General
This following is a tutorial on how you can use Layout to create your shop and submittal drawings.
NOTE: this requires SketchUp 2018 or later.
CabinetSense can send your model directly to Layout. In addition, all Job Information entered in the model is also available.
Preparing to use Layout
Layout templates are stored in a read-only folder and can’t be used by CabinetSense.
Before you start using Layout with CabinetSense, you need to save any Layout Templates that you want to use in a personal folder. We suggest creating a Layout Template folder in your CabinetSense folder for this purpose.
Start Layout, look at the templates that they have and save the desired templates into your own template folder.
Once this has been done, you are ready to start using the Layout feature in CabinetSense.
Create your own folder to store your CabinetSense Layout Templates:
Here's how to save a template back to your own folder:
Send to Layout
When you are ready to create your Layout document, simply press the Send to Layout toolbar icon.
This brings up a dialog where you will navigate to where you keep your CabinetSense Layout Templates.
Choose the one that you want to use.
select the template and press the open button.
NOTE: The first time that CabinetSense opens a template that it has never used before, you will see this message.
When this happens, the model will NOT export. Rather, an empty template will open where you can prepare the template for first-time use. See the next section on how to prepare your template.
The next time that you send to Layout using this template, you will get the Send to Layout dialog.
Model Scale: for Parallel Project (non-perspective) scenes, you can choose a scale that you would like Layout to use or leave as No Scale to maximize the drawing area of the Layout Template. Choose from 1:4 thru 1:30 scales
Render Mode: The most efficient mode to use is Raster. Choose Hybrid to get the best definition in Layout… but it takes a long time to generate.
Place Current Scene on Cover Page: (yes/no)
Export Project Scene: (yes/no): if you are using a CabinetSense template, there will be a project tab which typically contains information used to build the model.
Export Floor Scene: (yes/no): if you are using a CabinetSense template or are using Scene Management, Objects that are not on a wall layer will fall to the floor scene. It will also hold island cabinets.
When you click the OK button, CabinetSense will create the Layout document with the chosen template and then open Layout for you.
Preparing a Layout template for first-time use
The first time the template is opened by CabinetSense, your model will not be exported, but rather, an empty template will be presented for you edit for future CabinetSense models.
The first thing that you will notice is that there is a rectangle placed in the document. This rectangle is used by CabinetSense to determine where to place your models’ scenes and how large an area it can use for this purpose.
Move and resize this rectangle to fit the template that you are using. This rectangle is used size and position the scenes from your model.
After you have done this, hide the rectangle so that it doesn't interfere with setting up the rest of your template.
Go to the Layers tab, find the drawing area layer and make it invisible.
Adding Job Information
When CabinetSense opened your Template, it also sent across all the Job Information attributes that were in your model. You can use these attributes to customize the template with these job information tags.
Open the Document Setup dialog (File>Document Setup…) and click on the Auto-Text in the left-hand panel. CabinetSense attributes begin with cs- while CabinetSense User Defined attributes begin with csu-.
You can place these tags in the body of your template and they will be replaced by the models attribute values when your model is exported.
To add a tag in your document:
Preparing Scene Information
CabinetSense will push each of your scene tabs in your model to Layout exactly as they appear in your model. Although you can change the way that the scene appears in Layout, you can prepare your model to make this transition fairly seamless.
Summary
Once you have prepared your template in the way that you want your document displayed, it becomes a single button click to send your model to Layout.