hybrid text tool

The "3d text" tool is nice, but robs too much memory and the text can't be edited once it's placed.

The "text" tool is fine - except for the fact that you can't glue it down like "3d text".

Is there a text script out there that is a hybrid between the two tools - and hopefully also creates a contrasting background?

beast,

The one tool that comes closest is the 'Dimension' tool. Edit its properties to 'Align to dimension' and change font to desired

font & fontstyle & size: points/height & color You need to tweak the length of the dimension line to almost zero to be almost invisible, not hindering the fixed text. Multiple lines for text can be used by applying \n in the text. (where \n means newline (no spaces requiered))

Drawback is that the text flips in a way that it will never be upside down on screen while oriting around your model. I hope you can live with that.

Wo3Dan

You can make editable text components with the Dimension tool that glue to a surface. Links in Tips & Tricks

Fonts & Text

can't seem to make the line tiny enough to disappear :-(

but the group axis reference stays visible :-(

The text component with the Dimension tool is a work-around method. The pair of dimension lines will never disappear. You can only make

them very, very small. Besides when you need to edit the text, or

move it around, you need to aim your cursor on those lines to make

changes.

If you export an image, get rid of them in a photo editor.

If you are seeing the component axis, go to Window > Model Info >

Components and uncheck Show component axes.

Hi Catamountain,

Thanks for a very useful tip.

However, I've discovered that you don't need to aim at the dimension leaders to make changes.

You can right-click on the text and select "Edit text".

In the Entity Info, if you select "Align to dimension: Centered", the text sits on top of the little leader lines. You're right, you can't make them go away, but you can snap the text position to make them small, and maybe the text itself will cover one or the other of them.

If you delete the original edge/line, then you can just move the text wherever you want it with the Move tool.

I hope this helps,

August

August,

Funny that Catamountain linked to a rather old 3DW model that I'd completely forgotten about. There is more to know about dimensions than what is in that file. I didn't know about multiple line text at that time (include \n) and how associated text really works. Here is another file with some funny behaviour that might come in handy:

Funny Dimensions

(note that you can diminish the little leader lines to practically zero)

Wo3Dan

Hi Wo3Dan,

I cannot diminish the twin dimension leader lines to where they do no show. But I make them small enough to not be in the way.

I tried your FunnyDimensions file. I cannot move the AB and CD text as is, but if I delete the edge/line they are attached to, I can move them wherever I want. After the original line is deleted, it appears impossible to change the leader lines.

August

August,

You missed the point. Don't delete AB nor CD. The fact is that these dimensions 'use' a virtual intersection point where the virtual extentions of AB and CD intersect. Furtermore the dimensions contain text as well as an associated value. You will see when moving AB and/or CD in horizontal plane.

I don't know if and how you normaly apply dimensions, just plain?

Wo3Dan

I fail to understand the need to assume they use the intersection point. As far as I can tell, they operate independently, each just like they would alone. Could you please go into more detail about what that intersection point does?

When the original edge that is measured by the "dimension" is in place, you cannot move the text around. When you delete the original edge and leave the dimension object, then you can move it, but there are changes, like the leader lines, that you can no longer do.

August

August,

For the moment forget about the dimensions used for text display.

You must admit that both dimensions running from AB and CD to their virtual intersection are at least a bit weird. There is no endpoint, nothing to select on one side (the virtual intersection of extended AB and CD) Yet they still keep track of correct intersection. I think of survey plans with all kind of measures related to/derived from extended lines parallel/colinear to building facades etc.

I ask you to make this model yourself from scratch: AB, CD and all that has to do with both lines. You may choose to have them orthogonal or one or two off axes. Not much work. But if you can you will hopefully see my point that these two dimensions (1200 and 1500) act normal but not SU-like. Also please include text in these two associated dimensions and keep them working (associated black text, not red) (I've checked 'Highlight non associated dimensions' =red in 'Expert dimension settings' in 'Model Info => Dimensions')

Wo3Dan

Hi Wo3Dan,

I finally got around to looking into this file in detail. I think you are right, a lot of "intelligence" seems to have been built into

dimension lines for the kinds of purposes that you suggest, "survey plans with all kind of measures related to/derived from extended lines parallel/colinear to building facades etc." Kind of like Inference that keeps on Inferring.

If I try to move just the dimensioning annotation, the arrowed line and text, not the "master" or "source" line, I can only move it up and down. If I move the master/source line in the ground plane, the associated dimensioning lines and text all move with it. And the

"extended" dimensioning lines stay parallel and also stay attached to the same leader line that originally came up from the projected intersection point, so they keep track of that intersection point and move it as needed. Dynamically keeping track of intersection points is what the Inference Engine does, so applying it here would not be too hard, internally, and the result appears to be really useful for the main purpose of dimension lines.

It's also cool that the text keeps track of the value, even when additional text has bee added around it. I tried a test on that

variable. It appears that it must be the only number in the text and it must be accurate. If I add a single digit earlier in the text,

e.g., "This 1 dimension keeps track...", then the 12000mm number stops updating (and the whole text turns red, as you have specified). If I delete the 12000mm number and manually type in 12000mm in that same spot, it stays black and updates. If I type 12000mm anywhere else in the line and delete the original, it does not update. If I cut and paste the 12000mm text, it does not update.

