FlexTools Resources

The dynamic components should work in the current units your model is set to. If the units still appear in inches, it may be do to a known bug in the DC plugin.

To solve this, go to:

1. Window > Model Info > Units

2. Make sure ‘Display units format’ is checked ✅.

3. Open and close the Options Window to see the change.

This happens when your Windows user doesn't have access rights to read or write files in the FlexTools data folder.

Check out the solution here.

1. If you just installed or updated FlexTools - Restart Sketchup and see if that helps.

2. Are all the faces you are placing wall cutter components oriented correctly?  Turn on  'Monochrome View' and make sure all the wall faces have the bright color (white) facing out and darker color (blue) facing in.

(To turn on the styles toolbar:  Right click on the tool area and open the 'Styles' toolbar)

Right Click on the colored faces > Reverse Faces and then Refresh the wall cutting component.

3. Check that there are no stray lines on the wall faces - also on the top and bottom faces of the wall component/group you are placing the wall cutter on.

4. If you have the 'double-cut' plugin installed please disable it - It can cause conflicts.

5. Are any errors coming up in the console?   Go to:  Extensions > Developer > Ruby Console - Send us any errors you find.

6. No errors in the console?  Let's try the FlexTools logs.  Go to:

On Windows

C:\Users\[YOUR USER NAME]\AppData\Local\F3d_FlexTools\logs

On Mac

~/Library/Application Support/F3d_FlexTools/logs/

Send us all the files you see in there.

None of the above helped? Contact us and we'll do our best to solve the issue as soon as possible.

Please see explanation and solution in this link.

This can happen sometimes, and we're not sure what the cause is.

Solution

In Windows

Go to:  C:\ProgramData\F3d_FlexTools

And/Or to:

C:\Users\[Your User Name]\AppData\Local\F3d_FlexTools

Delete component_finder.json and restart Sketchup.

On Mac

Go to:  ~/Library/Application Support/F3d_FlexTools/

Delete component_finder.json and restart Sketchup.

Are you getting an error similar to:

” ERROR: Callback function error: Object doesn’t support property or method ‘attachEvent’ @/dcbridge.js[601]. ”

(example error - there are many variations on it - hence multiple possible solutions).

Solutions 1:

Download the latest version of Sketchup's Dynamic Components Plugin and restart Sketchup:

https://extensions.sketchup.com/en/content/dynamic-components

Solution 2: - This bug is fixed when latest FlexTools / ComponentFinder installed (more about this in the blog)

Still getting the error even after updating the Dynamic Components plugin?

You may be suffering from a Sketchup bug that is influenced by the folder structure to where you are saving the skp files.  Check if the folder path you are saving the skp file to has any of the following characters (including slashes) in it:

\a
\b
\f
\n
\r
\t
\v
\x
\o
\u

For example:

c:\users\alice\desktop\model.skp

g:\projects\buildings\model.skp

This is a known bug in Sketchup's Dynamic Components plugin.  You can read more about it here:

https://forums.sketchup.com/t/error-on-component-options-window-when-downloading-in-window/19991/21

Save your files to another folder which does not include any of those combinations of characters and slashes before them.

Solution 3:

A similar error can also come up if you have an apostrophe " ' " in the username you're logged into the computer with.  For example: C:\users\Yoni's computer\ will bring up an error when some dynamic components are selected.

This is also a bug in the dynamic components plugin which will require that you create a new username without any apostrophe characters in it, and avoid any of the \ combinations from solution 2 as well.

Solution 4:

Disabling all Sketchup extensions and then re-enabling them one by one can help to single out possible extension conflicts that may be causing the error.

We have also seen situations where simply disabling all extensions > restarting Sketchup > enabling all extensions miraculously solved the issue!

To disable / enable extensions:

Extensions > Extension Manager > Disable each extension > Restart Sketchup

(In Sketchup versions previous to 2021: Window > Extension Manager ... )

And then re-enable extensions starting from the 'Dynamic Components' extension.

1. Check that the Arcs setting is on from within the dynamic component Options Window.

2. Normally the arcs are stored within the dynamic component as hidden objects.  If they don't appear, even when the arcs setting is set to ON or AUTO - You must have used the Cleaner tool or a cleaning plugin like Thomthom's CleanUp³ which would have deleted the hidden arcs.

Solution

To restore the arcs you will have to replace the doors with new ones.

This may happen after upgrading Sketchup or after a FlexTools update.

