get the files to you shortly.

David


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## Soulcrafter

Hello. The plug in looks like just what I need but am having trouble so I hope you can give troubleshooting advice.

I'm running it on the mac and all appear to be installed correctly as downloaded (looks like there were some Mac challenges earlier but were resolved by 4.0.7). I created a single-board component, select Cut List from the Plugins menu, and just get a small, blank window pop up titled Cut List v4.0.7:



I would appreciate any direction in troubleshooting.

Regards,
Robert


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## daltxguy

Hi *Soulcrafter*,
My apologies for taking a few days to answer your question.
Usually these type of issues have to do with the installation of the plugin.
I'ts important to unzip the entire contents of the plugin into the plugins directory. Most importantly there needs to be the cutlistui folder in there along with the ruby script.

The installation directory for a Mac is at
Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 7/SketchUp/

How to install a plugin

and it should look like the equivalent of this ( sorry I don't have a Mac screenshot and this shows installation for Sketchup 6, though Sketchup 7 would be similar):









If this is all as it should be and you are still having the issue, contact me on PM and we can sort this further.

PS. I now temporarily have a Mac at my disposal. I may be able to reproduce issues

Steve


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## GFYS

Hi Steve, I have been attempting to make a materials list for projects I create in SU. They are a bit larger than the typical wood working projects in which your cutlist works great. 
My projects are small recreational cabins and larger residential structures. The materials I build with are commonly available sheet goods and dimensional lumber to 16' lengths. Some dimensional materials are also thicker (4"-6") for headers, beams etc. 
I tried to use a componentreport .rb which worked great for component sizes lists except on those components that are not on a horizontal or vertical plane. Diagonally oriented instances are listed but their dimensions are inaccurate as the csv lists the model axis measument rather than the component axis. 
Changing the axis of the component doesnt seem to help. Changing the orientation of the component works but is time consuming and defeats the purpose.

Now..for my question(s)  
Would your cutlist script be easily modified to include the size(s) I use? 
Is there a better way to address this need?
I assume your cutlist works with diagonally oriented components? Doesn't it?
If it does..and the componentreport.rb+ doesn't….any idea why?


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## GFYS

OK dave…here's a another question on this topic.
Would the size of the bounding box effect the cutlist function.
Some of my components were made unique versions of other componenets. I noticed that even though the axis orientation of the component instance is aligned with the component geometry, that the bounding box reflects the size of the original component from which the new component was copied making the bounding box twice the size of the component. (a sheet of osb that was reduced to a half sheet) Are there other considerations in this regard?


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## GFYS

Hmm…as I recall..but not sure…I think I made unique, opened for editing then push/pulled the components edge surface. I supose I could have selected the edge and moved it but that doesnt seem likely. I guess I also could have disected geometry or done any number of methods but…I think I used the push pull. After that I don't recall doing anything else which is probably why the component is still in the original bounding box. Should I have exploded and made another component?


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## GFYS

well that was easy…are there other considerations in changing the axis re: cutlist? I think I read some information about materials orientation. I assume the cutlist optimization will orient sheet goods according to assigned grain orientation which is rather important in many respects. I read some posts you were having about it. I also assume that with long boards in cutlist it isn't an issue.


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## ErikB

Is that link shown in the first post still the right place to download the plugin? Every time I try I get an error message. I'm really looking forward to trying this out!

Thanks in advance,
Erik


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## ErikB

It said…

----
Connection Interrupted

The connection to the server was reset while the page was loading.

The network link was interrupted while negotiating a connection. Please try again.
----

The first time I tried it my ZoneAlarm security software popped up. Not sure what it's not liking.

Erik


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## daltxguy

*ErikB*,

If you really can't get it though that link, send me a PM with your email address and I will get you a copy.


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## daltxguy

Hi mics,

The cutlist plugin actually takes into account components which have been rotated to get the original size, rather than just using the the bounding box resulting after the rotation. It's a bit of math wizardry to get the original dimensions knowing the rotation.

I actually put these notes in the ruby script itself in the 'usage' section:

"Ensure that the component axes are adjusted to the component to give the smallest bounding box to get accurate sizes. A component which has been thusly created and then rotated will be correctly calculated based on its original axes aligned bounding box. ( In other words, the best way to create a part which is not going to be axes aligned is to first create one which is and then rotate it )"

As for larger sizes, the script is should be able to handle any size for a cutlist. It is easily modifiable for larger sizes to do a layout. Not exactly sure which you were having trouble with. Contact me offline and I can walk you through the changes for layout or I can put these changes in the current version I am working on and let you have a go using it. If it is just to produce the cutlist, there are no changes required.

I'm actually quite interested in what you are doing.

I've tried applying cutlist to some designs for small buildings but I've found that people have lots of different ways of building up shapes with components which ends up with producing larger than necessary bounding boxes or, as you have found out, components not originally oriented to the axes or they don't use components at all.

Unfortunately for Cutlist to work properly there has to be a consistent approach to producing components. I think DaveR's approach is well thought out, makes life easier later when you want to change/add things and allows you to get the most benefit from plugins like Cutlist (as well as Sketchup). Because bounding boxes are largely invisible and for many, not a consideration for getting the visible end result, it's easy to ignore this and then to have trouble later getting good results from Cutlist or doing anything further with the model in Sketchup.

I encourage everyone to follow Dave's tutorials and develop some good habits when it comes to creating components. DaveR's main hang out is at the Fine Woodworking blog Design.Click.Build


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## GFYS

I just ran cutlist after making some changes to my skp file component axis' and making some selection changes to the cutlist and it works perfectly. Created a great csv file that apparently is complete and accurate. 
I guess I was just confused as to how to operate the script.

Did I mention how this ROKS!


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## daltxguy

I just got this question again and since DaveR and his readers helped to resolve this some time ago, I thought I would repeat it here in case it comes up again because I'm not sure it ever got posted.

*Q. I just installed the new version of Cutlist v4.x.x and now when I run Cutlist, it says that no components have been selected, even though they are. What's wrong?*

alternatively:

*Q. If I don't select any components and let Cutlist 'select all', then it works, but if I have a component selected, I get an error 'no components selected'. Why is this happening?*

*A.* When pressed for more information, the common factor for everyone in these cases, is that they had an older version of cutlist previously installed. If you delete all of the files for the older version of cutlist, then everything behaves correctly. To be on the safe side, remove all files to do with cutlist and reinstall the new version.

Unfortunately at this time installing the new version is just a matter of unzipping the files into the plugins directory and it's possible that previous files from previous versions are not completely overwritten or eliminated. I didn't build in backwards compatibility for previous installs. Bad me. I hope to keep this in mind for future versions and prevent this issue from occurring next upgrade.

hope this helps someone…


----------



## domellis

Hi there, just installed CutList 4.0.7 and it 'looks' like just what I need.

I've got a problem that seems to have been aired previously, but I can't seem to sort it.

When I run the CutList plugin I get an Internet Explorer Script Error. The component list generates okay but the other window is blank save for a PrintView and Close button and the error window in front.

I have tried copying my SU model to a new file, deleting and reinstalling the plugin.

Any ideas please?

Thanks,

Dominic


----------



## domellis

Me again. It must be something in my model. I just loaded an old model of a deck and that produces the cutting diagram fine.

If I select just one component from the original model, copy it into a new file the cutting diagram works…

I've now copied all of the components over in groups of about half a dozen and the Cutting Diagram works.

There's a couple of issues though…

The text at the top of the Cutting Diagram is all a bit 'jumbled' (see pic below).

Is it not possible to have different timber sizes within the same Cutting Diagram? Or should I run two separate cutting lists?

Thanks…

Dominic


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Dominic,

Sorry I haven't responded sooner. Your first question is actually a new one for me. I've seen this with Macs and that's simply because Safari does not like the html created by the plugin for the window graphics.

Your second post and question is more common and was answered previously in this post. It has to do with the project size and the limitations of the window display for 'large' projects. How large is large? Basically when it starts to display the symptoms you've outlined. I once had a limit on the number of boards you can display to get around this problem, but then this prevented some projects from displaying at all, so I have removed the limit, but now you get messed up screens when you reach the limit!

The solution? turn off the html layout display and turn on the SVG output. You will get a complete layout without the errors. Use a browser like Firefox to display the svg files ( these files will be created in the same directory as your model) or use an open source tool like Inkscape.

Your second post may actually give a clue to the first issue.It could be that your project is so large that it reaches an error before it can even display something. By transferring over parts of the project, you've hit an intermediate size where it does display but jumbles the output. I'm afraid these are limitations of the design used for drawing the layout in html and Windows IE combined. The SVG output, however, does not suffer from any of these issues.

Currently it's not possible to have two different timber sizes. What you can do is to select the components which you would want to lay out on specific size, then run again, as you suggest for the other components.

These are both issues which some day will be addressed but they will up the complexity of the plugin and will slow it down considerably as long as it is only running as a ruby script ( which is the standard Sketchup plugin interface). So the solution would require some new approaches.


----------



## daltxguy

Many of the questions I get for Cutlist have to do with strange behavior after installation or trouble getting it installed ( granted I only receive word when it doesn't work. After nearly 14000 downloads of the plugin, I would say most people do not have these issues)

For those of you experiencing any of the following symptoms, I repeat here the installation instructions and things to check to see if it has been installed correctly.

*Q. I am experiencing one or more of the following. After installing the plugin:
I do not get the options page when I select Cutlist from the plugins menu
I see the options page, click on Run, but I get no cutlist output
I click on Run, I get the cutlist but I get only get an error screen when I try to produce the layout.*

*A*. All of these are related to some form of improper installation.
To install, you download the plugin which is a zip file. You then unzip the entire contents into the plugins directory of the version of SKetchup you are using.

You should end up with the file structure shown below. I have had these issues with several people and in all cases, I tell them, if you directory looks like this, it WILL work and it has never failed! ( Sketchup 6 or Sketchup 7, does not matter).
Note that there is a single file ( the ruby script) which ends up in the plugins directory and the remainder ends up in a directory called cutlistui which is *ALSO *in the plugins directory. Don't just copy the ruby script or leave out any files in the cutlistui directory or copy the contents into a new directory which you have created within the plugins directory. All files are important and the placement of the files are critical. Absence of any of the files or having them in the wrong place will lead to strange behavior.

.../Google%20SketchUp%207/SketchUp/plugins/cutlistui/
.../Google%20SketchUp%207/SketchUp/plugins/cutlistui/cutlistresult.html
.../Google%20SketchUp%207/SketchUp/plugins/cutlistui/cutlistui.html
.../Google%20SketchUp%207/SketchUp/plugins/cutlistui/example.css
.../Google%20SketchUp%207/SketchUp/plugins/cutlistui/images/
.../Google%20SketchUp%207/SketchUp/plugins/cutlistui/images/cutlistTitle.jpg
.../Google%20SketchUp%207/SketchUp/plugins/cutlistui/images/help.gif
.../Google%20SketchUp%207/SketchUp/plugins/cutlistui/images/Thumbs.db
.../Google%20SketchUp%207/SketchUp/plugins/cutlistui/tabber.js
.../Google%20SketchUp%207/SketchUp/plugins/cutlistui/Thumbs.db
.../Google%20SketchUp%207/SketchUp/plugins/cutlistui/wz_jsgraphics.js
.../Google%20SketchUp%207/SketchUp/plugins/CutListAndMaterials.rb


----------



## domellis

Just so you know… My files are exactly like that and I'm still getting the error on producing a layout…


----------



## daltxguy

Dominic,

Are you now using the SVG option for layout? I mentioned earlier that your file size is too big for the html output.

Steve


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## FatherHooligan

I use Cutlist and really appreciate the programming you've done Steve! Thank you again for a great tool.


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## daltxguy

Thanks Mark. I always appreciate all feedback….steve


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## EmitFlesti

Hi Steve.
Relatively new user. All aspects seem good save the CutlistPlus csv output. When I attempt to import the output into CLP, I first match the columns and click "Header Row".









But when I choose import, I get:









Any thoughts?
Thanks for a great program. Productivity through the roof!
ef


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## daltxguy

Hi *EmitFlesti*. Welcome to Lumberjocks!

I think in this case it would be very helpful to know the contents of your CutListPlus csv file and also which version of cutlist you are using ( hopefully v4.0.7)* and which version of CutListPlus.

You can click on my profile and then 'send message' and then we can exchange emails and you can send me the files.

Usually it's something simple like the '~' character having been added to the dimensions by Sketchup and you can just edit the file ( for now) and all will be well. In later versions, some of these characters are filtered out and hopefully by the next, this won't be an issue as I have kindly received a CutListPlus license from Todd Peterson and we are working together to make these tools work much better in tandem.


I still see a lot of people downloading v4.0.6 because of links having been created around the internet. v4.0.7 contains some bug fixes and improvements and so those people are missing out.


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## EmitFlesti

Hi, Steve.
I have to log some posts before I can send you mail. HA!

I am using 4.0.7. I tried the csv file without the ~. Same result.


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## EmitFlesti

Hi, Steve.
I will send you the csv shortly.
thanks
ef


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## daltxguy

Hi ef,

I've had a look at your file and tried importing it into CutListPlus and had the same issue as you did.
The short answer is that you need to change your units within Sketchup to inches instead of feet *and *inches, then regenerate your csv file, then import into CutListPlus.

The long answer is that CuListPlus is a bit finicky about the units that are used when importing. The default is inches but it doesn't expect ( or like) the inch symbol being used in the csv file. For anything other than the default, it expects a symbol so that it can distinguish it from inches. So the feet symbol ' can be used. Even metric is ok with mm and cm ( but not m for metres). The one combination it does not like or understand is feet and inches. The Cutlist plugin doesn't really get involved in what gets written to the csv file in terms of units - this comes from your selection in Sketchup. All I do is to filter out the inch symbols whenever I encounter them so that CLP will accept it. So you need to align your model in Sketchup to at least one of the accepted units ( either inches, feet, cm or mm) but not feet *and *inches.


----------



## EmitFlesti

Acknowledged. Thanks for the personal touch; I apologize if I should have caught this in the thread.

I moved to decimal. It gets rid of the ~ .

ef


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## jcwalleye

Wow what a great forum and plug in. I just downloaded it and had it running in no time, understanding most of it with the help. Thanks for sharing it with the LJ community.
Joe


----------



## dedov

Is it possible to add a Component Definition Description into CutList's report? It is an easy way to include banding information and export it to CutList Plus. Now I'm using this plugin and combine the cvs from CutList in Excel and then import into CutList Plus.


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## pewe

I have a problem with output for a specific combination of components.

The main component called 'Top Rail' and is a 300mm long top rail for a wooden door. It consists of 3 sub components 1. a 280mm centre part called 'Centre Rail', 2. a left tongue of 10mm called 'Left tongue' and 3. a right tongue of 10mm called 'Right Tongue'.

In the cut list output it was reporting the 'Centre Rail', Left Tongue' and 'Right Tongue' as separate parts - no mention of the 'Centre Rail'.

So I renamed the three sub components by adding 'Part' to the name - and now in the output there is nothing in the 'components' and the 3 sub components appear as parts.

I have the Top Rail drawn this way as it is a dynamic component wwhich can be resized without altering the size of the tongues.

Any suggestions about how to overcome this problem.


----------



## pewe

Thanks DaveR.

I guessed the output was working as intended, however it is a bit of a problem.

I take your point about the possibility of resizing in other ways, BUT, the rail is only one component of a door, which in turn is a subcomponent of a cabinet component which also has a carcass subcomponent.

Using dynamic components drawn as I outlined, everything resizes correctly by simply entering 3 dimensions in the DC Component Options panel - the cabinet width, depth and height.

Having to revert to resizing in other ways defeats the object of having all my cabinets set up as DC's.

It would be nice to be able to use Cutlist for the report rather than resorting to a custom written report, but so far I have not been able to overcome this issue.

If the carcasses I am using were constructed using Dados instead of Cam and Dowel construction, the same problem would apply to these.

As DC's are becoming more popular, I can see there is a need for a different approach to the cutlist reporting method otherwise more and more users may find it restrictive.

Unless I am missing something!!


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Pewe,

I'm just wondering what it is you would be expecting to see? If it's a nested component, it skips the top level component since that's usually a wrapper for the pieces inside, otherwise you would be getting an extra component listed which is the whole thing. In this case, centre rail, right tongue and left tongue completely describe the 'Top Rail' ( I assume in your above description that it was 'Top Rail' which you thought was missing not 'Centre Rail' ).

So, what problem exactly are you trying to overcome? As I see it, you can keep your dynamic components and you still have all of your parts listed as required.


----------



## pewe

I totally agree that it is more time consuming to create a catalogue of DC's for a one off project, but as you point out, for repetitive cabinet planning they save a lot of time.

I thought about the concept of adding something to the subcomponents that are not required in the report, maybe appending something to the description such as 'Tongue - NoList'. As soon as Cutlist sees this as it drills down it stops and reports only to the component above this.

But changing the script to deal with this is not, unfortunately, within my capability, and to find someone else to do it could be an issue - even if Steve would approve such a change.


----------



## daltxguy

Ah, so you want an option to show only the top level components and not the sub-components?

This has crossed my mind before and is not outside the realm of possibility! - just another selectable option.

Btw, anyone can change or alter my script for personal use - there's nothing stopping you or preventing it - it's the beauty of open source code ( technically this code is under no real license).


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## pewe

Steve.

What I am trying to achieve is for the report to show the 'Top Rail' with its dimensions - and not to mention the 'Centre Rail' or the 'Tongues'.

What needs to be cut is the peice of material needed to make this 'Top Raill' which has an overall length equal to the length of the (Centre Rail + the tongues).


----------



## pewe

Sorry - our answers were overposted.

Unfortunately its not just as simple as reporting top level only.

The tongues and centre rail are sub components of the Top Rail - BUT - the top rail is a subcomponent of a door, which in turn is a subcomponent of a Cabinet.

