Repeating items in Sketchup

[J. Scott Chambers]

I am trying to design a simple set of bookshelves in Sketchup that involves several, equally spaced dados. My current method involves drawing a rectangle on the inside surface of the piece, and then dimensioning an endpoint on the rectangle to a reference point, and then selecting the rectangle and moving the required distance to get the spacing I want. Repeat for the remaining dados.

There has to be an easier way to repeat object. Copying and pasting gets the rectangle drawn again quickly, but how do you specify how far from another object you want the new "copy" placed?

[Jamie Buxton]

Move the object in the direction you want, and then type the distance you want on the keyboard. You should see what you type showing in the box to the lower right of the screen. Hit Enter.

If you want multiple copies spaced at the same interval, then type xN, and hit Enter. N is the number of copies you want.

[J. Scott Chambers]

Move the object in the direction you want, and then type the distance you want on the keyboard. You should see what you type showing in the box to the lower right of the screen. Hit Enter.

That's exactly how I've been positioning them so far.

If you want multiple copies spaced at the same interval, then type xN, and hit Enter. N is the number of copies you want.

That's perfect! Thanks, exactly what I needed to know.

[Michael Adelong]

I'll add to what Jamie said.

His instructions answered your question about putting N copies X distance apart. Great when you know where the first one goes, and great if you know that you want the rest evenly spaced X distance apart.

But say that you only know the locations of the first and last dados, and how many others you want between them and you don't know what the spacing should be. Simply copy the first dado to the location of the last dado and then type /N to put N copies evenly spaced between them.

Michael

[Todd Burch]

And, if I can add to what both of these guys have said...

Let's say you do the xN method, or the /n method and don't like what you came up with? Well, just enter it a again. You can change it around all day long, as long you you don't select another tool first.

So, Draw a dado profile. Move/Copy it to the other end of the shelf. Enter /4 to see what it looks like. Don't like it? Enter /3 to remove a dado. Change your mind again? Enter /5, and so on, and so on. Just remember, the MOVE TOOL has to remain activated for this to work.

What I'll do is draw a bookcase (a rectangle width X height), pushpull it to whatever depth - let's say 12", then erase the front face, and the top "rail" & bottom "rail" (really just edges, but you have to get rid of the faces). Now you have a 3 sided box (back and both size). Group this. This takes 3 seconds to draw. Draw a rectangle for the bottom shelf. Pushpull the bottom face up 3/4". Group this. Then, I'll MOVE/COPY the bottom shelf all the way to where the top face was. Then, /5 or /4 to get a feel for the look of the case. This is quick and dirty - it takes only a few seconds to get an idea for shelf spacing 6 seconds max.

You can do the same thing with xN. Draw the "bookcase" and bottom shelf the same way as above. Let's say you want 15" between each shelf. MOVE/COPY the bottom shelf up 15 3/4", then play around with x3, x5, whatever.

Todd

[Vaughn McMillan]

I must be doing something wrong. I've spent the last 20 minutes trying to get either /N or xN to work. I'm using the free Google version.

I select an object, press <Ctrl>+C to copy it, then hit <Ctrl>+V to paste it. At this point, the copied shape is displayed, and it's movable. The mouse cursor is the little 4-way arrow "Move" icon. I position the copied shape where I want the last one placed, left-click once, and the little input box at the bottom corner is editable. I type /6 (for example) and nothing happens. If I move a shape a little, then type 2", it moves it 2" as expected. If I do the same thing and type 2" x6, nothing happens and I see "Invalid entry" in the status bar at the bottom of the screen.

I'm trying to evenly space mortises for bed slats, and this is driving my nuts.

What am I doing wrong?

- Vaughn

[Todd Burch]

Vaughn, you are doing a cut and paste. That's wrong. Activate the MOVE tool and press CTRL to COPY before you start moving it. See help.

[J. Scott Chambers]

Thanks everyone, this has greatly improved my speed with Sketchup.

Todd, just curious as to why you remove the faces on the bookshelf side? I'll try this later and see how it works for me.

Vaughn, I had the same problems at first with xN and /N. Do as Todd said and use the MOVE tool, move the distance you want by typing it in, 2" in your example, and then type in the xN or /N. They are distinct commands. Just be sure to do it before anything else after you get the object moved.

[Todd Burch]

J, it's not the side faces I remove. It's the top and bottom faces in this scenario.

It's really more of a matter of designing from the inside out or outside in. If there is a certain space to fill, then that determines the outer dims of the case. If it's shelf spacing that dictates the case, then overall height is a secondary factor.

[Vaughn McMillan]

Vaughn, you are doing a cut and paste. That's wrong. Activate the MOVE tool and press CTRL to COPY before you start moving it. See help.

Thanks much Todd...that did the trick. I'll put it to good use.

Funny...I write help files for a living, but I seem to resist reading them.

- Vaughn

[Art Mulder]

What I'll do is draw a bookcase (a rectangle width X height), pushpull it to whatever depth - let's say 12", then erase the front face, and the top "rail" & bottom "rail" (really just edges, but you have to get rid of the faces). Now you have a 3 sided box (back and both size). Group this. This takes 3 seconds to draw. Draw a rectangle for the bottom shelf. Pushpull the bottom face up 3/4". Group this. Then, I'll MOVE/COPY the bottom shelf all the way to where the top face was. Then, /5 or /4 to get a feel for the look of the case. This is quick and dirty - it takes only a few seconds to get an idea for shelf spacing 6 seconds max.

Hey, Todd, and everyone else...

I've been working with the free Google Sketchup for about a month now. (just in my spare time, that is). And I thought I should go digging through the old posts here on SMC to see what I can learn.

So I thought I'd give Todd's method a try. It sounds like a brilliantly simple way to rapidly sketch a prototype.

Only, it didn't work. I spent about 10 minutes going back and forth between Todd's post and my sketchup session, and the /3 or /5 would just not do anything. In desperation I even went to the Google help pages, and tried them. No joy there, as they give the same explanation that Todd did.

Then, quite by accident, I hit "enter" after typing in the /5, and suddenly it worked. Ditto for the x4 or x3 option. It does nothing unless I first hit enter.

I wonder if this is a peculiarity of Mac systems? (I have an iMac G5 here, running OS-X 10.4.7)

So, if there are any Mac users out there, please take note!

[Dave Richards]

Art, it is the same on a PC. I think what happens is that hitting Enter is such an automatic thing that we forget to mention it when giving directions.

Just for fun, try the same thing with the Rotate tool. You'll find you can also make radial arrays that way. That's how I did the dentils in a post awhile back.

[Art Mulder]

Art, it is the same on a PC. I think what happens is that hitting Enter is such an automatic thing that we forget to mention it when giving directions.

Understandable for you and Todd, but NOT for the official Sketchup Help/documentation.

best,
...art

[Todd Burch]

Art, glad you figured it out. (I have my own beef's with the doc!!)

Todd