# Sketchup Shorts



## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)*

I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.

This tutorial is one of many short - tip/tool specific - tutorials that can help people get around Sketchup and have an easier time around.

*Zoom and Center ALL*

Sometimes you add a new component to your model (or you're working inside a small part (zoomed in)) and want to see the "whole picture" zoomed across the entire screen, and centered. 









This is possible using the 'camera-zoom-extent' feature. click the zoom-extents button








or press *SHIFT+Z* (this is the default hotkey) and Sketchup will zoom and fit everything in your model into view and center it across your screen:









*Zooming and Centering Specific Parts in your Model*

Sometimes you want to zoom and center on a specific piece in your model (a specific component, or a specific surface/line/arc/circle/etc). Sketchup can do that too.

Select the part you want to zoom and center upon (in this example, it's the circle for the hole):









*right(ctrl for mac)-click* on it, and select *"zoom-extent"*, it will zoom and fit that part in the center of your screen:









The later zooming technique is referred to as 'edit-zoom-extent' and can be assigned to a hotkey of your liking- more about that in a later tutorial.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)*
> 
> I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.
> 
> ...


*DaveR*- that is true there is a button in the default toolbar for Zoom Extent.

I find that using hotkeys is the way to go (Photoshop, Maya, Final Cut, Sketchup, you name it) I dont like searching around with my pen/mouse for buttons to click when I can blindly click a hotkey instantly - or better yet - a sequence of hotkeys. this is the equivalent of creating a rectangle in Sketchup by clicking, dragging to the exact sizes in both dimensions, clicking - OR - clicking, typing dimensions, and pressing Enter  gotta love speed.

I personally hardly ever have toolbars visible on screen (this tutorial wasn't done on MY computer) I find that they take off too much of the real estate that can be used to see more of the actual work surface. I use hotkeys religiously.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)*
> 
> I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.
> 
> ...


time for a change  just kidding… point taken - added a fix


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## Moai (Feb 9, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)*
> 
> I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.
> 
> ...


Purplev, have you tried CAD?


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)*
> 
> I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.
> 
> ...


*Doubthead* - yes I have. I've also used FormZ, and SolidWorks, but was favoring Maya for my models since I was using it anyways for animation work, and was extremely comfortable with it's environment and controls - I find that Maya is far from being Woodworker friendly, but it was just what I was used to.

When Google bought Sketchup and made it free, I gave it a try, and instantly dumped everything else I was using for woodworking… compared to them all, Sketchup is lightweight, easy to use, inch/metric friendly I like the auto-glue-to-geometry, and is becoming very popular which equals more users sharing more knowledge and models being readily available to cut down on design time.

PS. nice new Avatar ;o)


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## Moai (Feb 9, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)*
> 
> I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.
> 
> ...


lol…..in the middle of the jungle!


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## Closer (Feb 4, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)*
> 
> I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.
> 
> ...


Great article, though I am keen for my staff to gain knowledge of program through face to face training. This approach will ensure that they can use the tools properly. Your guidance may used as a prompt in the future. Well done!


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## joeCommercial (May 3, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)*
> 
> I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the enlightenment and again for the great tutorials.


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## BrianLuntz (Feb 4, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)*
> 
> I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.
> 
> ...


I like the scalability of AutoCad but for 'everyday' basic drawings I find SketchUp easier to use. Great tutorial by the way, thanks.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)*
> 
> I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.
> 
> ...


I find all modeling apps have their uses, but for everyday throwing things together for woodworking purposes, I think SU is just the lightest and easiest to use.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Outliner - Component Selection - Anywhere, Anytime*

Is there an easier way to select components/groups that are behind another geometry? or inside one? 
Is there a way to transfer a component from one group to another?

Yes there is. Welcome the Outliner window.

This tutorial refers to *components* in your model, but in this case, *groups* behave in the exact same manner.

If not yet visible, click "*Window → Outline*r" to see this window in Sketchup.

