Curvizard is a suite of interactive tools operating on sequences of edges (Contours) and Sketchup curves. The common characteristics of Curvizard tools are:
Support Pre-selection mode, with launch from toolbar, main menu, and contextual menu
Interactive selection mode, where edges can be selected across the boundaries of components and groups (edge picking method is similar to Curviloft’s)
Non-destructive approach for most tools. When edges are connected to faces, Curvizard tools try to preserve the faces and their texturing.
Most operations can apply to several curves or sequences of edges in one shot
Full support of Undo / Redo, via Ctrl-Z
Functional enhancements for some tools versus existing scripts (details sections below)
Quick Launcher
In the current version, Curvizard supports the following functions:
Convert to Guides: convert a sequence of edges to a sequence of construction lines
Curvizard Functions 10.png
Curvizard Functions 11.png
There is a Quick Launcher: This is a small floating window which displays all Curvizard tools in a list. It can be invoked from the menu or the toolbar icon. Optionally you can pin the Quick Launcher window on your viewport for subsequent use. By default the window closes when you launch a command.
CVZ_icon_quick_launcher.png
Curvizard 11 launcher.png
Curvizard - User Manual - English - v1.1 - 25 Nov 12.pdf
Just drop the attached PDF file into the DOCUMENTATION_Dir sub-folder to have it accessible from within Sketchup.
Sketchup: v6, v7, v8 – works better with v8 M2 and above
Platform: Windows and Mac
Language: English, French, Spanish, Russian
Menus: by default, it is installed in Tools > Fredo6 Collection > Curvizard
Icon toolbar: by Default ‘Curvizard’. At first installation only 1 icon is shown (the Quick Launcher). You can then configure which icon you wish to include in the toolbar from the Default Parameters…)
The plugin is free, for private and commercial usage. There is a donation menu however.
On Windows (with Winzip) 1) Download and Open the archive 2) Select All (Ctrl A) 3) Extract into the Sketchup Plugin Directory 4) Answer YES to overwrite all existing files if any
The footprint on Windows in the SU Plugin Directory must be:
Curvizard 12 - Windows.png
On Mac OSX 1) Click on the Zip archive on Sketchucation 2) This should open the Download box with highlight on the folder CURVIZARD_Dir_10 3) Copy this folder to the Sketchup Plugins directory Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/plugins
The footprint on Mac OSX in the SU Plugin Directory must be:
Curvizard 12 - OSX.png
CAUTION: NEVER rename or move files from their folders. If you are unsure of your unzip operation, do it in a neutral folder and check that you reconstruct the right footprint. Then transfer the folders and files to the SU Plugin Directory.
CONFLICTING PLUGINS: some plugins conflicts with some of my scripts
Some versions of Podium
SunPosition
Matchbox
1) Selection of Contours
Choose in the button palette the edge Extension mode (edge by edge, Curve, Follow mode, All Connected). You can also filter by edge properties.
Curvizard Palette selection.png
Click on edge or faces to select edges until you have your Contour selected. If you wish to have several Contours which are connected, click on the small blue arrow button to freeze the previous Contours.
Curvizard Contour Selection.png
Click on the green checkmark (or Enter) when you have finished the Contour selection. The geometry is generated
Note: if you invoke Curvizard with a preselection of edges, then you go directly to the generation of geometry.
2) Once the geometry is selected
you can rollback to edge selection via the orange arrow or Esc or Ctrl Z.
For some tools, you can change the parameters (ex: angle for Simplify Contours)
Note: It is always a good idea to check the tooltips and contextual menu to see available options[/list]
Curvizard 1.2a – 18 May 13: Improve management of bigger amount of edges and contours: vusual progress bar and UI navigation more fluid.
Curvizard 1.1e – 07 Dec 12: minor release to fix a problem of versioning
Curvizard 1.1d – 05 Dec 12: small update to remove un-necessary traces in the Ruby console.
Curvizard 1.1c – 29 Nov 12: fix to Cleanup Contour (did not launch). See Release Notes
Curvizard 1.1b – 29 Nov 12: fix an issue in the translation and integrate the Chinese translation (Guanjin) and an update to the Spanish (Spain) translation (Oxer)
Curvizard 1.1a – 28 Nov 12: New release with 3 new functions: Smooth Contours, Edge properties and Cleanup Contours. See Release Notes
Curvizard 1.0 c – 11 Jul 12: Initial public release
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Last edited by fredo6 on Sat May 18, 2013 1:18 pm, edited 25 times in total.
I'm just going to jump right in and say thanks again for epitomizing the way to share a most potent, stealthy tool set, gloved with generous explicating tutorial and annotated pics. You try to make it easier to get with the power of Fredo .
(We can, as a rule, be slow, lazy, impatient... I should know. Sometimes these things need to be said.)
Last edited by brookefox on Thu Jul 12, 2012 10:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.
This is great. Thanks Fredo! Would also like to see a divide (length & increment) curve, comparable to the one in BZ Convert, except that respects angles in the manner of your simplify tool. Simply put, a polyline divider that respects corners over a certain degree.
A designer is an emerging synthesis of artist, inventor, mechanic, objective economist and evolutionary strategist. - R. Buckminster Fuller Some of my 3D crap
What if a selection consists of segments, who by definition (equal length, connected segments with equal angles at their vertices), define a native SU arc or circle. Could they be converted into SU arcs or circles?
This could be very useful when editing imported DXF files.
Fredo, We applaud your passion in perfecting tools to keep Sketchup afloat in the competition of 3d modelling softwares. Such a wonderful plugin indeed.
I have your new plugin and it shows that it needs to be updated, screen shot illustration below, however, I believe I have all the required files. Note, I renamed the folders with a leading "1" so they would be grouped at the top of the list so I could show all directories in the illustration, I remove the "1" when using Sketchup. I have one folder, curviloft_dir_12Ken, which I have renamed,as it appears not to be needed for curvilof and adding "ken" to the end of the folder name is my way of trying to determine if the folder is required.
Could you please look at my directory and try to help me to find out what is going on with the updated plugin.
Thanks you in advance
Ken
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Government rushes to help the irresponsible and does little for the responsible.
@zfrps The Simplify tool does not analyze the cylinder. It just simplifies each circle independently. Then it eliminates edges which have their two bordering faces coplanar. So, sometimes the simplified contours matches, sometimes not.
Ken wrote:I have your new plugin and it shows that it needs to be updated, screen shot illustration below,
That does not say Curvizard needs to be updates - the blue means no update information is availibile. If there is an update for a plugin it's highlighted red and the status will say "Update availible" (or similar) Note that in your screenshot it says nothing. No update is availibile.
