SketchUp for Interior Design

Chapter 9

Plugins and LayOut

Objective: This chapter discusses how to find and install plugins, and how to make a simple construction document in LayOut.

Tools: Get Extensions, Export to LayOut

Concepts and Functions: Extension Warehouse, plugin, extension, script, rubies, Ruby Console, install plugins, find plugin folder, prepare the model for LayOut, link the model to LayOut, viewport, copy and resize a viewport, grips, annotate and dimension, use symbols from the Scrapbook tray, export to raster or vector file

This chapter discusses how to extend SketchUp’s native capabilities with plugins. It also introduces LayOut, a Pro feature with which construction drawings are made.

What’s a Plugin?

A plugin, also called an extension or script, is a simple text file with an rb or rbs extension that “plugs in” to SketchUp to extend its native capabilities. Think app on a smart phone. Developers use the Ruby programming language to make plugins, which is why plugins are also called rubies. Each plugin performs a specific task. Examples are: render (Figure 9-1); make Bézier (French) curves; put all loose geometry on the 0 layer; adjust scene transition times individually; perform energy analysis; add manufacturer information to a component; send the model to a 3D printer; identify too-large textures; cut openings through double-face walls; find the center of an arc… if it’s a useful function, someone has probably written a plugin for it. Plugins work with both SketchUp Make and Pro.