The Outliner window shows you a list of all components and groups in your model in a tree view - meaning, each sub component is shown within it's container (parent) component/group so that it's easy to make the parts that make the whole (think legs and top components within a table component/group)










One thing that is convenient with using the Outliner window, is that you can select components and sub components directly - without having to visually "aim" and clicking them - simply click the component name in the Outliner window, and it will be selected - even if it's inside a different component/group. Double click it in the Outliner Window - and you're in Component Edit mode! in a Snap!

Another powerful usage of the Outliner window is the ability to move sub-components from one group to another.

As shown in the following picture, the label on this model is a component within the model's parent component. if you move the model, the label moves with it (as it is contained within it and is part of it):









By selecting the label sub-component and dragging it outside the model's component in the Outliner Window we are literally taking it out of the model's component, and making it a free stand-alone component, if we will now move the model's component - the label will not move with it as it is no longer part of the model's component:









This way you can easily navigate through your components (another great excuse/reason to use components in Sketchup) and sub components, without having to rely on your angle of view, hiding other components that are in the way, or having to "copy-paste" with exact positioning to move components from one container to another.


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## gregsmith (Jan 24, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Outliner - Component Selection - Anywhere, Anytime*
> 
> Is there an easier way to select components/groups that are behind another geometry? or inside one?
> Is there a way to transfer a component from one group to another?
> ...


Clever and how easy does this appear when using a simple user friendly program.


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## Lake (May 6, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Outliner - Component Selection - Anywhere, Anytime*
> 
> Is there an easier way to select components/groups that are behind another geometry? or inside one?
> Is there a way to transfer a component from one group to another?
> ...


It looks very clever, perhaps too clever for little old me. Has anyone tried using it themselves?


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## BrianLuntz (Feb 4, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Outliner - Component Selection - Anywhere, Anytime*
> 
> Is there an easier way to select components/groups that are behind another geometry? or inside one?
> Is there a way to transfer a component from one group to another?
> ...


Makes sense - much like how layers behave in Photoshop. Very different I know, but they both have the same basic principles.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Going to the Lumberyard - Virtually*

so you wanted to use specific materials in your Sketchup project? exotic/local lumber? metals? leather? other?

I saw this subject raised in one of DaveR's latest blogs, and it's a fairly simple thing to do in Sketchup. You can use any material you so desire in sketchup, but first, we need to 'make' that material.

*Creating new Materials in Sketchup (Using live materials as source)*

1. get your material 'source' - this can be any photo - either from your digital camera, or do an online search for your desired material and look for a photo that resembles what you want it to look like, in this example, I've googled 'birdseye maple':









I copied the one that I liked (I dragged it to my desktop, but you could also right(ctrl for mac)-click and do "save as") to my desktop. and then opened Sketchup.

In Sketchup I made a simple box for this example, and opened the paint palette window (paint bucket tool). I then selected my wood folder (or any other folder you might want to place your material into for organization purposes) and selected *color->new Texture*:










A window will open asking you for the source image/photo for this new material:










simply browse and select the material photo you've downloaded to your desktop.

Sketchup will ask you to confirm/modify the size of the new texture - you could leave this as is, or modify it and resize it as you see fit (experience will tell you what and how you'd want to modify this) and also prompt you for the name of the material - in this case, I'll call it Birdseye Maple … seems so fit.

you can now select a face, and use the new material to paint it with:










As Simple As That.

PS you can also reposition the texture after you've applied it to a face/geometry, and resize it per face.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Going to the Lumberyard - Virtually*
> 
> so you wanted to use specific materials in your Sketchup project? exotic/local lumber? metals? leather? other?
> 
> ...


it actually scales up with the piece. from my experience, this is how the rest of (default) materials behave…

I rarely use materials- I mostly use sketchup for roughing up and detailing dimensions and joinery my woodworking models are usually left unpainted (unfinished if you would). I do however paint models that I want to present to someone else, or models that are published.

out of curiosity - what do your materials look like when you scale the box?


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Going to the Lumberyard - Virtually*
> 
> so you wanted to use specific materials in your Sketchup project? exotic/local lumber? metals? leather? other?
> 
> ...


