SketchUp Skill Builder: Multiple Profiles, One Follow Me

There are plenty of activities where repetitive actions are unavoidable... commuting, playing tennis, chewing... Sometimes you have to do the same thing, over and over again. But not when using Follow Me! Check out how to get multiple shapes to follow a single path in one click!
Download this model here:3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/mode...
Download the Weld extension here: extensions.sketchup.com/en/co...

[@TinSandwichUK]

I'm kicking myself for the hours I've wasted but smiling about the time I'm going to save. Many thanks.

[@Sheppard2030]

Ive been making rails for years & never considered this method. Very nice. Thank you!

[@yasuleone9856]

Genius tip. This is most useful in looped follow-me paths, so you don't have to draw the missing faces afterwards.

[@fionasilk]

Ahhh!!! Another reason why SketchUp is so clever and intuitive. You must've been happy when you figured this trick out!

[@mxfern12]

That was really amazing, time saver without a doubt.

[@Uncle_Buzz]

Mind blown. Again. Cheers! Chris.

[@strati5phere]

I was trying to do this a few months ago, this video solved my problem, thanks! sketchup is so powerful :)

[@mr.u.213]

Gosh, it's really amazing! This trick helped so much in making handrails for my staircase! Thank you!

[@chrisbesson6539]

Thanks these are the kind of imperfect Sketch world scenarios that can frustrate i.e dealings with negative space and Non-Global axis Geometry

[@MrGunner296]

As a new Pro user for more serious projects (long-time Google Sketchup, the Make user for hobby work), really loving these tips. Great video - thanks.

[@toadinkaty]

Great work, thanks for putting this together!

[@roberthatcher2773]

Mind boggling! :) great stuff!

[@willembuiting]

Very nice! Thank you Aron!

[@mymatedenny]

Incredibly helpful. Cheers

[@2200chuck]

Very cool. This solved a problem I was actually working with.

[@73295]

Good clear instruction. Thanks

[@mckinnon421]

You are the man! Very nice tip.

[@HenriqueRochaarq]

Great tip, very useful extension

[@juntabanao9966]

Amazing...Thanks! It save my day

[@im_Dafox]

Hey thanks a lot man, really helpful and time saving :)

[@popooey]

Good tips. Thank you.

[@memclughlin72]

Awesome simple approach

[@mihirsalunke1468]

Great content 💯💯💯 Keep making such videos .

[@janetmasonddsassociates1635]

That negative shape extrusion trick is the ticket. Can you do a complex roof planes vid? Super cut up, multi pitch type deal. All of your stuff is great. Thorough, fast, and clearly presented. Very well done! Montexan

[@PromiseiddJames]

Woah, great video mate!

[@Arquisur]

Muy buena idea! Gracias por facilitarnos la vida! Vale la pena comprar SketchUp!!!

[@aarondietzen2995]

Arquisur De nada!

[@falconlara]

Quite a useful tip!

[@wojciech_migda]

Very useful tip, but as an Autocad and Allplan user I would expect SketchUp to be able to select multiple entities (by holding shift or alt) after selecting the path with "follow me".

[@Gloubi06]

VERY useful!! Thank you! Just didn't understand the weld part for the lines... But I'll find this out... Thanks!

[@MusicEffekt]

Excellent trick. Thanks.

[@chromatura8008]

super efficient. thanks!

[@ahmedhatoum8118]

thank you for this . you make every thing easier . and you give us great help . thank you . and tell us if we can do any thing

[@eliasfernandes8579]

Mesmo não sabendo o englesh,fica fácil entender o tutorial!Exelente teacher!!

[@mearkitek3773]

Very helpful! Thanks. Sub’d!

[@richardvankesteren7013]

To keep things simpel from the start, plan what rail you want to have and draw the shapes inside a rectangle on a axe. Then follow the instructions in this great video.

[@ozcanonal]

Awesome info, thanks...

[@dannorris1406]

Great tip

[@leom5866]

Nice tips thank you!

[@ivang5874]

Nice! I like to keep every cable in railings as a component, but this is a cool trick

[@aarondietzen2995]

иван греков If you like, you could do this, then triple click on the cable/ railing geometry and put them in containers.

[@ivang5874]

Aaron Dietzen good point!

[@luisillo1212]

Thx guys!

[@MND193]

VeryCool. Thanks

[@TheMesoPeaks]

Great tip for making pipelines

[@2Qwk2C]

Brilliant!!!

[@mercyfrs]

Excellent, great

[@PaulineFerguson]

I'd seen this with the pipes, but hadn't thought to do it for railings... You could probably do it for interior moulding, too, I guess.

[@jeffharmed1616]

Thanks for sharing. There is another way using component properties (there are always at least 3 ways of doing things). Make one of the circles a component. Copy this component vertically for the other rails, including the top rail. Resize/enlarge the top rail EXTERNALLY as desired (not within the component). Now copy and "paste in place" the path into one of the components, and whilst WITHIN the component do your "follow me". Est voila,. Cleanup is simply erasing the path within one of the components.