I notice that the vertical intersection leader line only turns blue when I select the CD extension, the originally 15000mm line. I

suspect that you drew that one first and attached the second one to that first one.

Clearly the Inference Engine techniques are used in dimension lines and that causes them to behave not at all like regular lines.

Does this get close to the stuff you are seeing and talking about, or is there more?

Yours,

August

Hello beast,

There are 2 TextTag.rb and TextTag14.rb made by TIG, that make plain

text to glue over a face you want to.Previously you are able to edit

the text type, color, distant from the face and so on.

http://www.crai.archi.fr/RubyLibraryDepot/Ruby/em_tex_page.htm

[Edit: TextTags v1.4 is at SketchUcation]

Hi August,

Just saw your reply here too so I quote direct my email repy to you here. In case it ended up in the junkmail folder ;-)

"Hi August,

Thanks for replying. I see you now agree that there is at least something strange about these dimensions. But you still haven't figured it out. There are two things going on here. One issue is dimensions that seem to stay parallel to an extention of

lines toward a virtual intersection. That's weird. The other thing is updating values in dimensions with text which is completely unrealated to the first. (normal behaviour) Here (attached) is another example in which you see that numbers at other locations do not matter."

http://sketchup.googlegroups.com/web/Curved_path_DC.skp?gsc=aF3m7xYAAACBrYuaqRTH9FrUgeW9gQO357an5Fe8QJeePd7zpGv9tg [dead link]

"This example gives you another view on how this (first issue) virtual intersection can keep your model 'clean' and constantly reveale X and Y values. The DC-aspect is just an easy way to see how things change. (has nothing to do with the first issue though). I'll explane in a next email. (in a hurry now). In the mean time try it out!

Yours,

Wo3Dan"

Jose

I installed the 2 scripts, but they do not appear in any menu or

toolbar. what did I do wrong? I made sure closed the program before I

dragged the downloads into the plug-ins folder.

Hi August,

Hopefully you didn’t waste to much time figuring out how those weird dimensions are created.

In SU6 you could create crossing lines (edges) without intersection. In SU7 they will automatically intersect. So the procedure slightly changes to following description. One of the lines need to be separated from the other by being in a group (or component).

This is how it works:

Draw line AB. Extend AB collinear with BC to C. Group AB+BC.

Draw line DE. Extend DE collinear with EF to F. But do this in a

way that EF crosses BC. This visual intersection we call G.

Outside the group context dimension both B-G and E-G.

(You can always create associated dimensions referring to endpoints and/or visual intersections in the same level and/or in a lower level, not to endpoints and/or visual intersections in a higher level.)

In group AB+BC move C to A (just drop C on A)

Outside this group context move F to D (just drop F on D)

Finished!....

Start moving AB and/or DE around in their mutual plane.

Both dimensions will keep track of their now virtual intersection.

You may even want to ungroup what is left of group AB+BC

(just AB) to have everything on the same level.

Useful? That depends on what you are doing and whether you need a ‘clean’ model in these cases.

Now the explanation about updated dimensions WITH text. A dimension refers to two endpoints and/or intersections. As long as you do not break this link the dimension will keep being associated. It will remain black (see: Model Info => Dimensions => Expert dimension settings => check ‘Highlight non-associated dimensions’ changing the value will only change its text color to show that the new “text (+ value)” is not representing the real length between endpoints.

To associate the dimensions value again, whatever you do with text and/or \n etc. JUST INCLUDE these to signs: < > (no space) anywhere in the text. SU will replace them with updated length information. Enriched with text it will make use of associated dimensions much more valuable. But each time you renew/edit anything in the text you need to replace the value by < >.

In all the time that I use SU now and have read about this <> feature in the manual you are the only one that was more or less

curious about the updating feature. Seems most people don’t care about dimensions at all. They are seldom mentioned.

Merry Christmas and as you would always say: hope this helps,

Wo3Dan

Beast,

The plugin had to be in the plugins folder, then from SketchUp, go to the upper toolbar and open the plugins, there will appear the

TexTag.When you clic it, opens a new menu, asking you to enter text, and if you want to edit or not the other parameters. When you enter text, it'll appear to paste over a face you want, auto aligning to the face.It behaves as a component.

Kind regards

Hi Wo3Dan,

Hard to believe that it's been two weeks since you posted this.

> Hopefully you didn’t waste to much time figuring out how those

> weird dimensions are created. ...

Thank you for the detailed explanation. I will have to try this out again. I still suspect there is an internal connection between how

dimensions are associated with points and viewing direction, etc. and the Inference Engine that recognizes when your cursor is in line with the extension of an existing line and that there is indeed a "virtual point" created by that inference that the dimensions hang onto. Or I may be totally confused and grasping at thin air.

> In all the time that I use SU now and have read about this <>

> feature in the manual you are the only one that was more or less

> curious about the updating feature.

> Seems most people don’t care about dimensions at all. They are

> seldom mentioned. ...

And thank you for the tip about <>. I don't recall seeing it in the manual, but most of the manual I read before I really had much of SU in my head to have any place to hang what I was reading. I really should go back at this point, but it won't be this week.

I think dimensions are so seldom mentioned because most of the time they just work as expected for what most people do with them. Things only get mentioned in the group when someone has trouble with them.

Thanks again, this has been an interesting discussion.

Yours,

August