So the structure is not as simple as it would be if the top level component was a door with subcomponents.

I'm not sure that the ability to select 'Top Level' or 'Drill' would be sufficient - hence my thought about putting some sort of flag in the description of the components not required.


----------



## daltxguy

Ok, I understand. and I also understand what you were trying to do when you added key words to you part names. Unfortunately the component selection method is the same for both lists, it's just the name which decides whether it goes in one list or the other so that's why it didn't work.

It's still doable but not with the current design - as you've pointed out, the top level of one component is a sub-component of the one above it.

Yes, adding additional attributes to the components might be the way to go or using the description field. That idea is likely also the solution to other issues such as part orientation ( sometimes the default assumption that the grain of the board is in the longest direction is not always correct ). These are all thing which are unique to this application and there is no standard sketchup criteria which can be used to represent it.

If you contact me offlist ( PM), we can exchange emails and maybe I can get a copy of your model to try out a few ideas.


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## daltxguy

*dedov*,

I am looking into your question. I had a look at that plugin and it looks remarkably like the component discovery portion of my code. Should be easy to add the addition of the component description as a new field. 
Which field should this map to on CutlListPlus?


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## dedov

Hi daltxguy,
I made a screen shot for better explanation



Thanks.


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## Flip

Hello
I love your program and have been using it for over a year. I usually run the plugin, edit in Excel and "import clipboard data" in Cutlist Plus.
I just updated to the latest version of Cutlist 4.0 plugin. Now when I open the CutListPlusImport.csv in Excell the thickness column shows dates (07-Aug) instead of 7/8. the other dimension column's show fractions the way they should. I tried to format colums in Excell, but can't get it to show fractions. Also I tried the CutList.csv file and it displays the everything OK. Also the previous CutListPlusImport.csv files work fine.
I am puzzled by this and need help to fix it.


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## Flip

Hi Dave
I tried that and here are the screen shots:

__
https://flic.kr/p/4298229898


__
https://flic.kr/p/4297482679
As you can see it formatted it to numbers. I tried different formats and it won't work. 
Maybe if I send you the Excel file: (How do I do that?)
Sorry I an having trouble figuring out how to use this.
thanks
Phil


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## daltxguy

Hi Flip,

Probably selecting 'General' would allow it to display correctly as then it won't apply any formatting.

I'm just wondering why you really need to open the file anyway if you are going to be importing it into CutListPlus? You can use CLP's import from file function.

If you do want to edit it or if you want to continue importing from clipboard data , you can read it (and change it if necessary) and copy to clipboard using any basic text editor, such as notepad. A 'csv' file is nothing more than a specially formatted text file allowing it to be imported into things like Excel or CLP. The use of Excel to get it into the clipboard, however, is not necessary. ( I don't even have Excel for example).

I believe the change I made in v4.0.7 is to remove the inch character (") if the units are in inches for better compatibility with CutListPlus import. If the " is not there, then probably the default setting you have in Excel is to interpret it as a date but the formatting as is should be fine for CutListPlus.

Steve


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## Flip

Thanks Steve.
I usually have to edit it to remove some "~" that aren't recognized by Cutlist Plus.
I have figured (with DaveR's help) a way to use your cutlist plugin. The CSV output works fine in Excel and everything shows as fractions. The Cutlist Plus output, when opened in Excel, still puts a date in the thickness column, but the width and length work fine and show fractions.
Thanks for your help.
Your cutlist plugin is fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## daltxguy

Thanks again for your help Dave. Maybe that option should have a better name?

Steve


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## daltxguy

Flip, thanks for the clarification. Yes, there are some changes due there. The next version will remove the '~'s automatically as well as format the inch dimensions in such a way that it should work in excel and be importable to CutListPlus. Todd Peterson, the wizard behind CLP has recently shared with me some tips for improving the interface.

Steve


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## Flip

Thanks again to Dave and Steve for helping me out.


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## Flip

I have played around with the precision. I have Cutlist plus set to 1/16th's so it is easier to cut parts. I will try and import sketchup file set at 1/64 and see what happens.
thanks


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## formerflyer

Steve,

Your program has been running beautifully - until now. I've got a Mac so I simply make the output to svg and I've been getting great cut diagrams in Safari. However, today I started to get the following error message:

error on line 7 at column 87: EntityRef: expecting ';'

Do you have any idea what might be going on here? Cut lists I ran a few days ago didn't seem to have a problem, so I'm not sure what's going on.

Thanks for any light you may be able to shed.

Tim


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## daltxguy

Hi Tim ( formerflyer)

No, actually, no idea!

Has something changed? Are you getting this error on a model you used before without error? If so, did something change in the model? If so, maybe there is something in the model throwing it for a loop in which case I would suggest to you to try to get me a copy of the model.

Are you getting this error for all models now? If so, then I might suggest reinstalling the plugin. Maybe a file got corrupted somehow.

The other option is that something changed on the Mac. I know my (windows) machine keeps installing new updates. The browsers especially are subject of a lot of ( security) scrutiny and updates. Occasionally they get it wrong too or they get it right and they uncover an error not previously detected!

It's impossible for me to know where it encountered that error, but maybe answering some of the questions above can help to narrow it down. This may become a problem for others if it something of a general nature.

Steve


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## formerflyer

Dear Steve,

Thanks so much for your prompt reply. I must have corrupted the file somehow, so I simply copied the components into a new file and it worked just fine. And, it wasn't happening with any other file, so that must have been it. Sorry to have bothered you with this.

Again, thanks so much for this GREAT plug-in.

Tim


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## daltxguy

Good to hear, Tim. It's not a bother at all. It's good to understand and share what might go wrong in case in happens again to you or to someone else.

I've heard this solution several times now ( copy components to new file and everything ok) and it's a good trick to keep in mind.

Thanks for your kind words!


----------



## mgfranz

I have just started working with SketchUp CutList and tried it with a simple wall chest component, (click on pic for .skp file). The cutlist comes out all wrong, it shows something like 32 bf needed and 8 boards and 17.5 bf in components. This is obviously wrong. I have also posted screen shots of my set-up, sheet goods setup is default 4×8. Any ideas?


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## daltxguy

Hi *mgfranz*!

I have downloaded your model. It's a good looking cabinet. I might build one myself!

What you've done is that you've created the entire model as a single component and it is a collection of edges and faces which looks like a cabinet. When you click on the model, you will see a blue box drawn around it. This is what the cutlist plugin uses as the dimensions of the 'pieces' of the project. Since it is a single component, it looks like a very big block of wood. The layout then splits this block of wood into pieces which you would need to glue up this giant wood block.

What you need to do is to go back and make each individual piece of the model its own component - and build up the model from components much like you would go about constructing the piece. It's ok to have nested components where the top most component is the entire model but there must be components inside that component. The cabinet must be composed of parts, not carved from a block of wood 

Ideally any parts which are mirror images are the same component, so for example you would have two frame sides, two cabinet sides, two cabinet ends ( top and bottom) and so on.

This practice is not only required for good results from Cutlist but you will find that this method will also results in other benefits as well, easier design changes, more accurate models being the two top most reasons.

Good luck and let me know if you get better results after those changes.


----------



## mgfranz

I thought that's what I might need to do, create a component out of each surface piece right?

As for the cabinet, I want to market them… Look for them at your local Bed, Bath & Beyond, Crate & Barrel, etc…


----------



## sIKE

mgfraz,

I like to think of it as a board cut to final dimension is what you want to make a component.


----------



## mgfranz

OK, I got it. Except for one thing. When I CutList the back panel it wants to split it into a group of boards instead of a sheet good item. I assigned the component a property of "sheet" but it still wants to build it out of a group of boards.


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## daltxguy

mgfranz,

Either apply a material to your back which has one of the default keywords under 'sheet words' or else add a new word to the list which will identify only the back component. Once identified as a sheet good, it will lay it out on the selected sheet material.


----------



## mgfranz

That did it. Beautiful work guys! Another new tool to play with… I thank you kindly.

Have a blessed Sunday!


----------



## Blade66

How do you go about installing this plug-in program into sketchup? I am using version 7 of SU.


----------



## mgfranz

Just extract the files from the .zip into the Google > Google SketchUp 7 > Plugins directory, you will have to restart SU in order to view the plugin. The .rb file will reside in the PlugIns folder, a directory called cutlistui will be created with the rest of the files.


----------



## Blade66

Ok…lol..was wondering why I couldn't find SU in the program files….I had installed it on another HD…installed it easily once I figured that out! Thanks for the reply. Still learning SU, but sure like the idea of having the cutlist addition!


----------



## sphere

Thanks all for that wonderful addition to my tool use and confusion..LOL

That is how I stumbled on this site and joined.

I imagine I'll ask a LOT of questions in the upcoming weeks, months and years…I'm terrible with SU7 so far.


----------



## daltxguy

Welcome to Lumberjocks *Blade66 *and *sphere*.

Feel free to ask any questions about the plugin and anything related to sketchup and woodworking on here.
Another good resource for general sketchup questions is the sketchup help forum

Not to be missed is also DaveR's excellent blog on Sketchup for woodworking on finewoodworking


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## North40

Steve, thanks again for this great plug-in! I have a question already … I'm getting ready to build this chest:


When I first drew it, I drew the two-part legs as one component. When I did a cut list, the report had the legs being made out of a 4" thick piece of wood. So I went back into the drawing, exploded the leg component, seperated the halves, and made each half a new component. Now the legs don't show up on the cut list at all. Do I need to redraw the leg components from scratch, or is there something I can do differently with the current drawing?

Thanks!


----------



## North40

Of course! Thank you so much Dave!


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## HickoryHill

Any thoughts as to why when I get to 5 sheets of plywood needed, the 5th sheet doesn't render the cut diagram right? The 5th one shows the sheet outline and starts to cross hatch in the upper left and that is it.


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Jim, I suggest you switch to the svg output for layout.The svg file generation doesn't have limits on how many sheets or boards it can display. The window display, technically speaking, does not either, but the display messes up as you see beyond a certain point.


----------



## HickoryHill

Am I understanding right that kerf sizes don't get factored into the layouts yet?


----------



## MarkBWV

Hi all,
Brand new to lumberjocks. Found it in regards to the Cutlist plug in. I read back to try to find an solution but have come up empty.

I am having a problem when I run the plug in the output shows up in 2 new (cutlist) windows. The two windows pop up with one showing the sheet/board layout and the other listing the parts. The sheet/board layout however is in a window with no scroll bar on the right yet it is far longer than the window. All I can see is the first sheet and 1/2 of the second sheet. If i right click and hit print preview an IE window appears that has virtually no information. Only three blank white pages.

Any ideas?


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Mark and welcome to Lumberjocks!

Print or print preview has never worked on the layout window ( and never will - it's complicated!) but has to do with the way it is rendered and Windows IE (the default browser used by Sketchup) so I have no hope that it will ever work. You'll notice the print button is grayed out. That's on purpose!

If you have problems with the layout window output, then use the svg output for layout. It's reliable and printable and doesn't suffer from the problems with the default bnowser. The svg output is viewable with most browsers now or use open source Inkscape.

Make sure you downloaded v4.0.7 because it had some improvements on the layout display over v4.0.6.

Hope that helps!


----------



## MarkBWV

Ahh, I see, I tried it and it opened in an app Amaya I never knew I had. Thanks so much for the help.

I have one other question, with regards to assigning materials. Is that done in the component description as well?

I just downloaded this today so yes, I have v4.0.7 and thanks for checking.

I have solved a lot of my own problems today and one thing I have found very handy with this is that it really will help to get you to tweak any parts possible to nominal sizes as you can see the waste before you get to the shop.

I have been reading about this sizing issue with regards to parts on the diagonal which will definitely give me some grief as we work with a lot of diagonal parts. I am not super savvy with sketchup but do OK. Hopefully I will be able to get around that.

Thanks so much,
Mark


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## mar

Stuck… I have a diag back on a corner cabinet that cutlist appears to calc as the bounding box. I have read hints about this issue but am having trouble figuring out what to do about it. I would post a picture but 1st I have to figure out how to do that since the clip board doesnt seem to work.


----------



## mar

Hum… made the change and when I ran cutlist it seized up my machine. Getting late so I will try again in the am. But I think I understand what you are asking me to do, so thanks. Ps. I just watched your video on the fern stand. Thats some pretty fancy foot work, nice job.


----------



## mar

Thanks DaveR… got it all figured out. Also noticed that once I added the top & shelfs which are non-rect, cutlist would only assign layout estimates for the rect bounding box for those items. I messed around with the axes in order to min the waste. I think I can do a little better manually by packing the boards along their angled edges. Over all I am happy with sketchup and cutlist, but it's going to take a lot more projects to get as good as DaveR


----------



## daltxguy

Thanks Dave for jumping in once again!

*mar*, yes, bounding boxes are always, well, boxes! The layout does the best it can with what Sketchup produces but there is always an element of 'real world' that has to be applied which sometimes yields even more optimal layouts… but at least it provides a starting point.


----------



## jft68

Hi Steve,
did you plan for the next release of your nice plugin to have a separate language file in order to make the translation work easier ?
I've translated 4.07 in french again but it's really a long way to go through 4400 lines+

One of the main features asked here in France from CutList users is the possibility to define our own dimensions for boards and sheets goods. I know you know about it ;-)
Can we expect something soon ?

Thanks for All your fantastic work.


----------



## daltxguy

Salut Jean-Franco!

I am currently in the process of putting together existing enhancements and several major new ones ( such as multiple language support) for a new release. As it our winter here, the days are short and the nights long and cold and this is my time for spending effort to bring together the many fine suggestions for the plugin as my shop time is limited in an unheated garage.

I have also recently received a Spanish translation, so this next release should support at least 3 languages immediately, including your French version. If you have new features you have added into your version, I would very much like to get a copy to consolidate all of the features.

Steve


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## jft68

Salut Steve !

nice to hear you have time for us ! )
I'll send to you my last 4.07 french version. Since my first version I've improved the quality of my help text.
I'm still writing a kind of manual for new users. You know, CutList has so many possibilities to optimise the layout. To have enough "material" (Q/A) I've gone through the two long threads here on Lumberjocks and also from your Blog.
It will be a PDF document with screenshots explaining step by step how to get used.
You can then join it to your zipped package.
If you have already started something in this way, please tell me and we can then join our ideas.

This time I didn't add any new feature really. I've just re worked some texts of the UI.
The main improvement for me would have been the free size selection for boards and sheets in order to even use your scrap wood in the shop. But that might be complicated to do. And I'm really not a scripter !

Another "minor" problem for us here in Europe using CutList is the nominal thickness expressed in inches. Over there we use different standard sizing for that. If you want I can provide you with the data.
But as the script calculates all in inches that improvement will force you to make a lot of conversions.
Just tell me what you think about.


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## daltxguy

Hi Jean Franco,

I'm still working through the backlog of suggestions for my next release and I will get to your ideas soon. I don't yet have a user's manual, so I will have a look at what you've done. I am adding new features so likely we would have to add a few new sections. I haven't yet looked at the links you sent me, but thank you for the all the fine effort you put in to support the French users! C'est fantastique! Merci.


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## daltxguy

This is a pre-announcement of v4.1 pre-release ( is that like a press release announcing that there will be a press release?)

In a day or so I will have a CutList v4.1 pre-release ( I just have to put together a downloadable version). This is likely only to be available for a few weeks before it will be replaced by another version with even more features leading up to a v4.1beta and then when that's shaken out, a v4.1 stable release.

It's looking like another July 4 release or so.

Here's what's coming up in this first cut of v4.1:

1. 5'x5' sheets for layout
2. New interface to select kerf size and support for kerfs in the layout
3. Project titles on both cutlist and layout
4. Printable layout from layout window ( SVG still a better option, but print from window is easier). This was a huge pain to get working, so I hope this is really useful!
5. Layout generation is heaps faster
6. Layout bug limiting window display to small projects has been fixed!
7. Printable cutlist from window - new easier interface
8. Sheets sizes are now in true metric measurements ( not imperial converted to metric)
9. Compact list is now in alphabetical order ( special request to restore this functionality from previous versions ago)
10. Bug fix in display when using '&' in part names.

Still many more to come including better CLP interfacing, layout improvements, internationalization, cutlist by subassemby ordering, area measurement for sheet layout etc


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## daltxguy

Here is the link for an advance version of cutlist 4.1.0
A summary of the new features is listed in my comment just above.
Please note that this link may or may not persist for long. If you want a copy to play with it or if you want one of the new features, keep in mind that the final version may be different.

I'm releasing this to get some initial feedback. There are more features and fixes to come.

Get it from here cutlist4.1.0pre

I'd especially like to get some feedback from Mac users to see if the layout displays and printing for cutlist and layout work correctly. ( btw, I don't actually print anything when testing, but I produce a pdf file using CutePDF writer)

Even though I've made printing easier, the whole point of cutlist is to help save wood resources. Keep in mind that paper is made out of wood and print responsibly!


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## jft68

Hello Steve,
thank you for this new pre-version.
I'll try to test it very soon. (I'm totally overloaded with my professionnal activies yet.)
I'm not able to help you concerning Mac as I'm PC user.


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## FatherHooligan

Thanks Steve! I am out of town this week but I sure want to try this when I get back!


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## Hillsboro

Steve:

I have tried to download a couple of versions of Cutlist but have had no luck. I continually receive an error message stating that the server has been reset. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Phil


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## Hillsboro

Dave:

Email address is: [email protected] Many thanks for the assist.

Phil


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## daltxguy

Hi Phil,

I can only do what Dave has suggested. I have no control over the download site itself but it may also be a localized problem to your internet provider or even to your computer.

In any case, I'm understanding of the cry for help. If you didn't already get a copy, let me know and if anyone else has issues, please let me know. If this 'cloud computing' service has too many storm clouds, then I may move to a different cloud  So far, though, there have been very few issues that I have heard about.


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## Shopfan

Hi Steve,

I'm a new member, and already posted this response, but apparently in the wrong place, so hopefully I have it right this time.

