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Advanced Ruby Scriptingfor SketchUpScott LiningerMay 29, 2008

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Whats SketchUp?

Googles 3D drawing tool

Used and loved by design professionals and hobbyists

Easy to learn yet powerful

Free and Pro versions are available

On the Nerdy Side

Client application for PC & Mac

Written in C++ and Objective C

OpenGL for display layer

Has a Ruby programming API

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How Do I Get to the API?

If you have SU, you have the API

You write a Ruby Script

Put your script into /SketchUp 6/Plugins folder and restartSU

Control SketchUp via a powerful, consistent Object model

entities[0].transform! by_some_amount

edge.faces[0].material = some_color

Sketchup.active_model.camera.eye.x

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WebDialogs

WebDialogs provide an embedded browser insideSketchUp

Internet Explorer on PC

Webkit/Safari on Mac

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Ruby Extension Modules

Extend Ruby with native code binary (aka extensionmodule)

Better performance

Better IP protection of your code

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Advanced Technique 1:

Ruby Opens a Webdialog to some webpage

The page uses AJAX or other techniques to pull data

TIP: If your webpage is local, you can get data across

domains

JS calls a ruby method and sends down that data toSketchUp as a string

Grab and Render Web Data

Stock Grabber+ Footprinter

Demo

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Advanced Technique 2:

Hide the Web Dialog

SecretStock GrabberDemo

Provides a permanent Javascript environment

Javascript can take control at any time

How to do it on the PC?

On the Mac?

Just dont call .show() method

my_dialog.show()my_dialog.set_position(9999,9999)

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Advanced Technique 3:

Move the camera to control user experience

Export 2D screenshots to get web-friendly output from SU

http://sketchup.google.com/download/plugins.html

3D Exporter is an open source project! Please contribute.

Use WebDialogs + Ruby to Control the Camera

3D ExporterDemo

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Advanced Technique 4:

Create a timer in Javascript

It runs in the browsers thread (not SketchUps)

Quietly sends commands to Ruby to create animation.

Animate using Javascripts setTimeout

Spin My YodaDemo

timerID = setTimeout("nextFrame()", 500)

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Advanced Technique 5:

document.onClick can capture keystrokes

dialog.show_modal() can force focus to your dialog

Interesting way of adding keyboard support to SketchUp

Capture Key Strokes with Javascript

Nudge My YodaDemo

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Advanced Technique 6:

JS + Ruby Games in SketchUp

Bring em all together

Prince IOThe SketchUp KnightDem

o

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Advanced Technique 7:

Take these animation and processing techniques tothe next level

SketchyPhysics is a great example numerous demos onYouTube

Ruby Extension Modules

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=qLvXvzPvfWI&feature=related

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Learn More

Get SketchUphttp://sketchup.google.com

API Documentationhttp://code.google.com/apis/sketchup/

Join the SketchUp API Bloghttp://sketchupapi.blogspot.com/

Join the Ruby User Grouphttp://groups.google.com/group/Ruby-API

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