I see your point, in this case, depending on the source image there might be some tile-effect to it, in this example, I did choose a source image that was somewhat clean and wouldn't show much of the tile-effect when spread around a face that is larger than the original source image (I guess It's a habit) but it would need some touchups in photoshop to make it tile-proof - but that is another tutorial for another time I guess  but it is a good point.

here is the material spread across an large area - you can see the tile effect even though in this case its minimized:









and here it is slightly cleaned up: 









but it still shows the repetition. do you birdseye maple material that presents a cleaner appearance? (you can always play with the scaling of the material, and positioning to get a better looking result)


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## Brad_Nailor (Jul 26, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Going to the Lumberyard - Virtually*
> 
> so you wanted to use specific materials in your Sketchup project? exotic/local lumber? metals? leather? other?
> 
> ...


Ya tiling drives me crazy! You can find the nicest texture and then by the time you get it applied scaled and looking close to how you want it it looks fake because of tiling. Allot of the guys on the Podium forum are real good with photo shop and they make all their own seamless textures. I have read a few tutorials on how to apply a texture to a large surface and then make the seams go away but I'm not that handy with photo shop!


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Going to the Lumberyard - Virtually*
> 
> so you wanted to use specific materials in your Sketchup project? exotic/local lumber? metals? leather? other?
> 
> ...


Thanks Dave, you just saved me a bunch-load of money on exotic lumber that I was going to shell out for… ;o)

it is true though about distinctive grain materials - the more distinctive the pattern in , the harder it is to hide the seams. in this case, it is much like woodworking - you have to custom make the materials for specific parts for best results, use a larger source image with more detail to cover a larger area, prepare custom made images in photoshop for each piece you work on etc. this is much like working in Maya for animation where (almost) every component uses a custom material with custom-made projected images (both for colors, patterns, and alpha channels - thats a ton of source images for materials for every project, but it pays off).

the original post was though to introduce people to the simple fact that it's possible, and quite easy to use your very own materials that you can create in a few seconds - some will be seamless, some can be made seamless, and others - well, it is SKETCH up after all. we're not trying to create a perfect world (we are , but for sake of argument lets say we're not)


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## Blake (Oct 17, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Going to the Lumberyard - Virtually*
> 
> so you wanted to use specific materials in your Sketchup project? exotic/local lumber? metals? leather? other?
> 
> ...


Thanks, this is helpful.


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## gregsmith (Jan 24, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Going to the Lumberyard - Virtually*
> 
> so you wanted to use specific materials in your Sketchup project? exotic/local lumber? metals? leather? other?
> 
> ...


Oh information technology era is making the task so simple for not only the professional, but the home handyman. Great article.


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## webbizideas (Jun 8, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Going to the Lumberyard - Virtually*
> 
> so you wanted to use specific materials in your Sketchup project? exotic/local lumber? metals? leather? other?
> 
> ...


This is so handy. Gives that realistic edge to any project that you're working on.


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## BrianLuntz (Feb 4, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Going to the Lumberyard - Virtually*
> 
> so you wanted to use specific materials in your Sketchup project? exotic/local lumber? metals? leather? other?
> 
> ...


I have been reading this site for oer eighteen months and I never tire or find it difficult to locate topic of choice. This is simply the best site available to the DIY and professional.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Virtual Materials II - Tiling it Seamlessly*

So a point was raised in my previous installment of this blog regarding tiling appearance of materials (once you assign your custom material to your model and scale it up you'd see the same material pattern repeat over and over again with distinct horizontal and vertical lines (the seams) that separate those repetitions.

This tutorial will show you how to eliminate those seams from your materials, and make it possible to seamlessly tile your material over larger areas. I will show you how to do this using Photoshop, but any other photo editing application will do as the concepts are the same.

Note: Although we will eliminate the *seams* in this turorial, the material will still show repetitive tiles - this is due to the nature of this material which has very distinctive grain patterns that are hard to blunt out. This is actually on purpose for this totorial since it will make it easier to see the seams, and their elimination.

