Cannot Activate Window --> Shadow in Win XP

[BSquared18]

Hi,

I am running SketchUp Version 8.0 under Windows XP.

I was working through the video titled Getting Started with SketchUp, and everything was going fine until the narrator decided to show me a cool feature whereby you can move a shadow around using sliders.

I clicked on View --> Shadows to make the shadow appear. But when I click on Window --> Shadow, the Shadow item does not get checked and no dialogue box appears. If, on the other hand, I click any other item on the drop down menu, such as Fog, for example, the item is checked and a dialogue box does appear.

By googling, I found others with the same problem. The solutions provided didn't help--me and in more cases those that were expressing the problem.

I've tried the Windows --> Preferences --> Reset Workspace solution, but that doesn't work.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Bill

[Gaieus]

Hi Bill,

Check this info if it helps retrieving a naughty dialog:
https://sites.google.com/site/sketchups ... dows-only-

[BSquared18]

Thanks for your response. Below are my comments on the suggested solutions:

Upgrade to SketchUp 7.1. A new feature to reset the workspace dialog boxes was added. Go to Window > Preferences > Workspace and click on Reset Workspace.

I have the latest iteration of version 8. Tried Reset. Didn't help.

Click Window > Hide Dialogs.

"Hide Dialogs" is grayed out on my computer. Cannot access that option.

First, you want to give the browser focus, so you should select that browser from the Window menu, even if it already has a plus next to it (if it does, click it twice so it ends up with a plus and is the last thing selected. It should then have focus, even though you can't see it.

Then, you want to open its system menu using the keystroke Alt-Spacebar, then put it in Move mode by hitting M. At that point you should be able to scoot it around with the arrow keys. What you can do is to hit any arrow key once and then move your mouse back and forth, up and down, without pressing any mouse buttons. If all goes well, you should see the missing browser moving around with the mouse. Once the thing is back on-screen, click the left mouse button or hit Enter, and you should have it back.

The instructions above are unclear to me. What "Window" menu? What "plus"?

The problems I'm having are on my desktop. I completely uninstalled and reinstalled SketchUp. That didn't help. I then installed SketchUp on my laptop, and the shadow dialog box DOES work there, so at least I know it isn't something I'm doing wrong.

My final question: How important is being able to move the shadow around. If I don't have that feature, will I ever care?

If anyone has any other suggestions, please chime in.

Bill

[BSquared18]

Following up on my previous post, from googling several times, what I've found is that when someone has mentioned the same problem on other forums, they get the same suggestions I was given (above), and when they say that those suggestions don't help, the thread comes to an end.

Is there some kind of bug in SketchUp 8 that affects certain computers? Has anyone explored this issue beyond the few suggestions that are repeatedly made?

I'm new to SketchUp and excited about its possibilities. I probably can live without the shadow-moving feature but would love to know what's causing the problem, especially since the problem doesn't occur on my laptop, which also runs under Windows XP.

If there are no more suggestions for my problem, I'll assume that it's a dead end.

Bill

[M.qrius]

Following up on my previous post, from googling several times, what I've found is that when someone has mentioned the same problem on other forums, they get the same suggestions I was given (above), and when they say that those suggestions don't help, the thread comes to an end.

And the thread came to an end.

I have the same problem on one of my computers, and not on the other. I've seen it mentioned that a re-install might help, but I don't have administrator privileges at the moment. The Alt+space, M trick doesn't work, which indicates there really isn't any window.

I care strongly about being able to actually turn on shadows

[Gaieus]

Guys, when a dialog is missing, it is most likely out of the monitor space for some reason and all you can do is really the suggestions above. "What Window menu?" the Window menu in SketchUp. Shall I give a screenshot where to find it among the five or six top menus in SU? I doubt that should be part of the trouble shooting.

On another note: this rarely happens and folks suggesting fixes may just happen to experience it and are keen on sharing their experiences. If it does not occur to me, I cannot have experience (and therefore a "fix") myself. It is not a problem (any kind of bug or issue) with SketchUp itself but with the OS as it handles windows (in this case, SU dialogue windows).

[M.qrius]

Dear Gaieus,

I am very well aware that that would be the logical cause. These two points, however, show that it's not the actual cause:

-The Alt+space, M trick doesn't work. (I know how it works, I can succesfully apply it to other windows.)
-When hitting the View --> Shadow button, it does not get a checkmark. If the window was open somewhere, but out of screen, then it would get a checkmark, indicating you have the window open.


This is sufficient evidence. There is no window. Not even out of screen.

It is not a problem (any kind of bug or issue) with SketchUp itself but with the OS as it handles windows (in this case, SU dialogue windows).

Since there is no window, this quote is not true. This is a SketchUp bug and should be treated as such.

[Gaieus]

Have you tried reinstalling SU?