[@craigcampbell66]

Great idea and works on a straight path but not when you want to navigate corners etc as the path is relative to each instance of the component.

[@rufeeyatarannum7718]

Good one!

[@DarkMoonDroid]

BADASS!

[@arnoldthepotter]

Nifty! thanks.

[@8805230255]

I liked it..!

[@waynesvan4676]

great tip thank you..

[@kendrickho]

Thank you.

[@sonnytanod8862]

Cool, thank you

[@fallenglitch5541]

Awesome program

[@extrq7755]

it work on my pc thx bro vеry much

[@daniyalsiddiqui8792]

Thank you Sir

[@HHHImprovement]

Brilliant thankyou

[@JSClements]

Very practical

[@karencrocker8985]

such a cool program, great instructions, just wish the pro version wasn't so expensive

[@peterlaurence4831]

Hi there! Thank you very much for these tips and tricks you're sharing with us. There's this problem that im facing right now, this "alt" key that's suppose to let me draw rectangle from the center. What the alt key does here is it select items at the menu bar instead. It won't let me do as you did here in the video.

[@hoangta6168]

Nice tips

[@jameschang7274]

F yeah! great tip!

[@shavaizulmulk]

Awesome

[@benzonjhermogeno]

Good tips. But need to solve for one time push-pull on the extra lenght at the end of each shape.

[@bigboi36]

awesome

[@sarahmohammed9670]

You are amazing

[@aarondietzen2995]

sarah mohammed That’s what I keep saying!

[@aarondietzen2995]

sarah mohammed Also, thank you!

[@manokito04]

The way you say "ewww" 😂

[@LT72884]

Im using supro 2017, where is this soft smooth menu at? Is it a default menu or an extension? Thanks

[@KentNelson]

I've been experimenting with this technique (and enjoying it) and have run across something that you may have had some experience with - Romex cabling as used in residential construction. My "container" looked to me like the covering for the conductors that I was creating using the follow me tool. Have you run across modeling "Romex?" I did have some troubles with the technique when, for some reason, the interior tubes (conductors) would be broken and did not continue although the outside box was continuous. I am guessing this is because of tangency issues in the continuity of the path line. This process does get more difficult when creating a path line that is truly 3 dimensional.

[@neosiagroup]

For me it much faster by creating shortcut for follow me tools Then repeating procedure : Select path - shortcut - select profile You don't need to soften smooth, and heal all tiny holes one by one.

[@craigcampbell66]

For cleanup - single click the extraneous face at each end - delete - triple click the rest - delete.

[@DarkMoonDroid]

Thank you!!!

[@vagadesign83]

that makes doing this worth while otherwise the whole cleanup process in the video and having to close holes makes it take longer than the usual way. I wish they'd do it so that you can follow with closed groups.

[@mururoa7024]

It's too bad the free version only exists as an online browser plugin now. I'll just have to stick with the 2017 version forever until a competitor wins me over. I don't have the money for the pro version, but if a competitor shows up with the same features for half that price I'm buying.

[@eduardoc.3247]

Me parece muy bien

[@MsXu2010]

Really helpful, but just a little confused why right side so many edges shown?

[@peterblickle3d88]

Thanks a lot, great Tip Aaron! But why is the weld-extension needed? I just tried it out without the weld-ext. and it worked.

[@aarondietzen2995]

Peter Bli Weldnis not required, but more of a nice to have. Without Weld you just need to Shift Select or triple-click all the pieces of your path.

[@liliaellis4366]

Is there some way to follow multiply shapes according to multiply paths - for example 10 shapes and 10 different paths? I didn't find any plugin for that.

[@daveedwardsconsulting6916]

We have called this "Negative Follow Me".

[@Terry_the_new_start]

How you zoom in and zoom out smoothly, how you change view angle so smoothly.

[@GeeksWoodShop]

Aaron uses a space mouse from 3Dconnexion

[@andrewcarroll8443]

Hi, the person is using a space navigator, probably from 3dconnexion, i find it a fantastic tool and couldn't work without it.

[@Terry_the_new_start]

Andrew Carroll brilliant

[@haibiaoxu8992]

唐大大 这个老师 他怎么可以做到用键盘自由放大 缩小 环绕视图 怎么设置的 可以交我一下吗

[@TrevorDennis100]

@@andrewcarroll8443 I tried using the mouse when trying to describe the Space Mouse to someone. Just by way of a comparison. It was astonishing how difficult it became to navigate the model. It's not even particularly expensive, and if you use SketchUp at all regularly, it is honestly a total no brainer.

[@kojomensah7474]

How would you do a open box stringer stair case

[@3dinaradesign]

can sketchup do two different angle for profile round corner ?

