section “Making copies with the Move tool” to read about using x and / to create multiples.
You can be precise. The Measurements box enables you to type exact angles while you’re rotating. Take a look at “Injecting accuracy into your model” earlier in this chapter to find out more.
Using Rotate (Q): The basic method
Follow these steps to rotate things in your model:
1 Select everything you want to rotate.
2 Activate the Rotate (Q) tool.
3 Click to establish an axis of rotation.Your axis of rotation is the theoretical line around which your selected entities will rotate; picture the axle of a wheel. Although it’d be nice if SketchUp drew the axis of rotation in your model, you just have to imagine it. As you move the Rotate tool’s big protractor cursor around your screen, the cursor sometimes changes orientation and color. When you hover over a face, the cursor realigns itself to create an axis of rotation that’s perpendicular to that face. When the cursor is red, green, or blue, its axis of rotation is parallel to that colored axis. You can (and should) use inference locking when you’re using the Rotate (Q) tool. Just hover over any face in your model that’s perpendicular to the axis of rotation you want, hold down the Shift key to lock in that orientation, and click where you want your axis to be. See “Using inferences to help you model” earlier in this chapter to read all about it.
4 Click again to start rotating.Clicking part of the thing you’re rotating is helpful, especially if you’re rotating visually instead of numerically (by typing an angle).
5 Move your mouse; then click again to finish rotating.If you like, now is a good time to type a rotation angle and press Enter. As with everything else in SketchUp, you can be as precise as you want or need to be.
Using Rotate (Q): The not-so-basic method
The basic method of using the Rotate (Q) tool is fine when you need to rotate something on the ground plane, but this method isn’t as useful when your axis of rotation isn’t vertical. Finding a face to use to orient your cursor can be tricky or impossible, and that’s where a lot of SketchUp modelers get hung up.
With this not-so-basic rotation method, you can establish a precise axis of rotation (the invisible line around which you’re rotating) without having any existing faces to use for orientation. This makes rotating things about a million times easier.
In this case, using the Rotate (Q) tool goes from being a five-step operation to a seven-step one. Check out Figure 3-25 for a visual explanation:
1 Select everything you want to rotate.
2 Activate the Rotate (Q) tool.
3 Click to establish your axis of rotation, but don’t let go; keep your finger on your mouse button.
4 Drag your cursor around (still holding down the mouse button) until your axis of rotation is where you want it.As you drag, notice that your Rotate protractor changes orientation; the line from where you clicked to your cursor is the axis of rotation.
5 Release your mouse button to set your axis of rotation.
6 Click (but don’t drag) the point at which you want to pick up whatever you’re rotating.
7 Click again to drop the thing you’re rotating where you want it.
Making and using guides
Sometimes, you need to draw temporary lines while you model. These temporary lines, or guides, are useful for lining up things, making things the right size, and generally adding precision and accuracy to what you’re building.
Guides are special entities that you create when and where you need them. They aren’t part of your model because they’re not edges or faces, so you can choose to hide them or delete them; like other annotations, they don’t affect the rest of your geometry.
Figure 3-26 shows an example of guides in action. The guides are positioned 12 inches from the wall and 36 inches apart to draw the sides of a doorway. Another guide (6 feet, 8 inches from the floor) indicates the top. With these guides in place, you can easily draw a rectangle, bounded by your guides, that you know is exactly the right size and in the correct location.
FIGURE 3-25: Define a custom axis of rotation by click-dragging.
Creating guides with the Tape Measure tool
Parallel guide lines: To create a guide that's parallel to an edge, select the Tape Measure tool, and click anywhere (except the endpoints) along an edge. Then move your mouse, and a parallel dashed guide appears. Click again to place the guide wherever you want.FIGURE 3-26: Use guides to measure things before you draw.
Linear guide lines: To create a guide along an edge in your model, click anywhere along the edge except on either endpoint. Then click again anywhere else along the edge.
Guide points: You may want to place a point somewhere in space; you can do exactly that with guide points. With the Tape Measure tool, click an edge’s endpoint and then click again somewhere else. A little x appears at the end of a dashed line. That’s your new guide point.
FIGURE 3-27: Use the Tape Measure tool to create guide lines and points.
Using guides to make your life easier
Position guides precisely, using the Measurements box. Check out “Injecting accuracy into your model” earlier in this chapter to find out how.
Erase guides one at a time. Just click or drag over them with the Eraser tool to delete guides individually. You can also right-click them and choose Erase from the shortcut menu.
Erase all your guides at the same time. This operation comes in two flavors:Desktop: