Sketchup question - equidistant spacing

[Mitchell Andrus]

This is my first SU - took about 2 hours after watching lots of videos. I know I'm gonna like this app!!!!!!!!!!

My question (first of many).... I can't seem to be able to tell the program to place objects along a path with equal spacing. Note the corbels in the sketch below.

Aside from snapping to a grid, is there a way to:

1. Sub-divide an area, such as the mantle's apron?

2. Place objects along a path and "accordion" the assembly without stretching the components? The blocks are 4,4,4 and need to stay that size whether the mantle is 50" long or 80" long.

Thanks.

[Jamie Buxton]

Make the corbel at one end. Use Move&Copy to make another at the other end. Type /N, then hit Enter. N is the number of copies to be placed between the two ends.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Make the corbel at one end. Use Move&Copy to make another at the other end. Type /N, then hit Enter. N is the number of copies to be placed between the two ends.

That is too slick, works like a charm. I knew there was a way... Thank you.

[Jason Beam]

I love that one as well as using: *N

That one repeats what you just did N times. I usually move a copy x" away and do *N to get N many copies x" apart from one another. It's very similar to /N except that /N is handy when you have a start and an end point and have some math to do do to get 'em equal. *N is handy for when you need a bunch of the same thing a specific distance apart (like 16" OC studs, for example).

[Mitchell Andrus]

Anything known about stretching? ...be nice to be able to lengthen something without needing to re-do the attached parts.

[Matt Day]

Make the corbel at one end. Use Move&Copy to make another at the other end. Type /N, then hit Enter. N is the number of copies to be placed between the two ends.

I tried doing this just to learn a new technique and can't seem to get it to work. I just made a simple rectangle and copied it to another location, so I have 2 rectangles. Do I need to highlight anything before typing /N? Typing /N after I create the second rectangle doesn't do anything. Where do I type this?

[Jason Beam]

Anything known about stretching? ...be nice to be able to lengthen something without needing to re-do the attached parts.

Stretch is probably the tool I use the least. About the only time I use it is for "mirroring" a component.

For making something complicated longer or shorter, I use the move tool. It's a little complicated to type out, but basically I only select the edges that actually move. By moving just those edges, it effectively stretches what you want.

The stretch tool itself does more than that - it actually proportionally changes the size of EVERYTHING in the dimensions you change. So that really messes with things when you want a complex thing to match a different size.

Let me see if I can find a video of the move operation I so horribly described...

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?t...7189&lineup=-1

Dave does a fabulous job of teaching this stuff

[Jason Beam]

I tried doing this just to learn a new technique and can't seem to get it to work. I just made a simple rectangle and copied it to another location, so I have 2 rectangles. Do I need to highlight anything before typing /N? Typing /N after I create the second rectangle doesn't do anything. Where do I type this?

Matt,

Here's a video that might help you get the hang of it:

http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?t...7189&lineup=-1

Basically it's Move/Copy to the desired location. Once you click it into place, DO NOTHING ELSE - just type /N ... or *N ... if you click away, it won't work. If you select a different tool, it won't work. Gotta dance the right steps!

[Matt Day]

Ah, I got it now. I watched (only watched, the volume didn't work) this movie from the same site that Jason referred me to:
http://www.brightcove.tv/title.jsp?t...7189&lineup=-1

The trick is to hold Control down before you click on the component and copy it.

Thanks! Both /N and *N will come in handy.

[Jason Beam]

Just a note, you can also just Tap the CTRL key - look for the plus sign next to your mouse cursor - that tells you you're in a copy mode. This is useful in a handful of other tools, too.