Have been using Cutlist 4.0.7 for some time, but have never been able to get the layout sheet to print. The Print button stays grayed out. I just downloaded the new beta 4.1 and in that version the print button shows up, but when pushed, I only get the headings an d footings of the page but no layout drawings. I am using Windows Vista 64, with Firefox 3.6.4, and Sketchup 7.1.6860. The cutlist itself prints fine on either 4.0.7 or 4.1.

Re: the new beta, installation went fine, overprinting the previous version, though there were 2 files that were not replaced due to the system not letting them be overwritten. I will try later to totally delete the old files and reload 4.1 fresh. As for performance, the new version generates the cutlist and the layout screens, and the new additions, like kerf size, are certainly welcome.

If you have any suggestions re: the layout printing, sure would appreciate it. Great tool! Thanks for creating this for the Sketchup/Woodworking community.

Doug
Spokane, WA USA


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## daltxguy

Hi Doug,

Thanks for the feedback.

The layout sheet could never be printed from the window itself on 4.0.7. That's why it was grayed out. The alternative in 4.0.7 (which still also works in 4.1.0) is to print using the 'svg' option. This produces the same output but as a set of files which can be opened with firefox and printed from there.

The changes in 4.1.0 were put in so that you could print the screen now. If you try the svg option and you get some output but none using the print button, then it could be that the files which you were not able to update when you upgraded, were the critical ones for generating the print output. That would also explain the header and footer but nothing in between!

See if after you upgrade all of the files whether you then get different results in the output file. If not, I would be happy to look at in more detail. It's a beta version, so I want to nut out any problems. The printing part is new.

Btw, there is no real reason why I put any write protection on any of the files. I'll have a look but I didn't think I would have done that.

Still more to come - just taking a pause to chop some more firewood ( it is winter here in NZ)


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## Shopfan

Thanks for the feedback, Steve.

I found that my problem was caused by my zip program apparently not having permission to overwrite files in the primary drive sector, so I expanded the file to a temp location and then did a copy and paste as administrator and then all the new files over-wrote the old files perfectly. Now the print function in 4.1 works fine on the layout diagram. It prints rather small, requiring a good magnifier for my old eyes, but other than that it came out as expected.

If I had a wish list, I would wish that we had the ability to select several different sizes of lumber so that, for instance, a 7 inch panel piece would find an 8 inch board rather than creating a 2 piece oversize part out of 6 inch lumber. I also haven't yet figured out how to steer a ply part onto sheet stock in the cut list. That may be more related to the drawing parameters, but I'm not sure.

At any rate, this is a marvelous tool, easy to use, and getting better all the time. Thanks so much for your creativity and skill in putting this together for the community.

Best regards,

Doug


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## todamgood4U

Steve,

First of all…you ARE the man. This script is making my life sooo much easier. The more I adjust and the more I tweak it, the better it gets!! I have just a few questions and suggestions. Hope someone is still around though…no action on this post for a month. 

A little background to what I'm trying to accomplish:
My dad has his own business creating custom cabinets in Wisconsin. Most of these jobs come from multi-million dollar homes and they want everything from kitchens to baths to closets. The job we will be starting shortly has 8 bathrooms, 2 full service kitchens and more closet space than the square footage of my whole house. I live in California and have been an architectural designer for 10+ years, working in SketchUp for 5+ years (long before Google bought it up). One day my dad calls me up asking if I could do some "computer stuff" to help cut down errors in his cut lists since he writes them out by hand on legal paper. One transposed number on a job like we do and you can imagine what it takes to find it and fix it…ugh. His suggestion was a program called e-Cabinets, which I did not find very user friendly. I suggested SketchUp or AutoCAD and after I found your ruby script, I got really excited (Currently using 4.1). We settled on SketchUp since he could download it and "play" with it if needed and so far your script has shown real promise in helping control the chance for handwritten errors AND speeding up the process.

Anyway, after reading through all 150 responses I haven't quite found answers to my question. The first one, which was highlighted a little by DaveR was about grain orientation.

1) I am getting pieces turned because the width is actually longer than the length. The default as DaveR stated is the program assumes the longest dimension to be the length. For what I am doing, I do not need to apply material to it, other than to categorize. So I'm using paint colors defined as "Cabinet 1, Cabinet 2, etc". Do I need to apply a grain pattern and adjust the axis to correct - if I read DaveR's response correctly or is there no way to fix this as shown in Picture 1, Line 6 below (that's a 36" wide cabinet).

A few suggestions:
1) I can sort by column priority in Excel, but if I switch back to Part #, it lists S-10-1 before S-1-1. Can you change first 9 numbers to default as 01, 02, etc to keep correct?
2) Add a scroll bar to the HTML output of the efficiency sheet. I can scroll down the Cut list, but if the efficiency is longer than my screen, I have to highlight to scroll down to see and print.

Well, I had other questions and comments, but it's been a long day and can't remember what they were.


----------



## todamgood4U

Thanks for the response Dave…even though it wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. Granted, for now, I can export to Excel and review the list and edit as necessary, but again, it's leaving room for errors. I would be very interested in knowing if this is something that can be added, adjusted, fixed.

I started using loud, obvious colors while designing color schemes for housing. I would "block out" each house and then once the community colors were approved, I would apply them over the top, making it an easy 1 click bucket painting process.

We've been trying to work out a system that is easily readable for each department. Exporting it into Excel allows us to sort and print based on department importance. Sorting by (correct) Length, we can hand the printout to Dept 1 to rip all the material accordingly. Re-sort by Length and hand that printout to the guy who will be cutting them to length…then re-sort one last time by material and hand that to the guy who will be assembling each box. Include color coded drawings and any monkey should be able to cut and assemble correctly with little effort.

So that's kind of the plan and as you can see, having the correct length and width is crucial to get this to flow like we're hoping.  Getting the 1-9 relabeled 01-09 would help with this too, but not saving the sorting shouldn't mess it up.


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Amina,

Thanks for your comments.

We are still around. Things have been quiet for the moment. I hope everyone is enjoying their holidays!
I'm happy to do my best to help make the plugin as useful as possible.

Dave's correct about grain orientation. The difficulty has always been that there is no such thing as orientation of grain, even when applying a material to it, so nothing to key off of. The solution I've always imagined is to add some sort of additional attribute to the component which I could use to correct the basic assumption ( ie: grain always runs in longest dimension)

Changing 1-9 to read 01-09 so that it sorts in order is very doable and I'll look into doing that tonight.

Having a scroll bar on the window output - I thought it did already but I'll look into it. That window display has always been tricky. A suggestion is to use the svg output. It produces a set of files which can be read by most browsers these days or using inkscape, also freely available. You can also print those and the print looks better than from the window.

Another suggestion is that many 'pros' go out and purchase CutlistPlus ( no affiliation with me). My Cutlist plugin will also generate a file which can be used to input into CLP.So you use SU as the design front end, then export the parts using the plugin , import into CLP and do all the really fancy stuff there.

8 bathrooms eh? We just downsized from 2 back down to 1!


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## 2

Great to see this thread living again after the comments paging added  Great job, Steve!


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## daltxguy

Hi Martin. My blogs and forum on the Cutlist plugin must be good test cases for the new features! Seems to be working well. Thanks for your changes.


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## todamgood4U

Steven,

Thanks for the input. I realize getting some kind of grain orientation would be near impossible with so many variables to look at…but one could hope I guess. I am pretty good with SketchUp and wild ideas, but no idea how to implement them most of the time. I'll be the first to say I know nothing about rubyscripts or what it takes to write them, but…

I was thinking maybe there is a way to use coordinates since you already label them X, Y, and Z on the cut list. Creating and then importing each piece of material as you 'build' it with the correct axis should give each piece its own X, Y, and Z. If those coordinates were read by the script individually as it's listed, it should list them in an X, Y, Z format into the cut list.

So if you created a piece that was 6 X, 2 Y, and 3/4 Z and imported that into SketchUp, the axis inside the component should remain in those directions no matter how its placed. Then, when your script reads the individual component, it reads it as 6 X, 2 Y, 3/4 Z and lists it accordingly on the cut list.

Again, I know nothing about rubyscripts, the limitations, or the possibilities. This could be what DaveR was initially referring to, I'm not sure though. I just tend to think outside the box a lot.

However, glad to hear you can fix the numbering. Although trivial, will make sorting a lot easier, especially if there is a reason to save the document. As for the scrollbar, this is what I get:


















As you can see, the bottom part is missing along with the buttons. I have started exporting to SVG, but what I like about this is, atleast for now, I have the instant ability to review it before sending it out. Once I feel the output is what I am looking for, I export to SVG and CSV and email to my dad.

I have also been looking into Cutlist Pro. After finding your script with links to the program, I have been looking to see if it is something that we could use and be cost effective too. Taking 1 step at a time though. Last thing I need to do is overwhelm my dad with too much "computer stuff" as he puts it. 

One last thing:

The top of this page shows the current as 4.07. I have 4.1, which I thought was the current. I think I had seen it being new within a couple days of when I downloaded it. I double checked your website and can't find where I downloaded it from or any other posts with the updated version. Is there another place where 4.1 is being discussed?


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## daltxguy

Amina,

I'll answer the easy questions first and have a think about your other suggestions/issues.

The blog for 4.1 is here

and I've already fixed your part numbering issue.You can download 4.1.04pre now.

Scrolling works for me but I think I might know what is happening so let me look into it. It could be I've set the initial window size too large. A larger project, I suspect will scroll fine.

Anything is possible with software…but not everything is under my control. Will consider your comments when I have a bit more time to think about it…


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## todamgood4U

Thanks for the updated numbers…installed and works perfectly! I guess I should be commenting on that new page then. 

As for the scrolling, I've done it on the 3 cabinet setup shown in my first post and it still didn't give me a scrollbar. I have tried it in many different combinations and have never seen a scrollbar on my end, so I'm not sure what could be causing it. My screen resolution is 1920×1200 and I'm using SU 6.4.112 Pro if you think that might matter.


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## FatherHooligan

I think it is phenomenal that Steve puts all this work into updating this powerful Sketchup tool. Thank you Steve!


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## daltxguy

Thanks Mark. We all share our love of woodworking in different ways.


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## daltxguy

Amina,

I'll look into the scrollbar issue.

As for finding a way of specifying grain orientation, I just had this same conversation offline with someone else. The use of x,y,z labels in the cutting list is unfortunate and a bit misleading. I realize now that it is only leading to some confusion about the part's relationship to the x,y,z axes (there isn't one). I think I might remove those labels. It could just as well be called a, b and c or L, W and T. Its use is a relic of the code from before I took it over and I've never paid it any attention. Is there some significance to the use of x,y,z for dimensions that I don't know about? If anyone has any thoughts, feel free to respond.

I think it is worth repeating the question here and my response

*Q.I've drawn three boxes in sketchup. All three were drawn with the face, or front, along the same axis (red) and made into components. We're interested in the CSV output, so x, y and z axis data are important. Our first box is x=24, y=23, z=11; Our second box is identical; Our third box is x=24, y=23, z=39. When the table is generated for the three boxes, the 3rd box, which has a longer z axis than its respective x and y, gets twisted and reads x=39, y=24, z=23. Is this an anomaly, or are we doing something incorrectly?*

A. The dimensions of a 'part' has little bearing on its orientation to the axes. The part could be at a 45 degree angle in 3 dimensions and I can still get a length, width and thickness. The length, width and thickness is not related to x,y,z coordinates or the axes used to draw them in the first place. ( Personally I would think that it would take away from the spontaneity of Sketchup if you always had to draw parts in a particular orientation to the axes - flat boards would always have to be drawn in the x-y plane and then rotated to its correct plane)

Now, how does it do it then?
The dimensions are derived from the so-called bounding box. When you click on a component, a blue box shows up around it - that's what's used to get the dimensions.
Since there is no way to describe the actual orientation of the part in Sketchup based on how you imagined it ( ie: I don't know which end is up so to speak), there is an assumption made which works for most cases. The longest side is always length, the shortest is always thickness. There has been discussion of adding codes (attributes) to the part to override the assumption but this has not been done…yet.

For example if you had a part which was taller than wide but needed the grain to run across the width, which you might do for a cabinet side, then you might add an attribute such as "WLT", which might suggest that the longest side is actually the 'width', if you follow what I mean and so grain always runs along the 'length'.

It could also just be something easier like putting "grain=width" in the component description - but here we have to all agree on what 'width' means!


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## mfseeker

What a great program! However:

I am having the "no components selected" problem. There are components in the model. The selected component is shown in the "Entity Info" and in the "Component Attributes". I have been able to run 4.07, 3.3, & 4.1 on a new test model. The problem is erratic. I have sometimes been able to generate cutlists within my cabinet model, but I can find no pattern. I have read the forum comments on the problem. I have tried 3.3 and 4.1 and have the same erratic behavior. I have been sure to delete old plugins, both .rb and folder, before install the next version.

I am running under Debian Squeeze, Sun VirtualBox, Sketchy 7.1 Pro. Since I have sometimes had success, I doubt that the fault lies with VirtualBox (I have successfully run all manner of Windows software, old an new, with narry a hiccup.) Is there, perhaps, something I need to know about how my nested, dynamic components are configured? Within the same model, the error occurs with some components selected but not with others. Is tere perhaps a problem with the alignment of nested axes?
...
I think I may have my answer. The errors are occurring when I run Cutlist on a component other than the top level of nested components. I have a couple of complex cabinet runs with several cabinets grouped as single components. If I select a single cabinet, I get the error. If I explode the run component, and select the same cabinet, I succeed. I suspect this may be unavoidable since with dynamic components the child components are using variables defined in the parent components.


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## mfseeker

DaveR, it looks as though the problem is more basic than something caused by Dynamic Components. Try this:

Create a new model. Make two blocks. Define each of them as a component. Select both components. Make the grouping into a component. Cutlist should work when you select this parent component and fail when you select one of the child components. These are static components.

You mention the scaling problem. I have been trying to use FredoScale, with mixed results so far. Is that the tool of choice?


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## daltxguy

Dave/Stan,
The last time I looked into this issue, I concluded that at least in some cases, it was a sketchup thing. I can only work with whatever sketchup hands to me through the interface. My plugin works on whatever SU tells me is selected. The "nothing is selected" popup is produced very early on before I even start parsing the components.

In the ruby code it looks simply like "model.selection.empty?" 
If it is empty, then I ask if you want to select all visible components.
At this point, I attempt to invert the empty selection to select all
If that is empty, then I output the error "Your model is empty or no entities are visible. No Cutlist generated."

If it's not empty, then I parse the components and then check at the end to see if I have found any parts.
I will check here to see if I fail to find components which are, in fact, selected by running Stan's experiment.
If it doesn't find any here, then it output the error: "No Components found in your model.\nYou must create a Component from your selection.\nClick on Help for more info.\nNo Cutlist will be generated."

So, I'm not sure which of these errors you are getting. If it's the first 2, then I'm at a loss because SU hasn't handed me a selection. If it's the 3rd, then it's within my control and there might still be a problem in my component parsing. Which error are you seeing?

I'll look into it some more.
Steve


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## daltxguy

PS. There is a comment I added some time ago in the code for the parsing of the components that sketchup does include any sub-components as part of a selection. So, I always take the selection and then 'drill down' into the component to see if there are sub-components even though it is not part of the original selection set.

It's likely that if you select a sub-component it passes nothing to me as part of the selection. That would fit the description of the issue. I've never explored to see if SU does keep track somewhere of what is visually selected if it is a sub-component( it must). Even if it does, it might not be available in the interface. Or, there might be another way to find out some roundabout way through the code.

Steve


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## daltxguy

Thanks Dave. Will have a go at it later today…after work..my boss could be reading


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## daltxguy

Ok, I was able to reproduce it and it has to do with the way things are selected and the way I go about finding the parts which are selected.

I've got a simple solution which I am testing. Rather than search all of the parts in the model for the ones which match the selection, instead it should be possible to only search the list of selected components. I know it sounds obvious when you hear it this way but the code perhaps did not reflect the level of understanding reached today.

If you want to make this change yourself, you can do it as follows:

(Assuming you are using the latest version 4.1.0.6pre)
In file <plugins>/cutlist/reporter.rb Find this line:

getSubComponents(entities,1, @mname)

and change it to

getSubComponents(selection,1, @mname)

That's it!

i noticed that sub-assembly name is not accurate when you select a part like this inside the sub-component. So this is not the final solution, but if you need the cutlist, you can do this now.

Steve


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## mfseeker

Steve,

How satisfying! It works like a charm in my original situation.

I have learned a great deal about Sketchup Pro's dynamic components from working with them, and your Cutlist has been an important aid in that process, as well as having now given me the results I need for my final project. I had incorporated the "Dynamic Door" model from SketchupTraining.BlogSpot.com as well as one of Google's collection of dynamic cabinets in a 12' run of base and wall cabinets. Then I altered these components considerably to fit my design. These are very versatile and instructive dynamic models, but when I ran Cutlist on the whole run, it took a very long time to complete (and sometimes choked). Before your fix, I selected individual elements from the run and copied them to new files to avoid this delay and the mass of data not yet needed, but that method had problems as well. Since some of the attributes were variables that then had broken references to other models. Now, I will be able to get a complete cutlist for the entire project when I need it and work to check and refine individual cabinet components more easily while the planning is still in progress. Thanks so much.

One of the advantages of these dynamic components is that I can change the any of the dimensions from the Component Attributes window without distorting my model in any way. This took me only, what, twenty hours to achieve.  But I am retired, and getting there is half the fun.

Warmest regards,

Stan


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## daltxguy

Stan,

I'm always pleased to hear when the plugin helps in any way and it's good to know that it is now working to make things easier for you..even if it took you a while to get there. Hopefully there is a payoff to your effort, if nothing else than the fun factor of figuring it out!

Steve


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## mfseeker

Steve,

As I continue to work with Cutlist, where should I post feature requests, here or elsewhere?