[@shafiqulislam5065]

cool

[@Chickery2]

So many more steps than you need to do IMO. Simply highlight all of the circles, ovals, & shapes that make up the railing and bars you are looking to have follow the path. Once they are selected, click the follow me button in the toolbar. (It will un-highlight your selection, DON'T WORRY! That's ok!) Once you have selected the follow me action from the toolbar, click on the path you want the previously highlighted objects to follow. Done.

[@aarondietzen2995]

That' sounds like a good idea, but, unfortunately, it does not work. Any geometry that is selected before clicking on the Follow Me icon will be recognized as the path, not the shapes to be extruded. If you have anything selected when you start Follow me, it will use those as the paths, and ask you to select the surfaces to follow the selection. I won't ask you to select a path.

[@Chickery2]

Hmmm... I was just trying it like I have before in the model here and your right it won't work. Hmmmm... I know I have batched the follow me tool before... But how did I do it! LOL... Ill have to go back on that one! Not so easy I guess huh! LOL Thanks for the videos, always something to be learned.

[@mae2309]

You should tell everyone that those shortcuts tips n tricks only work on sketchup 2018. Am on 2017 and they don't work. .. that sucks!! Great vid. Though Cheers!

[@aarondietzen2995]

mae You are absolutely right! I try to point out when a feature is in a specific version. Missed that one! Sorry to tease you!!

[@maurotadeuaraujopereira]

Muito louco!

[@mikojonggulliver3576]

Hi! I do love making things using Sketch up esp. Houses. But my problem now is that my Laptop is quite old and defective. It has lines on the screen. Another thing is that my Laptops battery is also damage and i cant use it if un plug in the electric source. There are a lot of things or tools yet I dont know how to use. I have created a lot of designs but most of them last me for many days to finish. And I know i have a lot of errors though I still wanted to finish them. Hope you can help me on this. Thanks a lot.

[@francoiscarias1847]

👍

[@ChrstphreCampbell]

I never really understood inside / outside before !

[@tomlaionyt]

Thomas Lai 3:19 drawing rectangle using centre-point? Pressing ALT doesn't seem to do the needful (on PC Win10)

[@aarondietzen2995]

Thomas Lai That is a feature of SketchUp 2018.

[@lucaspsara93]

selecting multiple faces and one line should be a feature of follow me

[@Larry46G]

I tried a forum and no reply My toolbar disappeared. I don't know how to get it back

[@artworksenvisioneering2167]

Great tip for railings. So using Profile Builder 2, one could create a "blank" stencil profile for these rail (or other) setups and expedite this function perhaps complete with the posts etc. I may try that just for fun.

[@aarondietzen2995]

ArtWorks Envisioneering Profile Builder is very powerful for this sort of work. You can build all of it, including the posts and just drag it along. Great extension!

[@artworksenvisioneering2167]

Very true, likely no time savings in some cases by using the stencil approach when the modularity of Profile Builder 2 would allow custom profiles and positions of the cable railing or hand rails. It's just that for one time set ups, the stencil approach is sure fast in its own right. "inside out" or "negative" follow me will come in handy many other places too. Great post.

[@johnwright6712]

Why is the sound system so complicated , it works for everything else I need it for

[@EvgOk]

I want to note that you navigate very smooth. How? You use magic mouse.

[@aarondietzen2995]

I use a 3D mouse in all my videos. Specifically, a SpaceMouse Enterprise from 3dconnexion. It is a great tool for presentation and an excellent way to improve productivity.

[@mae2309]

Is drawing your Square by the Centre point instead of a corner a 2018 trick because when I hit the Alt key is not doing it.. any other way on how to do this in sketchup 2017 ??

[@stuff4oleg]

Use Fredo Draw Along plugin. It allows to lock drawing plane, you can use any existing face as a reference for that.

[@md4uh]

use ctrl not alt

[@jimallen3160]

Convoluted, but it works. Use a 4 sided polygon to draw the rectangle, then right click on the edge and explode the curve, then move the lower line down past all the objects.

[@Jonesgi11]

You mention the "welding" extension. Why could you not just make the follow me line w/ the regular pencil tool?You also stress the importance of having the surface reversed. I'm not familiar w/ this. Do you have a link to a video that explains it more?

[@aarondietzen2995]

The lines were made with the pencil tool, but the path consists of multiple pieces. Without welding, you will have to select each individual piece before clicking the FollowMe icon. Not a huge problem, but welding help save you a step or two. As for inside/outside, every SketchUp surface has a front and a back. Reversing the surface assures that the front shows after extruding the shape.

[@tomlaionyt]

Issue with the rails as the move away from the follow-me path. Visible at 1:27 near the cursor. So this is a fail in a rather fundamental way. No way I could use this in any serious work. The bottom rail elbow is offset to the left of the vertical pillar as it begins to slope downwards.

[@craigcampbell66]

Upright extruder for you - one rail at a time. Perfectly aligned. Part of JB powerbar.

[@jimdruckenmiller4612]

@Box!

[@ryka9801]

มีซับไทยไหม

[@accusmilephilippines7502]

great vid! but axis - axes...

[@John-mz8rj]

Put it in the blender