Solution

1. Close all instances of Sketchup.

2. Delete all the files in:  C:\ProgramData\F3d_FlexTools\component_finder_thumbnails\ and then open Sketchup.

If that doesn't work:

Delete all the files in C:\Users\[You User Name]\AppData\Local\F3d_FlexTools\component_finder_thumbnails\

In most cases the wallcutter feature will cut openings in groups and in raw geometry without any issues, just like it works on walls that are enclosed within components, but… there are cases where it is best to stick with components, just to be on the safe side!

Example 1 - Groups and saved models: In some cases, once you save the model. Close Sketchup and then re-open the model, if you have a wallcutter on a group, sometimes (not always!?) the opening will not be dynamic anymore - We’ve had a few customers build whole models with lots and lots of windows placed on groups, and then when they re-opened the model… all the openings became non-dynamic (broken). It’s an unexpected behavior and totally not fun when you want to make quick changes later. And working with wall cutter is all about the speed and fun! 🙃

Example 2 -  A wall that is a group: If you place a wallcutter window onto a wall that is a group. Make a copy of the wall and the window. The copied wall will immediately screw up with geometry flying/becoming deleted.

Example 3 - A wall of raw geometry: If you place a wallcutter window onto raw geometry, then select all the raw geometry and the window, and make a component our of them (so now the window is inside the new component, placed within the raw geometry). Then make a copy of this new component. If you move the window in the original component everything will be fine. If you move the window within the copy… the first face will be cut, and the second will fail. Removing Cuts, then making the window or wall unique, and then refreshing… sometimes will work, and sometimes it won’t.

There are some cases where wallcutter can fail, even with walls that are components! But we're pretty sure we got all of those edge cases covered with 3 simple steps as described in the Advanced Operations section on the wallcutter help page. Remove Cuts > Make Changes > Refresh.

Conclusion: It’s best to stick with components!

If undo doesn't bring your wall back, you'll probably need to recreate the wall within a component and then re-place the WallCutter components on it.

Please see the above explanation about why to place WallCutter components on walls that are enclosed within components and NOT in groups or as bare geometry.

This issue seems to come up in relation to one of the latest Windows Updates together with one of the latest FlexTools updates.  We have fixed this issue for future versions of FlexTools, but if you are still getting this error, do the following:

1. Go to:
C:\Users\%USERNAME%\AppData\Local\F3d_FlexTools\

2. Delete serial.json

3. Restart Sketchup

4. If needed, reactivate FlexTools with your license key.

The full error message would look like:

Error: #<NoMethodError: undefined method `scan' for nil:NilClass>
c:/users/%USERNAME%/appdata/local/f3d_flextools/packages/tools/wallcutter/tool.rbe:332:in `load'
c:/users/%USERNAME%/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2018/sketchup/plugins/f3d_flextools/main.rbe:4024:in `load_module'
c:/users/%USERNAME%/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2018/sketchup/plugins/f3d_flextools/main.rbe:4016:in `load_script'
c:/users/%USERNAME%/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2018/sketchup/plugins/f3d_flextools/main.rbe:3881:in `load'
c:/users/%USERNAME%/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2018/sketchup/plugins/f3d_flextools/main.rbe:6412:in `each'
c:/users/%USERNAME%/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2018/sketchup/plugins/f3d_flextools/main.rbe:6412:in `load_products'
c:/users/%USERNAME%/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2018/sketchup/plugins/f3d_flextools/main.rbe:6338:in `fetch_packages'
c:/users/%USERNAME%/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2018/sketchup/plugins/f3d_flextools/main.rbe:6288:in `init'
c:/users/%USERNAME%/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2018/sketchup/plugins/f3d_flextools/main.rbe:6274:in `method_missing'
c:/users/%USERNAME%/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2018/sketchup/plugins/f3d_flextools/main.rbe:8865:in `setup'
c:/users/%USERNAME%/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2018/sketchup/plugins/f3d_flextools/main.rbe:8872:in `<module:FlexTools>'
c:/users/%USERNAME%/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2018/sketchup/plugins/f3d_flextools/main.rbe:19:in `<module:F3d>'
c:/users/%USERNAME%/appdata/roaming/sketchup/sketchup 2018/sketchup/plugins/f3d_flextools/main.rbe:18:in `<main>'
C:/Program Files/SketchUp/SketchUp 2018/Tools/extensions.rb:197:in `eval'
C:/Program Files/SketchUp/SketchUp 2018/Tools/extensions.rb:197:in `require'
C:/Program Files/SketchUp/SketchUp 2018/Tools/extensions.rb:197:in `load'
C:/Users/%USERNAME%/AppData/Roaming/SketchUp/SketchUp 2018/SketchUp/Plugins/f3d_flextools.rb:17:in `register_extension'
C:/Users/%USERNAME%/AppData/Roaming/SketchUp/SketchUp 2018/SketchUp/Plugins/f3d_flextools.rb:17:in `<module:FlexTools>'
C:/Users/%USERNAME%/AppData/Roaming/SketchUp/SketchUp 2018/SketchUp/Plugins/f3d_flextools.rb:7:in `<module:F3d>'
C:/Users/%USERNAME%/AppData/Roaming/SketchUp/SketchUp 2018/SketchUp/Plugins/f3d_flextools.rb:6:in `<top (required)>'