For instance, it is not a big deal, but currently we are restricted to one selection of board sizes and one of sheet sizes. If we have projects that call for several materials, perhaps each with stock of differing sizes, or if we have several sizes of the same material on hand, it would be convenient to be able to specify more than one stock size for boards and sheets. I'm sure there are more significant things you are planning for Cutlist, but if this were an easy modification, perhaps you would consider it for the next go-around.

Stan


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## daltxguy

Hi Stan,

Here is good! I monitor all of the cutlist related blogs/forums.

Your request is a common one. It's not trivial which is why it isn't there yet, but it is percolating to the top of the list and to be perfectly honest, it's the function that would be most useful to myself! since I use recycled wood for all of my projects which does not typically come in standard lengths, widths or thicknesses ( though with my sawmill, my forest and me now all in the same place finally, this may change soon!)

So, request accepted and stay tuned but don't hold your breath. My development 'season' is nearing the end. Our cherries are beginning to blossom and the daffodils are coming up!


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## robwein

I'm new to Lumberjocks and have been reading about Cut List plugin for Sketch Up. Sounds great. Thing is I'm just doing my first project in Sketch Up and using an unlicensed (free) version on a Mac. Will the plug in work with this version or do I need the Pro version? I downloaded the plug-in but couldn't find a plugins folder in Sketch up to add it to. Am I out of luck if I don't want to shell out $495 for the Pro version?


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## daltxguy

Hi robwein. Welcome to Lumberjocks!

The plugin works on any version of Sketchup, free or pro and either Mac or Windows platforms ( and some Linux users are running it under Wine). The only warning about the Mac is that the layout window display will be blank - use the svg setting.

The default location of the Plugins folder in Windows is:

c:\program files\google\google sketchup 7\plugins\

and for a Mac:

Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 7/SketchUp/

You can check out the original post for Cutlist which has some answers to previous questions people have come across and it may be helpful.


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## robwein

Got it!! THANKS!! I first installed Sketchup 7.1, then downloaded your plug-in and placed it in the file you indicated. I'll need to get the hang of selecting what I want included. I've used groups rather than components and I now realize I'll have to add "ply" or some other material reference word to the name of each group but I can see that I'm on my way. Thanks very much for a terrific tool that will be a huge time-and wood (and money)-saver!!


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## freshwater

on my mac, PPC, 10.5.8
i only get menu in sketchup showing

Cost
Assign Est Material
Assign Est Faces
Compute

that's it.

on sketchup forums search, nothing is really found for "cutlist mac".

beside the html issue above, i'm supposed to get a bill of material list?
thanks for any help!


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## daltxguy

Hi Freshwater.

I'm confused by your question. Do you have the cutlist plugin installed? None of what you listed above is the cutlist plugin.

Yes, you will get a bill of material list if it is installed and your project is composed of components or groups. The 'Cut List' command will appear in the plugins menu.


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## freshwater

hi daltxguy,

okay it works now. i had downloaded 4.0.7, unzipped and placed the entire folder "cutlist 4.0.7" in plugins. you have to place all the contents of folder "cutlist 4.0.7" in plugins. placing the folder "cutlist 4.0.7" in plugins does not work.

this is the first plugin i've installed in sketchup.

thanks!


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## daltxguy

glad it works for you. The original blog has installation instructions and other useful info. The point you made above is emphasized a number of times 
Now you know and you are a SU plugin installation expert! Enjoy!


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## robwein

Back again. I can't seem to get the plug in to recognize what's a sheet. I don't seem to understand how to apply materials. I'm working on a Mac. I tried using the paint bucket and defining a material simply called "plywood" but it comes out on the cutlist as "Material2" and doesn't treat it as a sheet good. I did manage to get the layout to print in svg files but it treats everything as a board rather than a sheet. What am I doing wrong? I tried reading the help about applying materials and about paint bucket on the Mac but still can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. Any help/suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated!

I also thought maybe the problem was that I've used groups, not components so I selected all the parts that are plywood (essentially the carcass, shelves, and dividers of two sections of the cabinet/closet I'm building) and made them into components. Still didn't work. And I get messages "Some parts were left which could not be placed. No boards left or board limit reached." Do I need to enter an inventory of boards somewhere? I'm trying to use the cutlist plugin to figure out what to buy!


----------



## Claymation

Oddities in generating the cut list: 
~ prints out some of the words associated with my Sheet Goods at the top of the cut list cutting diagram and doesn't generate a picture or pattern for those items.
~ if the wide items are split, it shows two of the same instead of showing one board full and the remainder on the other.
~ shows half of a shaded sheet at the bottom of the cutting diagram with no patterns on it.

SketchUp v8.0.3117
Cut List v4.0.7

Thanks for your help! If you have a way to upload a SketchUp drwg, I'll let you take a look at it.


----------



## Claymation

DaveR,
Would you recommend completely uninstalling my previous version first?
Thanks.


----------



## Claymation

OK. Are there instructions for removing? (you knew that question was coming, right?)


----------



## Claymation

Thanks, DaveR! I'll try it in the AM. Really appreciate the help! Have a good evening.


----------



## daltxguy

Dave beat me to it. If you still have questions about issue #2 ( because, I think this is just the way I designed it ) let me know.


----------



## Claymation

Dave (and Steve),

I downloaded and unzipped the new package. Now when I run SU, I have two "Cut List" choices in my Plugins drop down menu. Neither work when chosen.

Thanks again.


----------



## Claymation

Dave/Steve, Yes. It was definitely deleted. So I decided to uninstall SU entirely, restart, reinstall SU v8 and apply v 4.1.0.5 of Cut List ; however, after doing this I STILL have two "Cut List" menu choices in my Plugins drop down. I'm at a loss at the moment of how to proceed.

The file 'cutlist.rb' and the folder 'cutlist' are there.

Interesting FYI: Before I uninstalled SU, but after I deleted the Cut List files and folder, I ran SU and to my surprise, the Cut List plugin was there in the Plugin drop down… and it ran the old version of Cut List! This is what led me to uninstall SU entirely.

Sorry to be such a PITA!


----------



## daltxguy

Claymation : Are you running windows Vista or 7? If so, then you have to watch that you are running as administraor when deleting the files, otherwise you are not really deleting the files from the plugins directory and you end up with 2 copies, even though you think you have deleted it. I explained this somewhere else, but I have to find it…


----------



## daltxguy

Check the discussion here on vista/7 issues installing the plugin and getting two copies

"Vista was the culprit. After killing and reloading Sketchup, just to see the results, and also checking the "shadow" files as you suggested, I saw no change and there were no shadow files. On a hunch, I added administrator status to the shortcut that starts Sketchup. That solved the problem. "


----------



## Claymation

Steve and Dave, I am sure this is the problem. I'll continue this discussion on the other thread now that I've found it! Thanks!
http://lumberjocks.com/daltxguy/blog/17213


----------



## daltxguy

Cutlist 4.1.1 has now been released. Upgrade from the 4.0.x series.
Download new version from here

If you had the 4.1.0.6pre, there is no change, otherwise lots of good fixes and some enhancements, including better printing, faster output, layout with sawkerfs and cutlist by subassembly.


----------



## FatherHooligan

Thanks Steve, I will download it and look forward to the enhancements and fixes! Thank you for working on this!


----------



## dleus

Hi
I hope I'm posting this to the propper place.
I've just downloaded and installed CutList 4.1 but SketchUp (Ver 7.1.6860) closes immediatly when I click on the CutList's "Run" button !
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanx
Doug


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Doug,
I can only suspect an incorrect installation of the plugin. This is the first time I have heard this particular issue after installation ( there have been others - all related to installation).

Check that both cutlist.rb is in the plugins folder and the folder cutlist and all its contents are also in the plugins folder.

The cutlist.rb installs the command in sketchup but it's the files in the cutlist folder which actually do the heavy lifting when you press run.

Steve


----------



## dleus

Steve
The instalation looks OK to me,



















Can I un-install SketchUp and re-install it without loosing all of my Sketchup projects ?


----------



## dleus

DaveR
Thanx for the reply.
I'd like to thank you for all of the SketchUp videos that you've made . . . they are *the* reason that I'm able to use SketchUp at all.
I'll keep searching for a resolution to by problem


----------



## dleus

I'm using Vista. CutList was working the last time I needed it, maybe a month or so ago. Only thing that I can think of that's changed would be MS updates. I was using an older version of CutList but then this happened so I figured that updating to the newest version would be a good place to start.


----------



## dleus

It worked ! ! 
Cutlist now seems A-OK. 
Should I just move my other plugins from the old Plugins folder to the new one ? Are there any known conflicts between CutList and any other plugins?
Thank You For the Help.
Doug


----------



## daltxguy

Several people struggle with Vista and W7 and Sketchup plugins. As Dave mentioned, if you are not adminstrator, you may *think *you deleted the old plugin and you may *think *you installed the new one but in fact, the directory which Sketchup is using is different to the one you are looking at. These are the so-called 'shadow' files and it's very confusing.

See the discussions previously in this same thread.

I also quoted this response someone else gave previously as a solution to a similar ( possibly the same) problem:

"Vista was the culprit. After killing and reloading Sketchup, just to see the results, and also checking the "shadow" files as you suggested, I saw no change and there were no shadow files. On a hunch, I added administrator status to the shortcut that starts Sketchup. That solved the problem. "


----------



## dleus

Looks like its plugin "sunposition.rb" causing the problem which I *did* install since last using CutList (as you tried to get me to remember in one of your previous replies . . . sorry ). You've made me a happy camper again !
Thanx for the help, and thanx again for your videos
Doug


----------



## daltxguy

I found this after a quick search:

"sunposition.rb overwrites and extends some Ruby built-in classes (precisely Float#round), which causes the problem. This may affect other scripts than just Curviloft"

Note: extending ruby classes is ok - overwriting ruby classes is a big no-no

The suggested fix was to comment out lines #45-50 in sunposition.rb
A newer version with a sunposition.rb fix was also available on sketchucation.


----------



## dleus

DaveR
It looks like I'll have to live without the sunposition plugin then. I'm trying to model a solar panel set up for my home and it would have been very neat to have it though. Oh well . . . I'm glad that I can now go off and CutlList my panel now.

daltxguy
I've thanked Daver for his SU videos. I'd also like to thank you for Cutlist. You may not realize just how many hours of enjoyment (and productivity ) you have provided to so many people by doing this. The world really is a better place because of people like you guys.
Thank You
Doug

Sorry, I didn't catch the fix for sunposition, ,, I'll check it out.


----------



## daltxguy

Thanks Doug.. and thanks Dave for pitching in and helping to solve this one - a new one for me.

Doug, I'll experiment later with sunposition and cutlist to see if the new version of sumposition or the changes suggested by the folks over at Sketchucation let these play together. From the thread there, it looks like the author of sunposition was informed of the issue with his implementation. No reason why you shouldn't have both. Sunposition sounds like a good plugin too, one which I might like to use in the future.


----------



## dleus

I've just downloaded the "fixed" version of sunposition from sketchucation and it seems good. Note that I haven't tested anything other than SU doesn't close when I run CutList.
Doug


----------



## daltxguy

The suggested fix works with cutlist. If you have the original version, then do the following:
1. Quit out of sketchup
2. make this change:
Change these lines in sunposition.rb ( add the *# *before each line as shown below ).

#class Float
# alias_method :round_orig, :round
# def round(n=0)
# (self * (10.0 ** n)).round_orig * (10.0 ** (-n))
# end
#end

3. start sketchup again.
4. All will be well again.

I tried a quick test of sunposition and it seems to work as well.


----------



## dedov

Hi Steve,
The new version is working fine - recognizing assemblies is so useful!!
I noticed something - when my components names are in Cyrillic and I try to import the cvs created by CutList into CutList Plus - the names are not recognized. But when I change the encoding of the cvs to ANSI and save it then import it into CutList Plus everything is working fine. 
Thanks.


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Dedov. Do you think this is an issue with the Cutlist plugin? or the ability of CutList Plus to import Cyrillic?
In the Cutlist plugin, the name of the component is simply taken from the component and copied to the csv file as is.


----------



## dedov

Hi Steve,
I think it is a CutList Plus issue. Opening the cvs in Excell also works.


----------



## daltxguy

dedov, you can contact the person behind CutList Plus, Todd Peterson at [email protected] 
He's very helpful.


----------



## SKelem

What would I have to modify to get Cutlist to use 2×2 boards?

Thanks,
Steve


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Steve ( *SKelem*),

You can follow the instructions I gave here on another post
How to customize layout boards and sheets

The main difference between when I wrote that and now is that in Cutlist 4.1.1 that same code is now is the cutlist folder in file reporter.rb

Just select one of the width options you are not going to use and set it to be 2" in the code using the instructions above. Don't worry about the labels on the gui - they are just labels. What matters is what they are set to in the code.

So, for example if you change the 12" wide board to be actually 2", then whenever you select 12" width, it will layout on 2" boards.

Hope that helps.

If it's too confusing, I can create a custom version for you.


----------



## gabewill

Steve,

I have just started using cutlist and like everyone else I am amazed and grateful. Like everyone else, I also have 2 cents or a question…

I have set up a layout for some built-ins. I am now going to need to transfer the dimensions from the cutlist to the layout to make my cuts. Is there a way to show the component dimensions on the layout? So instead of "component#50" it would say "component#50 - 3' 2" x 5' 6""

Thanks again for a fantastic tool.

Gabe


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Gabe, thanks for your comments.

Yes, I admit that there could be some improvements made to take the layout from the 'drawing board' to the shop.

The short answer is that there isn't a way to do this in the current version. Your best bet is to perhaps give more descriptive names to your components, then this would be placed on the layout.
The real issue with adding the dimension of the part to the label is when the label does not fit on the part and it begins to get messy.

I have some ideas for that but haven't got around to trying them out. I wanted to label the parts with a part number using some numbering scheme ( letters for example) and then provide a legend which can be printed out with the layout. Small parts can have labels with an arrow pointing to it.

The other idea which has been kicking around for a while, but again I have yet to tackle it, is to put the output of the layout back into a view of the project. This way it has all the characteristics of your original part, you can move it around if you want and even better, if it is a curved piece, then you can see the shape, not just a monolithic block.

If you really, really want the dimensions on the label, I could give some hints on how to make the changes so you can customise your version. It's not that complex, really.


----------



## gabewill

Steve,

Thanks for the reply. That all makes sense. Putting the layout back in the project would be great. Maybe an easier way to cross reference would be to identify what parts end up on a sheet together in the cutlist ouput. Basically another column in the cutlist that would show sheet1, 2 etc. That is what my piece of paper at the table saw looks like. I will not try to customize the plug-in myself, but thanks for the offer.

Again… Thanks. Gabe


----------



## tnt

Hi,

I am trying to get Cutlist installed on my machine and I am ruuning into a problem. I downloaded the zip and when I try to extract the file I keep getting error on the tabber.js and wz_jsgraphics.js files. They don't want to extract. The other thing is that when I try to find the folder cutlistui in explorer it doesn't come up, but when I go into winzip and try to re-extract the files it shows up. Very strange.

Any help would be appreciated.
Tony.


----------



## daltxguy

Hi tnt - your issues, of course, have nothing to do with my plugin but I'll see if I can help.
Something about what you said doesn't make sense, though. he latest version of the plugin does not have a folder named cutlistui. 
Which version of the plugin are you installing? ( It should be CutList 4.1.1)
Are you using Windows Vista or 7? (Either one is ok but these OSs have funny 'shadow' files if you are not the administrator )
Are you extracting the files as the administrator? ( See above)


----------



## tnt

Hi Steve,

I read your post on administrator. I run the computer with admin privilege. I did look to see if there was a virtual store and there is one. I extracted the to problem file to my desktop and put them in the virtual store directory and Now I can see the Plugin in Sketchup. I tried to run it on a project but I get errors.

Line: 149928997
Char: 21086
Error: jsGraphics is undefined.
Code: 0
URL: file:///C:/Program%20Files/Google/Google%20SketchUp%208/Plugins/cutlist/cutlistresult.html

if I click Yes then I get another error

Line: 149928997
Char: 24
Error: cutlistLayout is null or not an object
Code: 0
URL: file:///C:/Program%20Files/Google/Google%20SketchUp%208/Plugins/cutlist/cutlistresult.html

If I click yes on this the Print woindow is empty.

PS. Is there a reason it would create a folder in my virtual store even though I am Administrator on the computer.

Tony.


----------



## Cornductor

Where do I put the file once it's unzipped?
Thanks


----------



## daltxguy

Tony - try putting all of the files into the virtual store in the short term - and I'll go back and review how this administrator stuff is supposed to work. I'm at work right now, so I'll respond at the end of my day…I've had this issue before but the reasoning why MS did this comfounds me


----------



## daltxguy

50Splinters - the zip file should be unzipped into the plugins folder of the Sketchup version you are using. It's the usual way for all sketchup plugins to be installed.
There's actually a pic of what it looks like when it is installed further up in this blog.

You might also want to check installation and usage instructions which Ryan has created for others.


----------



## tnt

Hi Steve,

I got it to work. I decided to move all the files from the virtual store to the actual Plugins folder and everything seems to be working just fine now. I will let you know if I run into any problems.

Tony.


----------



## FloridaWoodworker

Hi, first off thanks for the awesome plugin.
Now then, I have the plugin working fine on my old laptop, the one I take along with me in the car. It still runs windows XP and the sketchup version is 8 (the free one).

I have another laptop that is newer that is kept at home, it runs Vista 64-bit, and the google sketchup version on this one is also 8 (the free one).

I cant get the plug in to run on the Vista computer to save my life, even after trying every remedy in every post I can hunt up on the internet.

The correct files are in the correct location, of this I am positive. When I open sketchup and click on plugins the only option is "generate cutlist". And it does generate a cutlist of everything selected and sends the .csv file straight to the directory, however it does NOT open any kind of box like its supposed to to give me options to check. On my other computer it opens the blue cutlist box with all the options.