On we go…

This is the original material (made new material with a photo I got online for birdseye maple (see my previous installment on this blog which explains how to do this). you can clearly see the seams between the tiles and the repetitive look of the material:









We'll fix that source image in Photoshop and recreate the material later.

1. First , I opened the source image (birdseyemaple) in Photoshop. I clicked on Image->Image Size, and noted what the image size was, in this case - it is 360×270 (we'll need that in the next step).

2. I then clicked on Filters->Others->Offset :









Which opens a window with several options. Here, I entered HALF the HEIGHT, and HALF the WIDTH of the image in the offset values , I marked Warp Around (if you have *preview* selected you can already see the effect on the image - see how all the seams are centered on the image) :










This basically shifts the edges of the image to the center , and the center of the image to the edges - now we know that the original center of the image has no seams - so the new edges will tile nicely, all we have to do is clean the seams in the new center of the image and we're good to go.

Note: I entered HALF the HEIGHT and HALF the WIDTH of the image- but the exact number is not crucial - the important thing here is the shift the seamed edges away from the edges toward the center of the image where we can see them, and clean them.

3. Next, Select the History Brush Tool (Hotkey Y), this brush is unique - instead of a specific 'color' it paints with the original part of the image. :










4. Use the History Brush to paint over the seams. do not paint straight lines, try to fade off those seams in an artistic way (waves, blotches..) - after all we're woodworkers, we should be able to be a bit creative right? :










5. Save the modified image. Back in sketchup create a new texture with the new image as the source. you can see that the seams are no longer visible, and you get a material that tiles nicely and cleanly. you can still see the repetitions since this particular material has a very distinctive grain pattern and shades of colors, but the seams are gone:










Go Experiment!


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## Ampeater (Feb 21, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Virtual Materials II - Tiling it Seamlessly*
> 
> So a point was raised in my previous installment of this blog regarding tiling appearance of materials (once you assign your custom material to your model and scale it up you'd see the same material pattern repeat over and over again with distinct horizontal and vertical lines (the seams) that separate those repetitions.
> 
> ...


Looks good. I was wondering. How large an image will sketchup accept? For instance, if the above photo was 1440×1080 (four times the original), there would be fewer edges and the image should look more like a real board.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Virtual Materials II - Tiling it Seamlessly*
> 
> So a point was raised in my previous installment of this blog regarding tiling appearance of materials (once you assign your custom material to your model and scale it up you'd see the same material pattern repeat over and over again with distinct horizontal and vertical lines (the seams) that separate those repetitions.
> 
> ...


That is true Ampeater, actually - the original image used for this totorial WAS 1440×1080 (roughly) - I lowered it's resolution so as to make the numerical values in this tutorial smaller and easier to understand. I think it may be a case of trial and error see how much Sketchup can handle, from my experience I have yet to overload Sketchup with any source materials. I mainly think it has to do with your personal computer's specs (ram, cpu speed, harddrive space) more than Sketchup internal ability.

you could very well design each material for each component in your model externally in photoshop (or equivalent) with fullsize designs (think patterns, grain, marquetry, etc) - for some it may be easier to do in Sketchup, but for others it may be easier to just have it done in photoshop and imported as a material image - for a good example, see my Pinnacle Router Table Plate model I've posted - the model itself is nothing more than a shallow cube, with a hole in it. the rest of the details are in the material itself.


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## sIKE (Feb 14, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Virtual Materials II - Tiling it Seamlessly*
> 
> So a point was raised in my previous installment of this blog regarding tiling appearance of materials (once you assign your custom material to your model and scale it up you'd see the same material pattern repeat over and over again with distinct horizontal and vertical lines (the seams) that separate those repetitions.
> 
> ...


Just to add to what Lev has said here, one thing to be careful about is to keep the file size down for these images. If you have several large images in a drawing they will be added to the drawing and can easily bloon the size of the file. Wood magaizne has some SU images that are available for download and they are huge and I grabbed them and made a drawing that ended up being over 8MB in size. I could see DaveR's eye bulging in MN all the way from Texas when I sent it to him!