FlexTools components are based on Sketchup's Dynamic Components extension, which isn't considered to be 'very fast' unfortunately.

Though we do our best optimizing Flex components, balancing features vs performance as best we can, under some circumstances they can behave slower than 'normal'.

If none of the below suggestions helps, or the issue happened suddenly after a FlexTools update for example, do let us know, and we'll look into this further.  In any case the following tips a generally good for working in Sketchup, and not only with FlexTools.

Things you can do to make things faster:

1. Work clean

• Work with repetitive components instead of groups, always! and everywhere!

Clean your Sketchup model

• Delete unnecessary components - The more components there are in a model the slower the model will react to changes.
• Delete unnecessary layers.
• Delete large and unnecessary textures.
• Zap dynamic components you don't intend to modify anymore.
• Clean hidden geometry with the FlexTools Cleaner Tool or with Thomthom's CleanUp extension.

After these steps, make sure to purge the model!  Window > Model Info > Statistics > Purge Unused.

📌 All of the above will help both with dynamic component performance and with Sketchup's performance overall.

📌 Both zapping and cleaning hidden geometry are destructive processes that will make dynamic components either totally dysfunctional (zapping) or partially dysfunctional (Cleaning).

2. Disable unnecessary extensions

We've noticed that some extensions can make Sketchup's Dynamic Components extension perform noticeably slower (up to 10X slower!).  Known extensions that can cause slowness:

• SU Advanced Camera Tools - as much as we'd like to like this extension, it makes a total mess of scenes and layers, and it's also causes DC's to act slowly.  We like to use the precursor to this extension called Film & Stage.  Yeah, it's ancient, but it works flawlessly.  Need a copy, let us know.
• V-Ray - We don't like disabling V-Ray either, but if your computer is slow and the DC's just don't move, it's the only way to go.  What we suggest is to disable V-ray during the initial modeling stages, and then when everything is more or less in place, turn it back on.

How to disable an extension:

1. Window > Extensions Manager >  Click on 'Enabled' next to the extension you want to disable
2. Restart Sketchup

📌 Note that sometimes for the disabling to 'stick' you may need disable and restart Sketchup several times.

3.  A faster computer

We've noticed that on our older machines (we have a few :)), working with clean models and disabling extensions makes a big difference, and we can work pretty smoothly.  But, if you don't want to worry about those things, and want everything to run smoothly, a new monster computer will most probably help, preferably a Windows PC.  With the introduction of M1 and M2 Macs performance is sometimes faster, sometimes slower.

Specs that make a difference specifically for dynamic components and Sketchup generally- a faster processor (CPU 3GHz and up) and memory (16 GB and up).

If you press the Component Finder button (magnifying glass) and nothing happens, it is very possible that the window is coming up but it is hiding on a second screen - even if the second screen is disconnected! 😕

This is a known bug in Sketchup, and can happen with all Dialog Windows.

Solutions

You can try any of the solutions below.  Number 3 should work for sure!

1. If you have a second screen around, connect it.

2. If no screen available:

• Press on the magnifying glass button (you may notice that after pressing, the sketchup menu items turn gray, like File, Edit View etc. - meaning that you are now focused on the hiding CF window).
• Press the Windows Button + LEFT Arrow Key, a few times till you see the window show up.

3. Reset all Dialog Window positions by going to the console: Extensions > Developer > Ruby Console

• Copy the text:
  ObjectSpace.each_object.select { |o| o.is_a?(UI::HtmlDialog) || o.is_a?(UI::WebDialog) }.each { |d| d.set_position(100, 100) }; nil
• Paste into the console's input field hit Enter.
• If needed, play around with changing the position parameters from 100, 100.