Something strange I noticed, just out of curiousity, I rebooted into "safe mode with networking". I opened sketchup and clicked on plugins. Low and behold the choice "cutlist" was there (NOT "generate cutlist"). And when I clicked on it, the Cutlist box opened up with all the choices just as supposed to. However when I boot back into regular mode its just like it was before.

Can anybody help me out here please? I'm sure its something obvious that just keeps eluding me, but its very frustrating.

Thanks in advance for your time.
Terri


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Terri,
Your symptoms seem to indicate similar issues to what others have experienced when they have either not installed the plugin with administrator permissions or the plugin is not installed where you think it is or that you are not running sketchup with administrator permissions.

The hint is that when you boot using safe mode, then it runs. When you boot in safe mode, you likely are running as administrator.

I just installed the plugin on a laptop running Vista and it told me that 'administrator' was trying to install something in the plugins directory. It only proceeded with my permission. 
Compare the plugin files in the following two locations and see where they really are ( try opening the file as if you were about to edit it, for example and it may give you a hint.

C:\Program Files\Google\Google SketchUp 8\Plugins ( where you would normally install the plugin)

C:\Users\[USERNAME]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\Google\Google SketchUp 8\Plugins\ ( where it might actually have installed)

If you find it in the second location, then likely it really isn't in the first directory. These are the so-called shadow files, which have to do with user account control security in windows. You will see the file in the first directory as if it really was there, but it's not, it's actually in the virtual store.

If this is not the case, then you also you might try this suggestion from a previous post:
On a hunch, I added administrator status to the shortcut that starts Sketchup. That solved the problem.


----------



## FloridaWoodworker

Greetings Steve,
Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post. Its fixed now, I'll post what happened just in case for somebody else that might need the info.

It seems years ago and a different version of sketchup, I installed another cutlist program. Somebody else on another forum posted to my problem, saying he remembered a program that gave a "generate cutlist" option in the plug in menu. The problem is after searching and going over every file, even the registry, I coudl find no reference to that file anywhere. Nor were there any other sketchup files to be found from older versions.

Because it picked up cutlist 4.1.1 in safe mode. just to see what would happen, I went back into safe mode and did a search for any other instance of sketchup. Even though I deleted the program each time, and then reinstalled the newer version. I found loads of pieces of old versions and references to them when I searched in safe mode.

I have no idea why the search in regular boot didnt show them, I checked as you suggested, and was indeed running as administrator. I even went so far as to edit and check permissions for all the files and folders and drives, everything was set to administrative and had total "allow" permissions. But they still didnt show up.

Anyhow, after booting in safe mode I deleted each and every circumstance of sketchup that was not the version 8 I'm using now. And low and behold it works perfectly. Its a wonderful program, and I cant wait to really get into it.

Thanks again, sorry to be so long winded, wanted to post this just in case it worked for anybody else.

Terri


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Terri,

Well I'm glad you worked out. That certainly was an odd case.

Btw, the 'other' cutlist program you speak of is, in fact, the same cutlist plugin as the current one only a much earlier version. The 'generate cutlist' option was removed a few versions back. It was originally designed for Sketchup 5 and then the menu was introduced for Sketchup 6 and on it went from there. It should have clicked to me when you mentioned the options menu. The latest version no longer contains the menuless version as things have moved on quite a bit since then and it wasn't being maintained.

It was still strange the way it behaved but I'm glad you're savvy enough to have worked it out. Thanks for including your solution here in case it helps others.

Enjoy the plugin!


----------



## TedG

Steve I am making a cabinet using sheet goods of two different materials. Four Panels are called sheet teak and the fifth one is MDF but cutlist puts them all on the same sheet . Can this be changed

Ted


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Ted,

Quite a bit of difference between teak and MDF!

Yes, it can be done. On the layout options tab, there is an option 'layout by material'. If it is selected, then it will put parts of the same material on the same sheet and use a different sheet for each new material.

Steve


----------



## TedG

Hi Steve

More on my odd Teak/MDF cabinet

Your reply prompted me to try the options for Layout of sheets, but the one thing I cant do is to lay out components in the best way for cutting. The project has one part, 824×460mm and two Parts 460×425mm
Cutlist always puts length in the same direction, but, this is not the best way for cutting or for grain direction. I hope you will tell me there is a way round this or you will fix it in the next upgrade.

Thanks for your help Ted


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Ted,

'Fix' is a strong request for a free plugin! Fix also assumes it is broken but here's the issue: Sketchup provides no concept of grain direction. There is nothing in basic Sketchup which can be used to specify which way a piece is really oriented as this is a concept not captured in a surface model 3D tool. Each part is nothing but a set of points, lines and surfaces. Putting them together as a component or group creates the bounding box which can be used to derive a 3d dimension but beyond that there is nothing like grain, weight, color, density etc which are only in the realm of solid modeling CAD systems.

In the absence of any simple way to specify grain using Sketchup, the plugin has made an assumption, which works most of the time, that grain is in the direction of the longest dimension. Obviously it does not work all of the time as you've pointed out.

The solution has to be to add some data to the component which could be used to derive grain direction. I've floated some ideas in the past, like adding something in the component comments ( like grain=W) or having another third party plugin add a grain direction attribute ( like CabinetSense).

As for optimizing for cutting, this is another complex piece of work. For small projects, you might try the free version of CutListPlus, which probably does a better job than my basic Cutlist layout. You can export your cutlist using the plugin in a format which is compatible with importing into CutListPlus and then use CLP to do the things which you are looking for, which the free plugin does not do.


----------



## TedG

Hi Steve

Sorry my queery came out like that I didn't mean it to sound like that.

I was able to use the layout from cutlist to see that moving things around gave me what I needed for an economical cut. I was also able to follow your earlier advice on changing the program to customise the size of boards to match mine

Thanks Ted


----------



## daltxguy

No worries, Ted. I was just kidding. I'm always happy to fix something if it can be fixed.

You've got the right idea, though. Cutlist is a tool. It gives a suggested layout, not a perfect one. But once you see what cutlist produces, the eye and the brain are incredibly efficient at seeing a more optimal layout than any algorithm could derive. It's what fascinates me about coding this. I am trying to simulate what one does visually and as second nature - but what the heck is the process that one follows to layout something? I've taken one approach, but I am sure there are others.


----------



## NotSoNaff

Hi Steve.
Firstly I would like to join the, seemingly, hundreds of folk praising CutList as IMHO it is brilliant and fills so many needs of a woodworking SketchUp user.

Please forgive me if any of the topics below have been covered previously, this thread is VERY long and so interesting that I keep getting sidetracked and never sure that everything has been read and properly absorbed.

As a point of interest there are many www entries referring to issues between CutList SVG files and Safari, but my Mac has nil problems in this respect.

From time to time you have expanded the Materials section (Boards & Sheets) and I would like to make request for consideration of further expansion in this area.
I am refurbishing my home, it started out of need and developed into a hobby, and has reached the stage where cupboards are being built using Laminated Pine Board i.e. as distinct from the common (available to buy in every UK DIY 'Shed') 'white wood' boards devoid of all character. 
This Pine Board is available here in Thicknesses of 15; 18; 27mm: and Widths of 225; 315; 405; 495mm: these widths being produced by laminating 45mm wide strips. 27mm is also available 585mm wide.
Board lengths are 850; 1150; 1750; 2350mm:
These dimensions cover many of the available Melamine Faced Chipboards.

Perhaps an ideal solution would be to permit the User to enter their own material dimensions?
Easy to say, having no abilities in the Ruby area and perhaps a tad too long in the tooth to start now, but perhaps not so easy to do?

Many thanks and deepest respect for your valiant efforts and generosity in providing and supporting CutList. 
Very best wishes,


----------



## wglong

Trying CutList for the first time on a lumber cart I designed. The problem I'm having is with the kerf size not working on the layout. I've recreated this by simply making two boards 24"x38"x22/32". If you run this with kerf size on at 1/8" they align together on one edge of the sheet which would not work if the kerf size was taking 1/8 out of the board… I think.


----------



## daltxguy

*@NotSoNaff* - thanks for your comments. Indeed the thread is very long and LJ has become a bit awkward for searching through the history. I will be looking for other platforms or forums to handle this in the future.

The history behind the Mac issues with Safari are about displaying the layout in the window output form ( and as far as I know this issue still exists). The svg format was added so that Mac users would have a way of producing and viewing the layout because Safari is ok with viewing svg.

With regards to different size of boards and sheets, I'm constantly amazed at all the 'standard' sizes which are in use. You're right, the best way forward is to allow customization and this is in the works. For particular one-offs, I have given suggestions previously on how to make simple modifications to the code to give a custom size. With so many different sizes as you've mentioned, I'm afraid the only recourse in the short term is to select a size which is close and manage the differences by hand. Point taken, however, and yours is another voice shouting for customization and you have been heard!

*@wglong* - I'm afraid you may have to describe what you are in doing in slightly more detail. What size sheet are you laying it out on and which edge do you mean? If you provide more details, I can try it out and see if there is an issue there. It's not inconceivable.


----------



## bubinga

As a long-time subscriber to cutlist plus this is very interesting, as this is very similar, integrated with sketchup
Am I misunderstanding something, or do you think LJ is a platform ?
I don't want to just assume anything, because of misinterpretation


----------



## wglong

Steve, I will provide some more detail….

I've attached some pictures to help. I've got two boards that will be cut out of one 4×8 sheet. The boards are 24" in width (length does not matter). The layout shows that these boards would be placed on the 4' side of the sheet which is correct but not if you count the kerf. Available width from the 4' side would be 4' - kerf, which two 24" pieces could not fit.


----------



## daltxguy

*wglong *- I see what you have done now. Thanks. Actually, though you ticked the kerf box, you didn't actually provide a kerf value. The first box is the number of units, the second pull down menu is the units. Since the first box is left empty, you have set kerf to 0 1/8"s which explains why it still fits on a 4' wide sheet.

But, perhaps it would be better if I defaulted the value to at least 1, so ticking the box give you automatic results. What do you think about that?

*bubinga *- Depending on your usage of CutListPlus, CutList plugin in sketchup could serve your needs. However, CLP does a lot of things which Cutlist does not and may not ever do. The advantage for CutListPlus owners is that it allows Sketchup to be the front end. Cutlist plugin allows export in CLP format, allowing import of the parts into CLP for further, more complex processing. Many pros have written to me that they use both and their workflow is as follows:

Sketchup ( to design and draw)
Cutlist plugin - to produce material list and CLP csv file export
CutListPlus - import CLP file from Cutlist and produce layout and material costs

As for LJ being a platform, all I meant is that it is (and has been) a way of disseminating info about Cutlist plugin through blogs and forums and answering users questions. LJ has been the home of Cutlist since its rebirth in its current form, however, LJ is not designed to be a place to host code, its development and support even though it is woodworking related. If you have any suggestions, I am open to any ideas.


----------



## Shopfan

I've been a regular user of Cutlist since 4.0, and it is a real life saver in so many ways. It has just continued to get better and better.

That being said, I just discovered a new oddity that may be due to something I am not doing correctly, but I wanted to check in with you to be sure. I have a component, used twice, with a dimension of 7 13/16×32 5/16×3/4. I have Cutlist set up for a default of 8 in width x 8 ft long. Kerf is set to 1×1/8. When I run Cutlist, it insists on splitting this component into 2 equal sized pieces (4 total). With a width of 7 13/16 it should be fitting on a single width of 8 in lumber. In case it is the kerf setting, I tried using 1×1/32 and still got the same results. Subtracting the kerf from 8 inches still leaves plenty of room for the item.

Sure would appreciate any advice you might have to offer. Thanks loads,

Doug


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## daltxguy

Hi Doug,

If your 8" board is really 8" wide, then make sure to uncheck the 'Use Dressed Board Widths for Layout' option.
If this option is checked, then nominal board widths are adjusted for actual size after planing, ie: in this case 7 1/2" which wouldn't fit your part.
Since it wouldn't fit, it splits the piece into two, assuming that you will have to glue two pieces up (and trim) to get the desired width. If it's not that, then we'll look at this one closer.

kerf size is only added between any adjoining parts, so if the part went from edge to edge, then kerf would not be required and is not added so even an 8" component would fit on an 8" board even with kerf option checked.


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## Oreps

bump


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## Shopfan

Thanks Steve,

I think you answered my question. I should have guessed that you had already thought of the expected loss of a half inch during production. Being a little more risky myself, in this case I was hoping I would get a board that was exactly 8" wide (a fools guess, probably) and that I could trim up the board by removing no more than 13/16 (an even more foolish idea). Thats what I get for being cheap and not wanting to spend the extra $ for 10 inch lumber. I did uncheck that box just now, and everything fitted my "imaginary" 8 in boards. After rerunning with 10 in boards it ends up that I will spend less money in the long run anyway by using all this size stock. It is much more efficient, and, everything fits. Now all I have to do is find flat, good quality 10 in lumber. Thanks again for your support and advice.


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## daltxguy

Doug - I can be no judge of whether you are foolish or not, but at least the plugin helps to determine how much risk you are willing to take and which might be the better option. All the best with your hunt for nice lumber and your project!


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## wglong

Steve,

Yes, it was a little confusing what the first box is for in the kerf option. However, I did try to add 1 or 3 in that box and it didn't mater. It still laid out the sheets next to each other. Just so I'm clear…. If I want to use 1/8" kerf on my cuts I would but a "1" in the first box and then select the "1/8" in the drop down?


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## daltxguy

Hi *wglong *- Yes, I've reproduced the issue now. Yes, it is a bug, but I haven't had time to work out the problem yet. It was nothing obvious at first glance. Will have some time soonish to look at this and provide a fix.


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## MikeOMelia

Steve, great tool! I have only one suggestion (well 2).

First, is there a way to save the cutlist info? And if not, can there be?

Second, On my first project (toy chest, posted over at sawmillcreek under wood projects) I noticed almost too late the the exact sizing can be a problem. I like to overcut, and then sand or joint (plane) to final dimensions. My suggestion is that the user be able to tag each component (optionally) with overage values in each dimension. Then, when the list is produced, actual and overage dimensions be shown. Kerf size is not flexible enough… overage numbers in each dimension need to be independent of each other. This way, the board count accuracy goes up, and less thought goes into cutting. Also, the component list should have a check box to help eliminate some components fom the calculations as some are so minor as to be made from scrap (possibly).

Just some thoughts…

Again, thanks for a great tool!

Mike


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## MikeOMelia

BTW, I realize that I could deselect components in the sketchup drawing before submitting to cutlist, but that is a pain. Also, your current component list is MUCH better than anything in the free sketchup version! I used it endlessly to double check my project.

I really hope my suggestions are not taken as "taxing". I would be willing to help with coding if that made it simpler.

Mike (yup, I'm a systems engineer in my day job!)


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## daltxguy

Mike, I always appreciate the comments, questions and suggestions. Much of what this plugin has become has been because of suggestions like yours.

Saving Cutlist info: There are ways to save the cutlist info. It depends what you had in mind. It can be printed from the screen ( or with cutepdf or similar you can print to a pdf file) or you can save as a csv file.

Creating cutlists for rough dimensions. yes, it's something I have thought about and is on my todo list. Adding kerfs was the first step and it can be used for this purpose but as you said, it is not as flexible as you might need. Basically I want to add more support for rough boards or recycled lumber where you have less control over dimensions available and wish to have greater margins. I'll keep your suggestions in mind. I usually want to avoid having to add extra info to the component itself, but at some point this may become unavoidable but I also don't want to add anything which is unusual or non-standard ( if there is such a thing in sketchup). I prefer the ride the back of some other popular plugin or utility at the very least. Attributes keep coming to mind.

Component exclusion can be done in a number of ways using just Sketchup. You can deselect components, you can make them invisible ( cutlist only selects visible components) or you can put them on layers and deselect the layers. As before, I prefer to use the sketchup facilities rather than introduce something new with the plugin ( this way I don't have to worry about keeping it compatible with sketchup changes) or introducing another level of complexity where two things do the same thing.

However, having said that, it might be an idea to have an option to say, ignore pieces less than a certain dimension for layout so that it doesn't fragment the board unnecessarily or, as you said, the assumption being that it will always come out of scrap.

As for helping with coding, I welcome all help. A few of the features have been suggested or even coded by others. The source comes with the plugin. I haven't really set up a good way of cooperative developing at this time but I always welcome code snippets or modified versions which I can incorporate.


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## WoodNuts

Steve,

I can't get Cutlist to provide a sheets cutting diagram. I have selected 4'x8' and SU will only list it as though I have selected boards i.e. 6"x8' etc… then diagram displays multiple pieces as such. That would be fine if I were using biscuits, but not a full sheet.

I have looked at many posts and screen shots and selected the shown items, but can't find the fix.

This program is awesome, I just am not finding what I need to do. You have been great at answering everyone's questions, and I hate to ask one that likely has been delt with, but I am not finding it in the forum.

Thanks for any help.


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## daltxguy

Hi Woodnuts - I never mind answering questions. I know the search facility here on LJ is not that great and besides sometimes new issues do come up!

In this case, my first guess is that you have no way of distinguishing the sheet parts from the 'solid' parts. Parts are selected for layout on sheets if either the material or the part name matches one of the "sheet words' on the first page of the menu.

The other issue I have seen once, is that your part name may have a word in it which matches the "parts words". If so, then it automatically becomes listed as a hardware part and not a sheet good part ( even it matches a "sheet word" ). Ie: when figuring out whether it is a hardware part, a sheet good or a piece made from solid wood, the order of precedence is parts, sheets, then solids.

If it's none of the above, then we'll keep exploring.


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## WoodNuts

"Parts are selected for layout on sheets if either the material or the part name matches one of the "sheet words' on the first page of the menu."

This was it, thanks much.

Donations go where?


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## MikeOMelia

Now I know why folks bump this thread! Is there not a way to get to the end quickly?

