[Plugin] Tools On Surface - v1.5b (Refresh - 17 Sep 09)

[Plugin] Tools On Surface - v1.5b (Refresh - 17 Sep 09)

[New Version - 17 Sep 08 - 23:30 CET] Version 1.5b
This version is a complete refresh, focusing on the User Interface and Usability.
You need to install LibFredo6 3.4 or higher. See file and details at http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=180&t=17947#p144178.
Note: those who downloaded v1.5a before 17 Sep 09 23:35 CET had a missing file. Please reinstall version 1.5b. Thanks to Daniel S. for signaling the problem.

Here are the main evolutions:

• Button palette to view and access all options (also available from contextual menu and Short cuts)
• You can Switch to Any tool from within Any tool, with the side palette
• There is a generic icon button, keeping in memory the latest selected tool when used. Actually you can keep only this button in the toolbar if you have real estate problems.
• All parameters are preserved across Sketchup sessions (by default)
• The VCB accept formulas and unit specification for Length (for instance 3.2mm+0.4cm will mean 0.72cm). Angles can be specifed in degrees, radians, grades or % for slope.
• Rings for Shapes can be visualized in a special palette (but can still be entered in the VCB with offset folowed by 'x')
• Freehand On Surface now includes a Point & Click mode, in addition to the existing drag-over mode. You can mix up drawing with and without inferences (see video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mdqsYAbUfTE)
• Line On Surface now generate faces
• Angular Shapes like Rectangle, Parallelogram and Sector are generated as discrete curves so that you keep the sharp angles as plain lines when doing a Push Pull
• The script comes with my ugly icons at installation, but you can switch to CadFather's ones, much nicer, in the Default Parameter dialog box, and also select the one you want to keep and discard.
• And it's good to know that ToolsOnSurface also works without a surface. There is a trick explained in the doc to select the plane (mouse over a face and just press SHIFT, without clicking)

I did not change the algorithm for computing contours on surface. So you'll find the same limitations, especially on closed surfaces. I'll do something in a next release.
Documentation -->

Quickcard - ToolsOnSurface - English - v1.5 - 12 Sep 09.pdf
(770.04 KB) Downloaded 18 times


If you do not read it, it's a good idea to check out the tooltips of the button palette and the contextual menu.

ToolsOnSurface v1.5 is a Suite of Tools drawing on curved surfaces, with lines, various shapes, offset and Freehand / Polyline. It provides an inference mechanism, a Contour Editor and a dedicated Eraser.

moreshapes.jpg


Shapes includes:

* Circle and Polygon (already present in v1.2)
* Rectangle, defined by its length and width
* Parallelogram, defined by its length, width and angle
* Ellipses, defined by axes
* Circle defined by 3 points
* Arcs (circular)
* Sectors, defined by origin, direction and angle

All shapes have in addition the option to draw Rings, that is, the same contour offset by a negative or positive distance. And of course, all generated contours can be later edited by the Contour Edition tool.

The inference mechanism tries to simulate some stickiness when lines are drawn along some remarkable directions. There is also a Lock inference mechanism to force drawing in a particular direction. A Protractor can help to pick particular angles.

To install, Unzip the attached file, by doing a Select All, Extract to the Plugins Sketchup folder and Overwriting ALL files. See Documentation for details.