Guide Toys

1、 Plugin command
Instructions for using 13 commands to enhance the auxiliary line plugin.



1. Auxiliary line setting

——Use this dialog box to select plugin settings:

(1) The auxiliary line style that will be created during projection has four types of dashed line styles to choose from.
(2) Select the layer to place the guide lines on.
(3) When using the delete tool, select the object to be deleted. You can choose from the auxiliary lines created by this plugin, SketchUp native auxiliary lines, or all auxiliary lines.


2. Draw auxiliary line segments

——This tool can only create limited auxiliary line segments or independent auxiliary points. It is similar to a native line tool, derived from the Ruby sample of the Google team.
Usage: Right click to create a single auxiliary point; Left click to activate the guide line, move the mouse, and hold down the Shift key to make inferences; After clicking the first point, you can enter the length of the auxiliary line. Click the Esc key at any time to exit, or select other tools.


3. Draw auxiliary grid

——Set the grid line type and parameters from the dialog box, and manually draw rectangular or polygonal grid auxiliary lines.
(1) Rectangular Grid Tool
① Choose a grid style.

② Select a point or guide line as the object for drawing the grid, and enter the distance between each grid on the X and Y axes.
③ Click on 3 points: the bottom left corner of the grid, the length in the X direction, and the width in the Y direction.
Pressing the Shift key can be used to constrain the plane of the mesh.
Press the Escape key to exit, or select another tool. You can draw grids in any 3D plane.



(2) Polygon Mesh Tool
① Choose a grid style.

② Select a point or guide line as the object for drawing the mesh, enter the number of sides of the polygon, and enter the offset value between two consecutive guide lines.
③ Click on the first point to determine the center of the grid.
④ Click on the second point to determine the polygon radius.
Press the Esc key to exit, or select another tool. The Shift key can be used to constrain the plane of the mesh. You can draw grids in any 3D plane.



4. Line to auxiliary line

——Line to line conversion converts finite auxiliary lines into straight lines, or converts straight lines into finite auxiliary lines.

Usage: Click on a finite auxiliary line to convert it into an edge line. This tool can search for existing faces during conversion and click on the edge line to convert it into a finite auxiliary line. Press the Esc key at any time to exit, or select another tool.




5. Same side auxiliary line

——Create auxiliary lines along each edge of the face.

If you select the face first, create the guide line directly.
If there is no selection, it is in an active state. Click on the face to create a guide line.
Clicking on an edge line will create a single auxiliary line, similar to a tape measure tool.
Press the Esc key at any time to exit, or select another tool.
This tool will have a highlight preview when creating guide lines.




6. Vertical auxiliary line

——Move the cursor over the face and click to create a vertical guide line.
Press the Esc key to exit, or select another tool.


7. Intersection auxiliary line

——This tool creates auxiliary lines at each intersection of the selected faces.
Usage: Select the face and create a guide line directly.



8. Dividing auxiliary lines

——This tool creates guide lines at equal intervals between the points you click. Move the cursor to the edge or guide line and click.
Usage: Click when the cursor moves to the second edge, guide line, face, or any position. Create parallel array auxiliary lines, where the distance between each auxiliary line is the distance between clicks divided by the number of partitions you enter in the value box (default is 2), and create along the temporary black dashed line. The spacing between auxiliary lines is related to the first edge line clicked. Press Enter to select another starting edge, or enter a new partition number. Press the Esc key at any time to exit, or select another tool.



9. Isometric auxiliary line

——This tool creates parallel guide lines at specified fixed intervals.
Usage: Move the cursor to the edge or auxiliary line and click; Move the cursor to the second edge, guide line, face, or any position, and then click; Create parallel auxiliary lines with a spacing of the size entered in the value box (default is 1 meter), along the temporary black dashed line. Press the Esc key to exit, or select another tool. Press Enter to select another starting edge, or enter a new spacing value.



10. Dividing angle auxiliary line

——Create radial auxiliary lines at the equal division of the angle.
Usage: Enter the number of partitions for the angle (default is 2, used to draw the bisector). Click to select an edge or a guide line, and drag the mouse over another edge or guide line to preview the resulting guide line. Click on the second edge or guide line to create a new guide line. This tool can continuously divide another corner equally. Press the Esc key at any time to exit, or select another tool.



11. Circular array auxiliary line

——Create radial auxiliary lines by evenly dividing the 360 ° circumference angle.
Usage: Select an edge or an auxiliary line, which will become the focus of the circular array auxiliary line. Enter an angle in the value box or move the cursor clockwise/counterclockwise around the focus.



12. Rectangular auxiliary line

——Create auxiliary lines along the length and width of the rectangle. This rectangle is defined by clicking on its vertices or typing its length and width.
Usage: Click on the starting point of one corner of the rectangle; Move the cursor to define the length or width, and then click the third point to define the width. Press the Escape key to exit, or select another tool.



13. Delete auxiliary line

——Delete auxiliary lines and auxiliary points. Before use, please select the content to be deleted in the settings dialog box.
All auxiliary lines: Delete all auxiliary lines.
Plugin auxiliary lines: Delete all auxiliary lines created by the plugin (keep regular auxiliary lines unchanged).
SketchUp Guides: Only remove guides created by SketchUp basic tools.



2、 Tool Description:
1. When creating guide lines, each tool uses the color set for the guide lines in the current style.
2. All previews parallel to the XYZ axis are displayed in red, green, and blue, respectively.
3. Each command can be inferred and locked using modifier keys (such as pressing Shift key).
4. All commands can use lines, faces, and auxiliary lines within groups and components (of course, there is also a "model" level), except for "vertical auxiliary lines".
5. All commands are checked for the existence of objects (if necessary) and filtered to ignore incorrect objects during execution.
6. Every time the command is used, the automatic 'clean up' routine will erase all overlapping auxiliary lines or points.
7. All commands are 'revocable'.


3、 Preview color
Every time a geometric shape is previewed, a simple color preview is used:
1. The red line is parallel to the X (red) axis, the blue line is parallel to the Z (blue) axis, and the green line is parallel to the Y (green) axis.



2. The blue line is parallel to the XZ (red blue) plane, the magenta line is parallel to the YZ (green blue) plane, and the yellow line is parallel to the XY (red green) plane.


3. Other lines will be drawn using the color of the auxiliary lines set in the style, and faces that are not in a specific plane will be drawn in gray.