Mike


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## MikeOMelia

Did not know code came with it, never bothered studying the plug ins before. But I will look into it! What is the language? Or is it all API based, google designed?


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## daltxguy

Mike - agreed. Since comments were broken into smaller sections, this thread has actually become more difficult to read, though perhaps less time to load. There is no way to get to the end quickly that I know of. 'Bumping' , however only makes it worse for everyone ( it adds unnecessary comments) and I don't encourage it.

Sketchup plugins are all written in standard Ruby. Sketchup's API is well documented ( well enough anyway). My plugin interacts mainly with the html page which displays the menu/specifies the options and the Sketchup model via the Sketchup API.

Most plugins include the source, though some are now delivered in a scrambled format which prevents viewing the source but runs equally well ( though I suppose slower but I'm not sure). Cutlist is not scrambled. There is no ruby compiler yet to my knowledge, so plugins do not come as an executable.


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## MikeOMelia

Sorry for bumping it. I realized as I did it that it was in poor taste.  Ruby it is. I will play around with it and pass along any mods that get to work.

Peace,

Mike


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## 150781

I use sketchup on english. But when I import data into csv file I need separating fractional part of numbers through comma (1,25), not through point (1.25). Which settings should I customize to get this result?


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## daltxguy

Hi 150781. The decimal character displayed by the plugin is exactly as it comes from the Sketchup settings. I believe if the Sketchup language setting was set to almost any other language other than English, then it would use the comma for the decimal notation.
It is also similar for the csv data separation character (but opposite to the decimal notation) and this is part of the plugin code. I key off the language setting in Sketchup. ( The data separator is the comma for all types of English and the semi-colon for any other language )

hope that helps…Steve


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## robwein

Steve, I really appreciate what you are doing; if I could get the cutlist plug-in to work with my sketch up model it would be an incredible time and money saver. It's a wonderful gift you've created for the woodworking community-especially the hobbyist like me. I'm struggling because I took on what is for me a fairly complicated project for my first sketch up model (have done others since) and I'm having trouble getting the output I need from the plug in. There are parts that are not placed (that the plug in warns me about) and other that don't show up in the layout at all. I don't know if the problem is how I've set up the sketch up model. The video tutorials from which I learned how to use sketch up urged creating groups but your plug in seems to favor components; not sure if that's the problem. Is there a way I can send you my model to look at and let me know what the problem is? I'd be grateful. My wife is eager (gentle understatement) for me to build this built-in wardrobe for her. Thanks very much for any reply.


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## daltxguy

robwein. I can have a look at it. I 'd like to see you get the wardrobe finished too  I will PM you with an email address you can use to get it to me and we will work through it.

Groups work just as well as components for the plugin. I favor components because they are more useful when it comes to sketchup. Think of components as super-groups. They do everything groups do and more - so there are few reasons to use components AND groups or just groups exclusively. However, I don't discriminate and both work well with the plugin.


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## 150781

It would be great if this plugin could give to components definition names and label leader text automatically. Can it?


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## daltxguy

Hi 150781 - Not sure exactly what you mean. The component name is used as the part name if it exists, otherwise I generate a name in the plugin for it. What did you mean by 'label leader text' ?


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## tillbeton

Hello and thanks for the great plug-in.

Here my wish for an upcoming programm version:

Why don't you make the fields for Nominal Board Width and Nominal Board Length editable?

I recently planed a littel workworking project (Doll wardrobe for my daughter) and the front panel has a width of 40 cm (15,7 inch)... but the maximal width to choose from is 30 cm (approx. 12 inch). So the plug in splits it up which i don't want bec a board of this width is available here. Also the board lenght of my local dealer differs from offered options.

Or can i edit the sourcecode of the programm that it offers me different sizes?

Thanks in advance for an answer…
Kind regards from Germany

Till


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## daltxguy

Hi Till.

My apologies about giving you a prompt answer.

Yes, this is a popular request and is indeed on my list of improvements.

You can edit the source code to make the selections mean something different in the short term. I covered that here previously but I know it can get lost in all of the comments. I have yet to put a blog together which is nothing but a faq but the info is all here somewhere.

See comment #183 in this same thread


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## Shopfan

Hi Steve,

Just a few comments based on my using Cutlist pretty heavily for the last few days in preparing materials lists for several new projects.

First, this is certainly an incredibly useful tool, and for a "work in progress" it really does a very professional and useful function for those of us who can't afford the more expensive brands.

Now for a few items for the wish list>

1. It would be a great improvement if the text on the layout sheet was quite a bit larger. Some of us don't have top notch vision and really struggle with 6 pt type on the printouts. The info text above the board is most important. If you just listed the part number in the individual part layouts that might let you increase that size to some extent also.

2. When I print out a layout sheet, for instance that includes 6 8ft boards, the entire image is small due to heavy indenting of the layouts as well as quite large margins all around. I usually print layouts in landscape format to get more room, but this creates a problem if there are more than a few boards since the last boards get cut off in landscape but print OK in portrait.

3. I think others have asked for this also, but I'll repeat it. Sure would be nice if the boards were truncated to the actual length needed to accept the layouts with some adjustable end margin setable in the setup. Of course the selected max board length would still be chosen during setup. The board foot calculation at the end of the description line on each board would only include the truncated length of the board in the calculation.

4. We are getting down to the really nit level request here. Would be nice if one could choose to show board thickness in either the common 4/4 5/4 8/4 format or the current measurement in inches (1 1/4 in vs. 5/4).

5. An even smaller nit: Would be nice if there was a table in the Part List that listed the size and qty of each board that is needed. This info is obviously already available on the layout (if you have really good eyes), but this would be a more useful tool when one goes into the lumber yard to buy materials.

As I said earlier, Cutlist is doing a great job now, and you should not see the suggestions as complaints at all. Just polish if you ever get time to make this marvel a bit shinier.

Thanks again, Steve, for a great product and really good support.

Doug, Spokane Valley, WA, USA


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## Shopfan

Hi Steve,

Just one more comment regarding an earlier item in the thread (about 2 months ago) regarding how to exclude certain parts from the cutlist and cutlist drawing. I found an interesting technique that solved my problem and may help others. I had several items in the project that were hand fabricated, such as trim pieces, veneer strips, a drawer knob, or a carved piece, none of which would be cut from standard lumber. Off the shelf precut wood, like 30 in 2×2 also comes to mind. They kept showing up as tiny little items on the cut drawing, and also cluttered up the cutlist. I went back into the SU drawing and added "part" to the end of the component name for those items. This caused them to be removed from the cut drawing, but it then created a list of the "parts" on the cutlist printout, seperate from the regular cutlist. On some items, like the trim pieces, I also added the dimension just before "part", so I had a reference with me at the store when buying or selecting the parts (i.e.; "veneer trim 1/4×18 part").

Didn't require any new code, and changing component names only takes a few minutes. I hope others find this as useful as I did. Nice feature.

Doug


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## sheridan

I just discovered your plugin and I'm having a bit of difficulty. Just as a test, I drew out several pieces of various sizes of 3/4" plywood. Each one was made a component. When I ran CutList, it gave board feet, not sheet goods. Did I miss something?


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## daltxguy

Hi Sheridan,
Your component name or the material must match one of the 'sheet words' and only then will it be recognized as a sheet good. Sketchup has no way of knowing without this and the assumption is a board part.

HTH…Steve


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## sheridan

Thanks for the reply. Now I have to figure out how to do that. I tried naming the pieces "sheet 1,2, etc., in the Entity Info dialogue box and saving it. That didn't do it. I've used Sketchup since before Google bought it but I've never named pieces.


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## NotSoNaff

sheridan

*Steve* advised in an earlier post, adding caveats:



> In this case, my first guess is that you have no way of distinguishing the sheet parts from the 'solid' parts. Parts are selected for layout on sheets if either the material or the part name matches one of the "*sheet words*' on the first page of the menu.
> 
> The other issue I have seen once, is that your part name may have a word in it which matches the "parts words". If so, then it automatically becomes listed as a hardware part and not a sheet good part ( even it matches a "sheet word" ). Ie: when figuring out whether it is a hardware part, a sheet good or a piece made from solid wood, *the order of precedence is parts, sheets, then solids*.
> [end quote]
> 
> Presently the *Sheet Words*, see the bottom line on the CutList Tab, are:
> 
> *sheet veneer plywood hardboard mdf*
> 
> Be aware that you should always check these words within CutList because if they are amended they will not be changed in this post.
> 
> May I suggest that you make sure the CutList Settings have selected the relevant functions you are trying to use, ensuring that you hit the *Save Settings* button after making changes.
> 
> With the above taken into account try the naming procedure again.
> Good luck.
> 
> I am a novice when it comes to CutList and I may be off track so I hope someone more knowledgeable will step in and join in this attempt to reduce the admin load on Steve.


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## sheridan

Thanks, but my problem is that I do not know how to name the parts in Sketchup. It's something I've never done and I can't seem to figure it out. At least, I THINK that's my problem. I haven't altered anything in CutList.


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## jft68

Hi Sheridan,
if your parts are components they should normally be already named because you're asked for when you create components. Right clic on a component > Entity info then modify the name in the dialog box.

If you use groups instead then you have to use "Structure" in the Window menu. Sorry Idon't know the name in english (I've the french version of SU) but with the picture you can recognize it.

Then you've to identify which group is what and rename it consequently. (Right clic on the name).
You can use it to rename components too.
For the future, I recommend you to use components as much as possible in your projects.
Hope it helps.


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## NotSoNaff

sheridan

As Jean is reporting you have already used the naming process, my point is that if you have not selected items in *Include* you may not get the output you are expecting? 
On the CutList PlugIn Tab labelled CutList simply check what is actually selected to the right of *Include: Components*, *Sheet Goods* or *Parts*, a good starting point may be to select all of them.


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## rance

As to "Creating cutlists for rough dimensions. and adding kerfs". One solution would be to scale up all parts by 3-4% before generating the cutlist. I just pulled that percentage out of my had so feel free to adjust. The KISS method.


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## Bsmith

daltxguy, thanks for all your effort in this program. I looks amazing. Though I am fairly Mac efficient I can't seem to get my layout to show up. Window opens but it's blank. I think it may be in the way I'm setting up my components/names or something. For those of us that feel more comfortable with a hammer than a computer would you consider, either offline or here doing a simple step by step process with screen shots  of a project from beginning to end then printing a cut list and layout? Just a square box with face frame or something. I've found ton of info on these forums but still can't seem to get the layout to work. (Did I mention I'm using a Mac?) I'm sure the information is here in the forums but I can't piece it together. You have went above and beyond what is expected of you so if it's been covered or time doesn't permit I understand.
May the Lord Bless you and your family
Bryan


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## daltxguy

*Bsmith *- I don't mind repeating basic ideas. I realize that this forum has perhaps outlived its usefulness as it is difficult to piece together information.

The layout function display using a window does not work on Macs. Simple as that. Layout function does still work, however - simply select the svg option which produced files which can be viewed on a mac. Most browsers now support svg. You can also download 'Inkscape' if you prefer.

A more extensive demo of the software is not possible at this time. I am currently on vacation visiting my dad halfway around the world from where I live but I may consider doing something like this in the future. Others have some some things like this already.

Try cutlist blogs by Dave Richards of Fine Woodworking's Design.Click.Build


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## daltxguy

*rance *- kerf is now supported in the latest version. It is possible to use largers kerfs than normal to add rough size dimensions to the parts.


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## daltxguy

*sheridan *- the other way to do it is to add a keyword which matches whatever name or material your part already has.
When you produce a cutlist it shows part name as well as material. If there is anything in common with all of your parts which are sheet goods, then add that word to the sheet 'parts'

In the long term, you'll have to figure out how to name your parts - it's very useful!


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## daltxguy

*NotSoNaff *- I appreciate the comments and the help. It is a sign of a maturing community when others can step up to the plate and answer questions as if I were there. Soon, people will also even forget who I am! This is a good thing.
The default settings have been carefully thought out so that users can get a result right out of the box, so hopefully those don't need to be adjusted, at least not until something more advanced is required Sheridan's problem seems pretty basic with naming of parts/materials and getting the matching words correct to make it give results as expected. But it is a basic skill which must be mastered in sketchup


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## daltxguy

Jean-Franco - merci pour t'on aide! Je viens de quitter votre pays il y a quelque jours. Mon baggage doit etre quelque part, perdu a Paris!


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## NotSoNaff

*Steve* there is absolutely no chance of the folk here forgetting who you are, 'CutListers' everywhere NEED you and should make every effort to share the load.
If you have any CutList FAQs that would benefit from similar treatment to the ScreenCast below just shout. On second thoughts perhaps it would be better if I found out how to PM?

*sheridan* Did you resolve the issues you were having? If not this, although produced with Mac Users in mind, may be of some use:

*Using CutList - CutLists in Spreadsheet Format & Mac Layouts*

This is the product of my first crack at ScreenCasting, so perhaps I have been a little ambitious? A novice ScreenCaster using a debut production that attempts to explain, from novice level CutList experience, the marriage of CutList and SketchUp was a challenge I could not resist. I admit to having some SketchUp experience but a Guru I am not.

I will be very appreciative of constructive criticism and will rework the ScreenCast if necessary.
I am not happy with the quality but File Size limits imposed by PhotoBucket, require the originals to be severely reduced in quality. Quality improvement of the Video is possibly the steepest learning curve out of all the processes undertaken to get this far.


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## Bsmith

Notsonaff, this looks exciting and just what I was looking for possibly. Too late to start watching tonight. I didn't notice any audio. Is it missing or just video only? Thanks again.


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## NotSoNaff

*Bsmith* please read the bottom line on the first page , it is said a 'picture' paints a thousand words this may just test that 'saying'?

For anyone interested the ScreenCast is around 6+ minutes duration.

A big* THANK YOU* is due to the *LJ Site Administrators*, it is a major improvement being directed to the last 30 posts rather than the first 30.

Cheers,


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## jft68

Hi,
nice attempt Notsonaff !
I'm sure it will help some of the readers here.

"A big THANK YOU is due to the LJ Site Administrators, it is a major improvement being directed to the last 30 posts rather than the first 30."

Yes, that was really necessary. Thanks to the LJ Site Administrators !


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## NotSoNaff

Good morning *Jean-Franco*, I guess we share the same or adjacent Time Zone/s, unlike many contributors here?
Thank you for your response to my post.
The biggest problem is getting back in touch with LJ Members once they have 'left the scene' as it were.
As I said above I must find out if there is a PM facility on LJs.

*EDIT* A PM has been sent.
For anyone wanting to point to the ScreenCast this is the link to the original post:

*Using CutList - CutLists in Spreadsheet Format & Mac Layouts*

The changes in access to the latest posts here, and I guess all LJ threads/Forums, surprised me so much that I closed the appropriate Tab and started over which of course yielded the same welcome result.

Cheers,


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## SantaClaus

I have done my best to skim through the prior posts so please forgive me if this has been asked and answered. I am having difficulty getting Cutlist 4.1 to group identical components. I started trying to get it to work with a fairly complex room full of cabinets. When that didn't fly I created a new file, with just the face frames, all made from a single component scaled and rotated to make rails and stiles of varying lengths, and a couple of different widths (for scribing). I have tried all three table options, but none properly reports. For instance, there will be three separate entries for a particular sized piece rather than a single entry with a quantity of 3. None of the components contains the keywords (or parts of keywords), all are painted default, and all are the same component. They all have no name and the default description (Component#1). I am on a Mac. I get the same result whether I output html or cvs. I get the same result whether the components are nested in assemblies or not. I'm not sure what else to try. Thanks so much for the Ruby, it'll be very useful even if I have to do some manual collation and editing in Excel.


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## daltxguy

It's not often I get to converse with SantaClaus - just to get that out of the way - I've been good this year - er, ok, scratch that, I haven't.

No, this sounds like a new one to me. 
The only table option which will consolidate like components is the compact list option.
It just finds same components (name, dimensions) and keeps count of them. If they are not being added together, then I would say, these components are NOT the same for some reason.
I might have to take a look to know for sure. I will contact you offlist and give you a contact email.

Steve


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## SantaClaus

Wow, quick response. Thanks for your attentiveness! I will await your contact. Thanks again!


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## daltxguy

Hi Santa,
I tried your model and I guess I am not sure what you think is not working. When I select the compact list, I get some components with quantity 2 and all other components are unique ( note: both component name and all dimensions must be the same in order for it to be listed once with a quantity). Is this the same as what you are seeing?


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## SantaClaus

First I want to say that I am finding the plug inordinately useful, even with the problems collating parts. I have made a couple of raised panels using the parts list blindly (not even doing a sanity check) and the finished panel was exactly the size needed.

Which bring up my first suggestion: I generally like to cut my stiles a little over size (both length @1/2" and width @3/16) and my rails a little over-width (@3/16. This way I can to a final trim to size and perfect square after the glue-up. I'm wondering if others might find it useful to have the plug treat parts named "stile" or "rail" by oversizing by a user preset amount?

My second thought is, why is the list collation concerned about the part name (or description, or definition, it's all quite confusing). Is it possible to have the plug just collate based on dimension and material? My main problem is that I have very precisely designed parts that mimic the cuts of my cope, stick, and panel raising bits. To resize these parts I cannot use scale or the profiles would be distorted, so I use FredoScale to 'stretch' my parts, which stretches the middle leaving the end profiles in tact. But, in the process, FredoScale makes the component unique. Unique components will not collate together. Could an option to ignore component name be made into a user option?










I know another user (some where above) was having similar troubles with his raised panel doors, which he had designed as dynamic components. DC is really the ideal way to handle these constructions (even though I don't have Pro). Perhaps Cutlist could report any component called "dynamic rail", "dynamic stile" or "dynamic panel" as a single piece even though it is made up of 3 or more solids?

Again, thanks for the excellent plug.


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## ramirez

First off, Thanks for a great plugin.

