Google SketchUp: The Missing Manual

Preselecting the Path for the Follow Me Tool

You can use a faster way to create the perfect, hipped roof. When you move the Follow Me cursor over the edge of the building, you're showing SketchUp the path you want to follow. What if you show SketchUp the path before you apply the Follow Me tool? Here's how it works:

1. Press Ctrl+Z or ⌘-Z until you're back to the point before you used Follow Me.

   Your model should look like Figure 8-7.

2. With the Select (space bar) tool, Ctrl-click (Option-click) the edges all the way around the top of the roof.

   As you click, the selected edges show a blue highlight. Be sure to select both segments of the edge in the front. (SketchUp divided that front edge when you drew the vertical line from the midpoint to create the roof profile.)

3. Choose the Follow Me tool from the toolbar or from the menu Tools → Follow Me.

   When you change tools, the highlight disappears from the selected edges, but don't worry. SketchUp remembers.

4. Click the profile shape of the roof.

   Bang! SketchUp draws the entire roof, making perfect corners all the way around. The result looks exactly like Figure 8-9.

One more path to hipped roof nirvana

One more path to hipped roof nirvana

Believe it or not, you can use an even faster way to build your roof. You can select all the edges in a closed shape like the top of this building by clicking a face. It's easier than selecting every edge, and it makes building the roof a two-click operation.

1. Press Ctrl+Z or ⌘-Z until you're back to the point before you ...