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## DaveTool (Jan 21, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Virtual Materials II - Tiling it Seamlessly*
> 
> So a point was raised in my previous installment of this blog regarding tiling appearance of materials (once you assign your custom material to your model and scale it up you'd see the same material pattern repeat over and over again with distinct horizontal and vertical lines (the seams) that separate those repetitions.
> 
> ...


I am not going to comment on the use of "Photoshop" as although I play with it; I have no idea what I have done and how I got the picture to the finished state. I just click and click. You, though what a talented person you are: running your own web site and talented software user; producing wonderful wood products, and you are a writer! This is very broad and makes for an interesting life that is inspirational and creative . Is there anything you cannot do?

I empress again my satisfaction at reading your articles.

May be we could have some simple instructions on how to use photoshop in the context of DIY building -VIRTUALLY OF COURSE!


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## Closer (Feb 4, 2010)

PurpLev said:


> *Virtual Materials II - Tiling it Seamlessly*
> 
> So a point was raised in my previous installment of this blog regarding tiling appearance of materials (once you assign your custom material to your model and scale it up you'd see the same material pattern repeat over and over again with distinct horizontal and vertical lines (the seams) that separate those repetitions.
> 
> ...


Oh! It is not enough that we must be talented carpenters. We now must be efficient computer users too! On behalf of all carpenters we thank you for this fantastic series of how to use computer programs successfully!


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## joeCommercial (May 3, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Virtual Materials II - Tiling it Seamlessly*
> 
> So a point was raised in my previous installment of this blog regarding tiling appearance of materials (once you assign your custom material to your model and scale it up you'd see the same material pattern repeat over and over again with distinct horizontal and vertical lines (the seams) that separate those repetitions.
> 
> ...


You're absolutely brilliant. Using Photoshop can be such a torture to me sometimes.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Dimensioning Lumber - Virtually*

OK, I just updated my Dovetails plugin video, and had it relinked on my other post. since I don't want this post to be a plug for my plugin (dope) I'm not going to link to it here, if you are so inclined, I'm sure you can find it.

now that we have that out of the day, the following is the updated video, which although focuses on the simplicity and efficiency of the dovetails plugin, also carries with it some other neat capabilities of SketchUp which I use all the time - Precise Dimensioning of parts, without bothering to hold the cursor perfectly steady.

In order to create precise parts in Sketchup, I use the keyboard to type the dimensions directly, and don't try to position the cursor exactly where those dimensions are supposed to be. in the following video, there are 3 different dimensioning that are being demonstrated:

1. Basic Dimensioning: After a rectangle tool is selected, and the first point is clicked (although there are several variations to this, a rectangle is generally created in SU by clicking a corner point, and then positioning the cursor at the opposite point and clicking a 2nd time) the dimensions can then be entered by typing the width, and length of the rectangle separated by a comma, then click ENTER to create the rectangle.

2. PushPull Dimensioning: after the pushpull tool is selected and a face is clicked to be pushed, the amount of the push can be simply typed, click ENTER to make the push operation

3. Relational Dimensioning: To match a rectangle size to another shape in the model (either width,or length) click the first point of the rectangle, then position the cursor at the point to which you want to reference your width or height to, and type in the remaining dimension (if you want to match height, type the width, and vice versa). this technique is different from Basic dimensioning in that you leave the dimension you want to reference to empty, so instead of typing both dimension like this: 6",4" you leave one empty like this: ,4" this will make a rectangle 4" in width, and the length will be assigned based on the cursors position.

another tidbit in the video is the use of components, and mirrored components which keep the left side of a component on the left side, the right on the right, the inside on the inside, and the outside on the outside, but still allow for the use of components and all the efficiency that they enable.

Enjoy:


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## craftsman on the lake (Dec 27, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Dimensioning Lumber - Virtually*
> 
> OK, I just updated my Dovetails plugin video, and had it relinked on my other post. since I don't want this post to be a plug for my plugin (dope) I'm not going to link to it here, if you are so inclined, I'm sure you can find it.
> 
> ...