I was building a simple cabinet (top, Bottom, 2 sides, and 2 shelfs) to test out the plugin. Since its a simple cabinet it fits on a sheet of 4×8 plywood. When I run the plug in it outs the top shelf on a new board and there is enough space for it on the first board. Am I doing something wrong?


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## daltxguy

*Santa *- I haven't done much (anything) extra yet to support DC components. As you've found out DC works by splitting components into three and stretching the middle, creating funny parts. I think something can be done there and I will add it to the (growing) list of things to investigate.

Rough sizing components can be done to some degree using kerfs but I did also always imagine to add a 'rough cut' option that will add extra dimension to every part for layout on rough sawn timber.

Your suggestion to do it automatically for very specific parts is an interesting idea. I like to build in knowledge of how things are actually constructed by woodworkers. It would have to be for advanced users, because the results could be confusing. I imagine a tab of advanced options in future releases.

Collating based on material and dimension is also an option worth considering. I had it that way once and then received emails to put it back to collate by partname - apparently this had become very useful and the cause was noble - people designing and building habitiat for humanity homes using plans and cutlists made in sketchup.
My thoughts about this, though, are that that with the csv file, any listing can be made using the power of excel or any other spreadsheet program. It's not really worth for cutlist to reproduce the power of excel. This is why there is an option to simply list all components as they are found in the model - then post processing can be done outside of cutlist using much better tools. Many people use it this way.

*ramirez *- no you are not doing anything wrong - the plugin has limitations in the accuracy and efficiency of the layout. These depend very much on your model. Especially models that have a lot of large parts and a lot of little parts. I've always warned to use it as a guide and then fine tune by eye. If after running the layout tool, it's obvious to you that you can now fit it on a single sheet, well, hopefully, the plugin has still helped to visualize it and come to that conclusion. I know what I need to do to get it to work better but it will take a period of devoted concentration to it, because that part is quite complex ( and quite an interesting problem!)


----------



## SantaClaus

Ramirez, it is possible that you are doing something wrong… is the panel that gets pushed to the second sheet painted with a different material? Something painted "oak ply" cannot be teamed with parts painted "birch ply", for instance. Also note that a group can be painted one material, and the individual surfaces painted another (I have no idea how SU decides which one wins!) and cutlist may take this into account as well. I'm beginning to find that it is better to draw a conceptual model to show finishes and massing, and another working model that uses construction-informed materials (solid oak, oak ply, prefinished birch ply, etc). Obviously, a white-washed oak ply bulkhead and a poly'ed oak ply drawer side can be cut from the same sheet, so the finishes just confuse the matter when you are looking to make shop drawings and cutlists. On my conceptual model I like to have a horizontal grain and a vertical grain version of each material as well, but again, this makes for a mess with cutlist treating the parts painted "oak h" as different materials than "oak v". It's almost better with the shop drawing to just color-code the materials so oak is green and ply is blue, for instance, rather than using photo-realistic textures.


----------



## daltxguy

Santa - that's a good point. If 'layout by materials' is selected, then it is possible that layout will be on two sheets if the materials are not the same for all parts.


----------



## Benjamin1

This is cool. Thank you for providing this plugin.

Has anyone used this with a TigerStop or the TigerSET API?
Does anyone know if the data format is compatible?

Thanks
Ben


----------



## ramirez

Thanks for your quick reply and all that you do to adress all of our issues, concerns, and/or suggestions.
This is a great plugin.


----------



## cesaronte

Hi thank you very much for this great plugin.
It is possible to filter out groups and only list components?
I'm working with dynamic components and some profiles need to be defined by several groups inside a component, that's because the resize methodfor DC what it does is to scale the object instead of stretching it.

For example, have a component with 3 gruops inside, then cutlist calculate bounding box for the component and ignore the 3 groups inside.

I'm new in ruby and i'm not able to modify the code of reporter.rb for definition getGroupCopyName thet i think is where the magic spot is

I hope you can help me if it's not difficult to you.

Thanks

Cesar - - WestwoodDesign.com.mx
Cabo San Lucas - Mexico


----------



## RedKerr

Great plugin, thanks for all the work. 
I'm still not able to get the kerf width to work properly. I have 4 pieces, [email protected] 33" wide and [email protected] 3" wide, and it always shows them all side-by-side across the 4' width of the sheet, regardless of what kerf settings I use. I currently have it set at 1×1/4"

Is there something I'm missing?


----------



## Spyker

Use cut list V4.4.1 for a while now. I do a lot cutting from sheets. In South Africa our boards are 9' x 6' (2750mm x 1830mm) which is not an option in the program. I have edit the source code to make this work but would like it to be in the download version, so if the program gets updated I wont have to re-program. Who do I approach to see if this change can be implemented?


----------



## sibenj

Hi Steve, are there any plans for an option to omit hidden components from the report? 
I am working on a dynamic cabinet component with nested components that can be switch on or off using the "hide" behavior. I would like cutlist to have an option to not include these elements if they are hidden.

My current work around is to have a formula change the material of the component when it is hidden from one that is named as a sheet material to anything else hence putting it in the components list. I then uncheck components from "include" section and it doesn't appear in the cutlist. This is obviously not ideal as I would like to include materials other than just sheets materials and parts.

Hope this makes sense…
Simon


----------



## daltxguy

Hi *SPyker*
Next version will allow for customized sheet and board sizes. I have no firm plans on when this might be but say, first quarter of 2012 or so. For now, you've done the right thing.

Hi *sibenj*
Good suggestion. Right now, it only omits things which are not visible but I'll have to see what the difference is between hidden and not visible. Consider it on the todo list!

My apologies to anyone who I may have missed in responding recently. I literally have to walk up a mountain to get internet access these days. It's not so bad but it does mean I don't linger on here and my responses are short and more directed - I'm limited by the battery life of my laptop. Things will improve shortly. Thanks for your patience


----------



## daltxguy

To anyone who has written to me about some inaccuracies when layout is used with kerfs, I want to report that there was an issue and it has been fixed. I will be uploading a corrected version soon.
Also the download point will be changing shortly. I have moved my code to google code for better maintenance and documentation.
For now, the old download from box is still working and I will probably maintain a long overlap time between for the switchover ( like a year or something)

I am slowly adding documentation to google code site but not anything there that you cant find here for now - for anyone curious - it is here


----------



## NotSoNaff

Thanks for the link to the new patch Steve, this move seems like a great idea.

Also looking forward to the update of Cut List.

I know how you feel about BB woes, and I do not have the possibility of getting to higher ground and would not expect much improvement if I plugged in to the Telephone Exchange just down the road.

You are doing a grand job, thank you very much for your efforts.

Best wishes,


----------



## kevintunis

Has anyone had a issue creating a cut list for plywood? I follow the steps from Ryan Bruzan's "Cutlist 4.1 For Google Sketchup, A Introductory Tutorial" http://cherrywoodcustom.wordpress.com/2011/02/06/cutlist-4-1-for-google-sketchup-8/ and still cannot get it to work. All it does is create individual boards.


----------



## Claymation

just a quick guess, but are you naming your sheet goods with something that matches what the "Sheet Material Words" are expecting?


----------



## daltxguy

Kevin,

Your part has to be recognized as a 'sheet good' part. The 'sheet words' field in the configuration is meant to divide your parts into those that are solid material parts or sheet good parts. If any of the words there match all or part of either the material name or the part name, then it puts it in to the sheet good bin. You can verify your selection if you simply create a cutlist, because it separates out parts, sheet parts and hardware parts(other). If you don't see your parts separated in the cutlist correctly, then it will not be laid out on the boards or sheet goods correctly.

Btw, I've not seen that video but I'll head over and take a look and maybe include it in the cutlist documentation being developed here, the new(er) home for Cutlist ( though not officially cutover fully yet - the links above still work for download)
http://code.google.com/p/cutlist/


----------



## HamS

I was actually thinking of writing an extension to the plug in, but I would have to learn Ruby. What I want to do is add a quantity parm to the cutlist. I have a model that I have used cutllist to generate my bom. However, I am making two of the cabinets and the material usage of the sheet goods is not effecient when two are being made. It is almost perfect with one. I would also like to to be able to specify grain direction in sheet goods usage. More on that requirement in a bit. I have not started on that becasue my daily bread job is writing software and my inventory system is going full tilt now as year end inventory is going and that is enough programming for me for now.

Ham


----------



## kevintunis

Steve in the tutorial from Ryan Bruzan's "Cutlist 4.1 For Google Sketchup, A Introductory Tutorial" I used Birch Plywood - should that be the trigger for sheet goods?


----------



## Claymation

Kevin, if I am understanding your problem and all else is normal, that will work as long as you have either "Birch" or "Plywood" specified in the "Sheet Material Words" field. The two need to correlate.


----------



## kevintunis

How does Cutlist have to be set to get the sheet goods?

Cutlist Tab

uncheck parts
Sheet material Words box include the words plywood
clear the parts words

Layout tab
uncheck the split wide parts and split thick parts
Check layout by material box
Uncheck displaced parts box
type 1 in the first box next to "Saw Kerf Size" leave the kerf size to 1/8

Sheets tab
select 4' x 8'

Does anyone have a sample project done that I could use to see if I can generate a plywood cutlist?


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Kevin,

The only real important settings are the 'sheet words' and then make sure that your components or groups have either a name with matches wholly or partially to one of words or a material which matches wholly or partially. There has to be something to differentiate the parts since Sketchup has no concept of solid lumber or sheet goods or hardware parts.

Mostly, the default settings on a freshly installed version of the cutlist plugin will give immediate results. You don't need to clear the 'part words' unless you have ambiguous part names. The other settings aren't important either for what you are trying to do, but they won't do any harm.

This is a common question, so it's covered at the cutlist Q&A : http://code.google.com/p/cutlist/wiki/QandA


----------



## dleus

Hi 
It seems that I'm having the same type of problem that "SantaClaus" reported having (post#256).
I have a very simple model of a table with only 3 legs. CutList reports 3 copies of the leg component. However, when I drag another leg from the components window, Cutlist shows 2 leg components, 1 with 3 copies and another with 1 copy ! Other than the part#, all fields are equal.
I've been trying to figure out what's causing this, but I'm totaly baffled !


----------



## daltxguy

Hi dleus,

Same response really as for Santa.
Parts are consolidated in the 'compact' list when the following criteria matches:
Part name
dimensions ( w,l,t)
Material name

Otherwise, it will list it as separate components.

As mentioned, there might have to be more options which you can set to consolidate on only say, dimension and material but for now.

If all the above is the same and it is still not consolidating correctly, then I would be happy to take another look to see why it might not be consolidating correctly. You can contact me offlist if this is the case.


----------



## sIKE

On the sheet goods front, as you know MDF sheets are +1" over the typical sheet good sizes in both length and width, is there away to get CL to adjust for this?


----------



## daltxguy

Hi sIKE : At the moment, your only option is to customize your copy of the plugin.
The description for doing this is now located here:
http://code.google.com/p/cutlist/wiki/QandA

Soon, you will be able to enter custom sizes….


----------



## fritter63

Steve,

trying to get CutList to run but the plug-in doesn't seem to work. I've downloaded 4.1 and moved it into the plugins dir, but it still doesn't show up in Sketchup 8 for me (on a Mac). The instructions were a little vague, so here are some questions:

- When you say "move everything else in there", do you mean to leave it in the subfolder which was in the zip file? Ie, here is the structure I have as it came out of the zip file:
..../plugins/cutlist.rb
..../plugins/cutlist/* (this is a directory which everything else in it)

Also, the instructions I saw said that the directory would be called "cutlistui", however in 4.1 it was called "cutlist". Is this intentional?

Thanks.


----------



## daltxguy

Hi fritter63,

Which instructions? I'll make sure to correct it or to point to latest instructions which are here
http://code.google.com/p/cutlist/wiki/Installation

cutlistui was in a previous version. cutlist folder is correct.
Yes, you appear to have done everything correctly. Make sure you have exited Sketchup when you install and then start sketchup again.

The instructions for installing the CutList plugin is the same as for any plugin in sketchup but do follow the links I've provided - there is plenty of info on the web for how to do it.

Make sure you have put it in the correct directory for Mac. The link above gives details.
Hope that helps!


----------



## fritter63

Steve,

Thanks for the link to the updated instructions.

check, check, and check.

I don't see anything wrong.

Has anyone tested this on Sketchup 8 on OS X Lion yet? Shouldn't matter, but just trying to cover everything.


----------



## daltxguy

You'll have to help me a bit and describe what is or isn't happening.

What exactly is not working?

Do you see the command in the plugins pulldown menu?
If so, does it pop up a window when it is selected?
Or are you having trouble after that?

Do you have Safari installed and up to date?

Plenty of users on Macs and I have gotten it to work for each person eventually. (There are a few exceptional cases with Windows people, however, where I'm stumped!)


----------



## fritter63

I doesn't even show in the plugin's popup menu. It also doesn't show in preferences as something I can activate either.


----------



## daltxguy

Here's a suggestion. I'm only posting this here in case it helps others - if we don't get anywhere here, then PM me through LumberJocks and I can go back and forth with you off-line or skype you and work this out.

Open the Ruby Console and type
load "cutlist.rb" and hit return

if it responds with 'true', then check plugins menu again. If it doesn't respond with true, let me know what it did respond with

Steve


----------



## ToddMurdock

Try going to SketchUp>Preferences>Extensions, then check Ruby Script Examples. Close SketchUp and then restart it. You should get the Plug In menu when SketchUp opens again.


----------



## BunnyRab

Hello Steve,
I seem to be having the same problem as fritter63, i.e., Cut List appears in the Plugins menu, but when I click on it, a blank window labeled 'Cut List v4.1.1' pops up.

I have uninstalled/reinstalled several times, and am following the Wiki article instructions correctly (at least I think I am). I'm running Mac X v10.5.8, and using SketchUp 8. Here is the directory structure following my install:

$pwd
/Volumes/Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/plugins
barry-macbooklugins Barry$ ls -lt
total 80
[email protected] 20 Barry admin 680 Feb 2 18:35 cutlist
-rw-r-r- 1 Barry admin 1302 Jun 6 2011 config-thumb.jpg
drwxrwxr-x 10 root admin 340 Dec 23 2010 Examples
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 Dec 23 2010 Ocean
drwxrwxr-x 3 root admin 102 Dec 23 2010 Utilities
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root  admin 2403 Dec 23 2010 examples.rb
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root admin 1056 Dec 23 2010 ocean_extension.rb
-rwxrwxr-x 1 root admin 1166 Dec 23 2010 utilities.rb
[email protected] 1 Barry Barry 2427 Dec 23 2010 deleteCoplanar.rb
[email protected] 1 Barry Barry 301 Dec 23 2010 edge-coplanar.rb
-rwxr-xr-x 1 Barry Barry 10283 Oct 4 2010 gui.rb
[email protected] 1 Barry admin 1535 Aug 4 2010 cutlist.rb

Note that the 'plugins' directory name is all lower case - all of the instructions I've seen specify camel case.

I opened the Ruby Console and typed the load command. Here is the response:
> load "cutlist.rb"
Error: #<nameerror:>
(eval)

Thanks for your assistance!


----------



## daltxguy

Hi *BunnyRab*

*fritter63*'s Mac problem was slightly different in that the Plugins menu didn't even show up. Todd's response for that seems to be the accepted solution
ie: if you're on Mac and the Plugins menu does not appear in Sketchup, then "Try going to Windows>Preferences>Extensions, then check Ruby Script Examples. Close SketchUp and then restart it."
After that the "Cut List" menu extension should be available. I add my command to the Plugins menu ( that's what cutlist.rb does) assuming that the Plugins menu is already there - maybe I'll improve on that in the next version and check that it is there first.

The second point is the curious case of your plugins folder being in lower case ( btw, camelCase is not quite an accurate description - I've been programming for 30 years in camelCase but I had never heard this term but now I know what it is and in camelCase, each word other than the first is capitalized ) whereas all other documentations it as the 'Plugins' folder.

Sketchup can tell you where it thinks the plugins folder is located:
1. Open the Ruby Console window.
2. Type: Sketchup.findsupportfile("plugins")
( btw, I tried both upper case and lower case P on Windows and in both cases it provided a directory with the name I specified! so I don't know how to interpret that)

If your plugin is not where it says it should be, then that's the issue/

3rd point, is that when I remove the file cutlist.rb from my directory, I get a different output than you get when you attempt to reload "cutlist.rb" so it's not like the file is missing but the output you get is not quite right.

Try #2 anyway and see what you get and maybe I can think of something else to check in the meantime.

Steve


----------



## Aidan

Hello Steve,
I am having difficulty in installing cultist on mac.
I'm running sketchup pro8, and i have download the zip file , unpacked it and put the two files (Cutlist and cutlist.rb) in to the sketchup plugin folder. This did not work so i then unpacked the cutlist file in to the sketchup plugin folder, still no joy.
I did manage to get a plugin menu in the sketchup top navigation tool bar but the cutlist plugin is not listed there.

what am I doing wrong.
I would be very great full you could help me out with this.

Cheers
Aidan


----------



## Aidan

Hi Steve,
I got it sorted

cheers


----------



## BunnyRab

Steve,
I tried Todd's suggestion, which resulted in the 'Cost' item being added to the Plugins menu. It appears to be working O.K. BTW, before attempting my first install of Cutlist I had a single item in the Plugins menu - 'Delete coplanar edges'.

I tried #2 from your post above, and got the following:

> Sketchup.findsupportfile("plugins")
/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/plugins
> Sketchup.findsupportfile("Plugins")
/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins

When I do a list command at the OS on the plugins and Plugins directory, I get the same result. I get the same result on other directories and files, too - it appears that the Mac OS X flavor of UNIX is case insensitive.

Perhaps I inadvertently deleted a supporting file needed by the Cutlist plugin….

O.K., I just got it to work! I copied the plugins folder to my desktop, removed all files the original directory, then moved the Cutlist folder and cutlist.rb back to the original directory, and, voila, it works!

