Best SketchUp Plugins – Ruby Scripts
SketchUp Basics
SketchUp is a useful program as it is, able to be used to visualize any project. However, the ability to expand SketchUp with Ruby script plugins will increase the power of the program and allow you to produce professional renderings in less time and create more accurate models.
There are numerous websites that offer free and paid plugins, some of the best are:
- Smustard – http://www.smustard.com/ – Smustard has a vast collection of SketchUp Plugins, many of them free but also offers paid plugins. A very trusted site that offers many addons for SketchUp
- Ruby Library Depot – http://rhin.crai.archi.fr/rld/ – Ruby Library Depot offers a large collection of Ruby Scripts for SketchUp. They have a nice system of Plugins categories that helps the use to find the script that are most relevant.
- SketchUcation – http://forums.sketchucation.com/ – SketchUcation forums has many answers to your SketchUp questions answered by professional users from around the world. Look through the forums and find many useful SketchUp plugins.
- Google SketchUp Ruby Samples – http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/download/rubyscripts.html – Directly from the SketchUp site, Google offers a brief synopsis on the Ruby Scripts and provides some ruby script samples, which happen to be some of the more useful ones.
To install the Ruby Scripts:
- Download Ruby Script
- Copy the Ruby Script file into the SketchUp Plugins folder on your computer:
Ex. C:/Program Files/Google/Google SketchUp/Plugins
Must Have Ruby Script Plugins:
- Simplify Contours – http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/download/rubyscripts.html – An absolute must have for anyone working on site work. See my previous post Importing AutoCAD Civil Topography DWGs into SketchUp Pro Tutorial for tips on it’s use
- Shapes – http://sketchup.google.com/intl/en/download/rubyscripts.html – A useful tool for creating complex geometrical shapes in SketchUp – see link for instructions
- Flight Path – http://www.smustard.com/script/FlightPath – A useful tool when creating animations. It allows you to set a camera path when creating animations from scenes. Gives you increased camera control.
- Weld – http://www.smustard.com/script/Weld – A useful tool when trying to find gaps in a line that are not visible. Automatically welds the broken points.
- Combo Spray – http://rhin.crai.archi.fr/rld/plugin_details.php?id=76 – An extremely useful tool when creating large scale sites, allows you to “Spray Paint” components onto a mesh.
There are many other useful Ruby Script Plugins available on these sites, and you may find many that are more useful for your design process but more often than not, these are the ones you will grab and find to be the most helpful.