I still haven't sat myself down to do much more than rudimentary stuff with sketchup but I must say, I'm impressed.


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## SPalm (Oct 9, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Dimensioning Lumber - Virtually*
> 
> OK, I just updated my Dovetails plugin video, and had it relinked on my other post. since I don't want this post to be a plug for my plugin (dope) I'm not going to link to it here, if you are so inclined, I'm sure you can find it.
> 
> ...


Very nice demo.
I had never seen the copy&mirror done so effortlessly. That's cool.

I learn something new every day,
Steve


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## Cato (May 1, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Dimensioning Lumber - Virtually*
> 
> OK, I just updated my Dovetails plugin video, and had it relinked on my other post. since I don't want this post to be a plug for my plugin (dope) I'm not going to link to it here, if you are so inclined, I'm sure you can find it.
> 
> ...


Sharon- thanks for posting this. I am late to the party on SU and just going thru the rudimentary tutorials now, but I am glad to have access to shortcuts and woodworking apps, that will make sense down the road a bit.


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## jm82435 (Feb 26, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Dimensioning Lumber - Virtually*
> 
> OK, I just updated my Dovetails plugin video, and had it relinked on my other post. since I don't want this post to be a plug for my plugin (dope) I'm not going to link to it here, if you are so inclined, I'm sure you can find it.
> 
> ...


Sweet shortcut. You make that look very easy.


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## Brad_Nailor (Jul 26, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Dimensioning Lumber - Virtually*
> 
> OK, I just updated my Dovetails plugin video, and had it relinked on my other post. since I don't want this post to be a plug for my plugin (dope) I'm not going to link to it here, if you are so inclined, I'm sure you can find it.
> 
> ...


nice Vid Sharon….I gota try that copy/scale-1 to make a mirror image piece..I always just copy and flip the axis..seems to work the same…file that under the old "more than one way to skin a SU drawing".
Your dovetail plugin looks really smooth. I will have to download it and try it out!


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## rastus (Nov 25, 2009)

PurpLev said:


> *Dimensioning Lumber - Virtually*
> 
> OK, I just updated my Dovetails plugin video, and had it relinked on my other post. since I don't want this post to be a plug for my plugin (dope) I'm not going to link to it here, if you are so inclined, I'm sure you can find it.
> 
> ...


Nice video Sharon. I've never heard of the scale tool being used to make a mirror image. Do I understand you (and Dave) correctly, just select the scale tool click on the component then type in -1 and click enter and you have a mirror image? I'll go and try this out.

Paul


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Dimensioning Lumber - Virtually*
> 
> OK, I just updated my Dovetails plugin video, and had it relinked on my other post. since I don't want this post to be a plug for my plugin (dope) I'm not going to link to it here, if you are so inclined, I'm sure you can find it.
> 
> ...


glad this was helpful.

Thanks *Dave*, the Flip command is great, I should really start using it more, I usually have a tendency to get accustom to the basic controls and maximize their capabilities. I agree that in this case, mapping the flip commands to keys is much faster and less of a hassle. gonna go look for some available keys now.


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Dimensioning Lumber - Virtually*
> 
> OK, I just updated my Dovetails plugin video, and had it relinked on my other post. since I don't want this post to be a plug for my plugin (dope) I'm not going to link to it here, if you are so inclined, I'm sure you can find it.
> 
> ...


Thanks *Dave*, I figured that one out a while back when I was trying to map context-zoom-extents and just couldn't find it in the preferences-shortcuts pane for the life of me - until randomly one time it was just THERE, which made me look around to find out that you need something selected to get the extra context-functions available to choose from in the shortcuts pane… unnecessary if you ask me, but then again, nobody asked me about that one yet.


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## gregsmith (Jan 24, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Dimensioning Lumber - Virtually*
> 
> OK, I just updated my Dovetails plugin video, and had it relinked on my other post. since I don't want this post to be a plug for my plugin (dope) I'm not going to link to it here, if you are so inclined, I'm sure you can find it.
> 
> ...