Looks like I'm in business. Thanks, Steve, for your help, and everyone else for your welcomes to this forum.


----------



## daltxguy

*BunnyRab *- I'm glad you got it to work - thanks for coming back and explaining what you did to make it work - it might help others.

I was wondering earlier about those other plugins and what you've written above hasn't reduced my suspicion. I might have a go at installing those plugins with CutList and see if there is a conflict. There have been some plugins in the past which did not mix well with CutList because of the way they were written.

*Aidan *- what did you do to get it to work?


----------



## CTWoodWorks

Steve,

Hello I am having an issue with Cutlist only creating a list and layout for half of the drawing. All of the parts have been made into components and are comprised of the same material. I select all of the drawing and setup everything fine but it won't come through. Have you heard of this before? All of the components have the necessary keyword in the description, inputed exactly the same way as the sheet goods keyword. If you have a link or could describe the correct procedure for creating components it would be a great help.

Thank you very much,

Chris

CT Wood Work

PS. The program is awesome as soon as I can clear up this ID10T user problem…....wait a minute


----------



## Buffalosky

Hi David, 
Great piece of software thank you, I do have one problem with Layout, it always lays out my project on small boards. Like 6" or 8" boards. I need all the components to be on 4×8 sheets and I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. How do you get it to use sheet stock instead of dim lumber? 
Thank you.


----------



## daltxguy

Hi CTWoodworks,

Assuming you have kerf settings set correctly ( make sure you have both number of units and units selected), then the issue is a known bug. However, you can download the newest version ( v4.1.4) of cutlist from http://code.google.com/p/cutlist/downloads/list and this version has this issue corrected.


----------



## daltxguy

Hi *BuffaloSky*,

This is a common question, easily corrected by making sure your component name or material matches one of the 'sheet words'. This is the only way that the plugin could know that it is a sheet good and therefore should be layed out on a sheet.

A slightly more detailed response is available at the cutlist wiki found here: 
http://code.google.com/p/cutlist/wiki/QandA


----------



## Buffalosky

Thanks Steve!
That makes all the difference in the world.


----------



## CTWoodWorks

Thank you very much Steve!


----------



## meor

Hi daltxguy,
thanks so much for this plugin. it exactly that plugin I was looking for.

I've a problem with generating .csv and cutlistplus files. On my laptop it works fine, but on my PC it's just generating the webpage. There appears no advice-box "file created…."

Anyone ideas for it?

meor


----------



## meor

found the problem, its not working when the foldername has an ä ö ü

thank you


----------



## daltxguy

Meor - that's an interesting issue you found. I will see if I can correct that in the next version. Sorry about the inconvenience.


----------



## Torontoww

Can I generate 1 cultist and a set of layouts from multiple sketchup files? I am doing a large project with about 60 cabinets which are grouped into about 10 drawings and i figure i can merge the cutlist into one myself but how do i create one efficient layout incorporating all of the boards?

Or should I draw all of he cabinets on one sketch up file to generate this?


----------



## daltxguy

Torontoww - you can generate the cutlist csv files from each of your projects and then merge them using some other tool which manipulates spreadsheet files.
Layout, however, has no such option to export, so the layout can only come from the current project.

You could look at using CutListPlus, a third party tool which is inexpensive. You can use Cutlist plugin to export the CLP file and then import them all into CLP and do the layout there. CLP is much better at very large projects. You may find the cutlist plugin to a) not be the most efficient layout b) be slow on very large number of parts c) reach some of the limits I put into try to prevent b and ensure a decent level of performance.


----------



## Ahppa

I'm having a bit of a problem with CutList 4.1.0.

Some background. I've created a bunch of cubes of various sizes. Each cube is made the following components: a pair of panels for the top and bottom, a pair of panels for the sides and a door. All the cubes are built in multiples of 21". So a 1×1 cube would be 21"W x 21"H. A 1×2 cube would be 21"W x 42"H. A 2×3 cube would be 42"W x 63"H. And the list of various sizes goes on. These will all stack together to form a storage center.

The problem I'm having is getting all the pieces to show up in CutList. Each of the panels is consistently labelled, example (quotes used for clarity here, not in SU): "1x Cube Side - plywood", "3x Cube Side - plywood", etc.

The "1x Cube Side - plywood" shows up in the CutList, but the "2x Cube Side - plywood" and the "3x Cube Side - plywood" do not. It appears the rest of my pieces are showing up, just not all the sides.

You can find the model for here reference.

Thanks for any input…


----------



## Ahppa

Well, after reading a post above about what seems to be the same problem, I downloaded 4.1.1 and just tried it. Still having the issue.

UPDATE: just tried 4.1.4 and still have the problem. Deleted cutlist.rb and the cutlist directory, replaced with the 4.1.4 version and reopened SU. Selected the entire model and ran Cutlist. Only the one side panel included.


----------



## CarlStammerjohn

I just scanned through all the posts here and can't find an easy fix to my issue. I'm exporting a cut list to Excel via a .csv file. I then cut and paste into my regular Excel cut list (which has formulas to generate rough sizes, board feet, etc.). The values come in as text, because of the " symbol. I have played around with different formatting options to get numerical data with no success. If I search and replace to eliminate the " I get dates. Any suggestions?

If the data came in as decimal values with no " symbols, that would be very helpful. I could then format as needed.

Also, a nit: Why are the columns ordered Length-Width-Thickness? It's pretty standard to use Thickness-Width-Length around here. Is it different elsewhere? I see that the order is correct in the CLP output.


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Carl,

Thanks for your comments. 
Let me explain why things are the way they are and then a suggestion on how to make it work the way you want.
The units are included for 2 reasons:
1. Sketchup supports many types of units, therefore including the units in the csv is important to distinguish it from ft, mm, meters etc. ( Windows-> Model Info-> units )
2. The plugin simply dumps out the textual representation of the dimensions as it comes from Sketchup. Sketchup includes the units because of point #1. The plugin doesn't add or take away anything. This seems like the safest thing to do, exactly because of comments like yours - there is no one way which satisfies everyone.

Now, having said that - Sketchup does try to satisfy as many people as possible and the controls which you want are actually already in Sketchup!

If you go to the same place I mentioned above ( Windows->Model Info-> units), uncheck the option 'Display Units Format' and your "'s will be gone!

Why LWT? Good question. Same reason as above I suppose - there is no standard. It may have originated from the way Sketchup thinks of dimensions( I wasn't around when this part was first developed in the plugin and it has remained unchanged for many years).

Yes it is different in different places and there is no standard, just conventions. 
About 1/2 the world uses WxTxL the other half TxWxL. From that perspective, perhaps LWT is a bit silly. I did have some plans to customize the order as well as the labels in the future and even to select which ones are included in the csv (Some have asked me why the term thickness is used since they preferred depth)

However, the csv file was always meant to compensate for that. The csv is easily manipulated, as you know.

Hope that helps!


----------



## CarlStammerjohn

Thanks Steve. The explanations are very helpful.

As to my import issue (which I have spent way too much time on…)

I was able to change the model units to eliminate the " symbol, then use Cut List to export the data to an Excel file. I was still getting dates in Excel, however. After much searching, I found a solution, kind of… I used the Get External Data > From Text tool to import the data. Using that tool, you can choose how the data is formatted BEFORE it opens in Excel. By selecting Text as the format for the Thickness column, the simple fractions come in as fractions, not dates. Unfortunately, that still doesn't solve the problem. While the data looks like a fraction, it isn't interpreted as such. Formatting the cells as fractions, hitting F2 to edit, then the enter key, changed the data correctly. But this isn't much better than just editing the data directly, so it isn't much of a fix. If there were lots of parts in the cut list I suppose a macro would be worthwhile, but for most projects a manual fix is the way to go.

Thanks again for a great plugin.


----------



## daltxguy

Hi Carl - of course now your troubles are with Excel!

FWIW, I simply double-click on the csv file and it opens in excel and all columns are properly formatted. I don't import anything!

I just tried it on the test file I created for your previous question and I didn't get any dates! Everything was properly interpreted as fractions. I hope this works for you too - it's much easier!


----------



## CarlStammerjohn

Just opening the csv file only gets me part of the way there. Values over 1 work fine, like 1 1/4. But values under 1, for example 3/4, show up as dates. If you have numbers like that, I wonder why it's working in your case and not in mine. Looking around the web, I see that this is a very common problem.


----------



## daltxguy

Ok Carl - I was able to reproduce your issue.
Yes, if it is something like 1 1/4, it does work fine.
If it is a value which is exactly a fraction, such as 3/4, then it does convert to a date for me as well.

There is a case where it doesn't convert to a date. If, because of accuracy vs units selected, the model does not translate to an exact number and it produces a ~ (say, for example your original model was in metric and your thickness was set to 19mm, then if you change your units to imperial inches it shows up as ~ 3/4 in the cutlist). In this case, the csv will actually contain a leading blank ( ie: x,y, 3/4,...)
When you read this into excel, then it does not convert to dates ( but it doesn't convert to a fraction either). It interprets this as text, so it looks ok, but you can't do math on the cells.

But you're right, I haven't found a way to put it into the csv where excel interprets it correctly.
Actually I take that back. I just tried putting "0 3/4" into the csv file and this is interpreted correctly.

Ok, leave it with me, I'll see if there is a way to generate the leading 0 and let's hope it works with other spreadsheet programs!


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## CarlStammerjohn

Very impressive! I would not have come up with adding a leading zero. If you can make that work, that would be great.

Thanks!


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## Knothead62

Going to give it a try. Thanks!
Edit: Downloaded but computer says it can't open it. Mini-window suggests two things- Microsoft or a program on the "Net. Suggestions? Have MS 7 Home & Office.


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## ITnerd

Knothead, do you have Sketchup installed? If yes, you'll need to follow these instructions. If no, you'll need to start there.


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## daltxguy

Knothead62 - the file is just a compressed zip file. There are many programs to open zip files including WinZip and 7Zip. The contents of the zip file need to be installed in the plugins directory of Sketchup as ITnerd pointed out.


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## simspace

Cool plugin! Very helpful!

Is there a way to make custom sheet dimensions? I am working with other sheet materials such as ABS and foam that I would like as part of my cut list, but the materials I get are not always in standard sheet dimensions.

Thanks,
Chris


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## daltxguy

Hi Chris - check my answer here http://code.google.com/p/cutlist/wiki/QandA
to learn how to customize the sheet sizes. Kinda crude for now but will let you do what you want.


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## simspace

So… I forgot I purchased "Cutlist Plus" back in 2004. Thanks to their great license I was able to upgrade to the latest version for free. I used the Cutlist plugin to export my data for Cutlist Plus and it worked great with one exception *that appears to be a bug*...

...some might say it's a "Cutlist Plus" bug. Others might argue it's a "Cutlist plugin" bug. Being a software engineer I consider it an issue in both. Then again it may be an issue with Sketchup, but I think the plugin should be updated to handle this export error.

*Here's the problem…*

In my projects I use very thin ABS sheet material - 3/64" which I added to my "Cutlist Plus" sheet goods material list.

When I import the parts list, all my ABS parts were skipped with an error. I followed the instructions how to resolve this error on the "Cutlist Plus" site, but the problem persisted.

After reviewing the "Cutlist Plus" import CSV file, I noticed data in the thickness column had a leading space before the fraction value " 3/64." When I removed the space and tried the import again, I still had the same error (this should not be). So, I changed the fraction string value to 0.040" and that worked great!

So, every time I create the "Cutlist Plus" import CSV file, I have to first edit it to fix those values.

I think all programs / plugins involved need to be trimming all trailing and leading spaces… at least in all dimensional data strings. Also maybe the plugin needs to provide an option to convert all fraction strings to their numeric equivalents to help resolve this problem.

Other than this problem, the CutlistPlus feature of this plugin is very helpful.

Thanks,
Chris


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## daltxguy

Hi Chris,

Sorry for the delayed response. There are a lot of things going on here and it is difficult to say which way is the best to resolve it so that it works for everyone everytime.
It's easy enough for me to remove the leading space - but you've already stated this doesn't solve your problem with CLP. I can get in touch with Todd Peterson at CLP and see if he can't resolve that issue.

The leading space comes as a result what I get from Sketchup is often something like '~ 3/64"'. For CLP (and for csv output), I remove the '~'. The ~ is added by sketchup whenever the exact dimension of the part does not suit the accuracy selected in sketchup and so it is telling you that the representation may be approximate.

Changing 3/64 to 0.040 in the plugin is not the best solution. I'll tell you why. My plugin merely carries forth the dimensions already produced by Sketchup and sketchup already provides a very rich selection of different measurement criteria for your project. My suggestion is to change the selection in sketchup ( Window->Model Info->Units) and change Format to Decimal or Engineering.

Finally, you can try this as an alternative - I had this issue recently regarding the csv files and the way excel interpreted fractions - try adding a 0 in front of the 3/64, so it looks like '0 3/64""' It just might work with CLP as well. If that works ( I will try it too) then I can code a solution so that even if fractions less than 1 are used and units selected are fractions, the plugin will generate a csv file which works in all cases with CLP.

Steve


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## daltxguy

Hi Chris,

Adding a 0 in front of the 3/64 worked for me so I will incorporate this fix for clp as well and release a new version asap.

Steve


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## daltxguy

Chris and all:

New version 4.1.5 now available for download here

Click on filename at http://code.google.com/p/cutlist/downloads/list for details of the changes contained in this version.

Steve


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## Lsmart

Hello, cutlist seems to be doing my layout over way too many sheets and giving me some serious dimensional errors. For instance I have a component called box bottom 1 dimensions are 64 3/4×11 1/4 but cutlist lists it as ~ 69 3/16" X ~ 13 1/2" wondering why the ~ sign and how this can be remedied.

As far as the many sheets are concerned there are several pieces that are quite small that are on their own 4×8 sheet when they could obviously be placed together.

Any help greatly appreciated.


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## daltxguy

Hi Lsmart.

Two different issues. One issue is mine, the other is yours. An expanded version of these responses can be found here as I have taken the opportunity to add to my Q and A

*Component dimensions*
If you are getting dimensions other than what you expect and there is a ~ in front of it,this means that sketchup can't figure out an exact dimension for your component. The plugin merely extracts the value from Sketchup's database and displays it in the cutlist. Usually this means that your component does not have parallel edges. You may have inadvertently stretched one side or corner. Many people use the ~ indication that there is a likely error in their model and you should go over the dimensions and geometry carefully.

If the dimensions are much larger than you would expect, then the other thing to check is to see if the component axes are parallel to model axes. Sketchup draws a bounding box around the component in the direction of the component axes. If your component is skewed, then it has to draw a bigger box. Cutlist gets its dimension from the bounding box (this is the blue box which appears when you click on a component). There are other reasons why bounding boxes get larger than the component, so double check these.

*Layout not what you expect?*

There are certain combinations of parts which are not optimally layed out with the current version. This is a technical issue with the implementation of the layout algorithm. Especially with lots of parts of varying sizes - some large some small, these 'fracture' the remaining space calculated on a board or sheet forcing parts to move to another board or sheet when it is obvious by eye that it could have gone on a previous board or sheet.


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## DutchieMiddle

Hi Daltxguy,

First of all, many thanks for your plugin I stumbled upon a few weeks ago!
Using it helped me upgrade my skills on using SketchUp, not knowing I was doing it all wrong in the first place ;-).

I need your help on something. I've searched the forum for some answers but found none.
When I run Cutlist a few parts are labeled as "Other Parts" as you can see on the print screen attached. Although I followed the tutorials provided by Ryan Bruzan and created components that consist of components this problem arises.

Do you have an idea what I did wrong?

Many thanks!
Coen


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## daltxguy

Hallo Coen

I'm glad you found the plugin and that it is helping your Sketchup skills and presumably your future projects too!

'Other Parts' is simply the category which is other than your solid components or your pieces which are marked to be fabricated from a sheet good. Perhaps an unfortunate wording in retrospect, but it is meant to distinguish the components of your project which is generally hardware.

The way the plugin decides on these 3 categories (ie: is a component to be produced from a board, from a sheet good or is it a piece of hardware) is using 'part words' and the 'sheet words' on the default menu.
If a component name or material matches one or a subset of a "part word", then it shows up in the 'other parts' listing.
If a component name or material matches one or a subset of a "sheet word", then it shows up in the "sheet parts" listing.
If it does not match either of the above, then it appears in the 'components' listing.

I hope that helps!
Steve


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## DutchieMiddle

Hi Steve,

Could it be that simple? Man if you knew how many ours I've spend and have overlooked that you would laugh in tears… Thanks for the hint and let's call it misinterpretation for my sake ;-)

You're the best, many thanks!

Coen


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## papajohn54

Oh great and powerful daltxguy guy keeper of the plug-in. Help..
Several years ago, I tried the V6 of sketchup, just couldn't seem to get the hang of it.
Any way ,I have decided to give Sketchup another try. I downloaded the latest version the other night, and have been playing around with it. It will take time. My question is how do I get it to install the plug in that I downloaded. I went to Sketch-up help, toolbars file, tools ( in sketchup), and I just don't know where or how to add the plug-in!!!! Please help..


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## TedG

Steve
I have been using cutlist plugin for some time without problems but lately iam getting an error message when I try to display the layout.

Error message

Line 106:
Char 3:
Error: object expected
code:0
URL: file//c:/program%20 files/google/google%20sketchup%208/plugins/cutlist/cutlistresult.html.
Im using PC with windows XP
hope you can help


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## daltxguy

*TedG*

If you've recently loaded SKU2013, you will now get the error above. I'm working quickly to get a new version out there.

The quick way to fix it is as follows:

The quick and dirty solution to get rid of the error is to change the first line of cutlistresult.html from this ( this is found in the cutlist folder within the plugins folder)

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/loose.dtd">

to simply this:

<!DOCTYPE HTML >

I'll spare you the details of why this works!

*papajohn54* - Please go here to get the installation instructions


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