Great demo! Some very useful shortcuts there. I hope i can breeze through it like you did.


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## paulsalisbury (Apr 1, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Dimensioning Lumber - Virtually*
> 
> OK, I just updated my Dovetails plugin video, and had it relinked on my other post. since I don't want this post to be a plug for my plugin (dope) I'm not going to link to it here, if you are so inclined, I'm sure you can find it.
> 
> ...


A really thorough and quick demo. Just what I need to build a planter for my conservatory.


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## SteveVo (Mar 12, 2012)

PurpLev said:


> *Dimensioning Lumber - Virtually*
> 
> OK, I just updated my Dovetails plugin video, and had it relinked on my other post. since I don't want this post to be a plug for my plugin (dope) I'm not going to link to it here, if you are so inclined, I'm sure you can find it.
> 
> ...


A designer would no doubt appreciate Sketchup because I think it allows them to create accurate drawings before working on the materials. It has a few options that I find will be highly useful to me when I need to make quick sketches


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

*Compound Angle Cuts*

I just posted this as a comment/response on another thread but figured this might be something that others could find useful. so here goes.

This short tutorial shows one way to create a compound angle cut on an edge of a 2×4. this can translate to any other situation where a compound angle is needed:

I started with a 2×4, used the protractor tool, and made a guideline from one corner at a 10 degree angle:









I then selected the opposite EDGE of the 'board' and using the *MOVE* tool, moved it down (select move tool, click on the edge, then press on the *UP arrow key* on the keyboard to lock the move to only the up-down (blue axis) direction) to the guideline:









I then created the compound angle on the other face of the 2×4, at 10 degrees:









And selected the adjacent EDGE to the one I moved earlier, and *MOVED* this new EDGE down to the NEW guideline:









All done!
Since this is a component, you can see the original 2×4 bounding box with the newly created compound 'cut' end:


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## ryno101 (May 14, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Compound Angle Cuts*
> 
> I just posted this as a comment/response on another thread but figured this might be something that others could find useful. so here goes.
> 
> ...


We all bow to your mad Sketchup Skills! (And your willingness to post these tutorials is noteworthy as well!)


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## PurpLev (May 30, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Compound Angle Cuts*
> 
> I just posted this as a comment/response on another thread but figured this might be something that others could find useful. so here goes.
> 
> ...


ha! I wouldn't go THAT far, but thanks. I find Sketchup such a great addition to woodworking, that if I can help people use it better I know it can help significantly. not sure how much that really helps, but can only hope it does a little.


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## Richforever (Mar 19, 2008)

PurpLev said:


> *Compound Angle Cuts*
> 
> I just posted this as a comment/response on another thread but figured this might be something that others could find useful. so here goes.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the posting. When it comes to SU, every little bit helps.


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## LeeJ (Jul 4, 2007)

PurpLev said:


> *Compound Angle Cuts*
> 
> I just posted this as a comment/response on another thread but figured this might be something that others could find useful. so here goes.
> 
> ...


Oh sure, anyone could do it that way, Sharon!

UM, I'm still trying to figure out out to turn it on!

Nice post, my friend.

Lee


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## Paddyhere (Feb 9, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Compound Angle Cuts*
> 
> I just posted this as a comment/response on another thread but figured this might be something that others could find useful. so here goes.
> 
> ...


Lumberjacks your site is a favorite!. You ability to display visual and in the written for is brilliant. Thanks for the inspiration.


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## paulsalisbury (Apr 1, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Compound Angle Cuts*
> 
> I just posted this as a comment/response on another thread but figured this might be something that others could find useful. so here goes.
> 
> ...


You always make these things look so easy! Thanks for sharing these tips with us.


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## BrianLuntz (Feb 4, 2011)

PurpLev said:


> *Compound Angle Cuts*
> 
> I just posted this as a comment/response on another thread but figured this might be something that others could find useful. so here goes.
> 
> ...


Learning to sketch for your building project, regardless of complexity is important and a necessary part of the planning for your timber project. Thanks again for such detailed and creative approaches for the DIY!


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