Components

Components are complex entities you can create by grouping geometry. When you create a basic component in SketchUp, you turn that grouped geometry into a reusable and separate entity. Adding attributes to a basic component creates a configurable dynamic component. For even more component configuration options, you can use a SketchUp Live Component.

Getting Started with Components

Before you start inserting components, you need to know that every component has a definition and an instance:

  • A definition outlines how all components of a specific type appear and behave in the drawing area.
  • When you insert a component into a model, you create a component instance based on its definition.

For example, you want a premade basic component called Framed Half Door with Double Panel in your model.

 

The component definition outlines what that door looks like. Based on that definition you can insert as many instances of that component into your model as you like.

Editing an entity in a component also edits the definition. For example, if you change the door's glass, the glass in all component instances changes. If you change the double panel into a single panel, all the doors in your model have a single panel as well.

If you scale, rotate, or flip a component it won’t alter the definition or change the other instances.

You can also replace all component instances with another component. If you decide you don't like the Framed Half Door with Double Panel, you can easily swap that component with a different one.

Dynamic components have even more capabilities than regular components. If a component is dynamic, it has at least one of the following elements:

  • Constrained values - A dynamic cabinet door component might have a frame that's constrained to 3 inches. Whether the panel inside the frame is 12 x 24 inches or 24 x 48 inches or some other dimension, the frame remains 3 inches wide all the way around the door.
  • Repetitive elements - A dynamic component can have subcomponents that repeat as you scale the component. For example, a repetitive dynamic component might add steps to a staircase, cushions to couch, pickets to a fence, studs to construction framing, etc.
  • Configurable values - A dynamic component can have a predefined set of values that you can configure, such as a couch's length or the picket spacing in a fence component.
  • Animated features - An animated dynamic component moves when you interact with it. With animated dynamic components, your model can have doors and windows that open.

When it comes to components, there are three basic rules to keep in mind:.

  • Rule #1 - If you are going to use something more than once in your model, make a Component of it. When you want to copy an entity or group, make a component of it first, then copy that component.
  • Rule #2 - Use tags to organize your Groups and Components. See Controlling Visibility with Tags for more information.
  • Rule #3 - You can always make a component unique if you want it to be different from others with the same definition.
Tip: You can explode a component, turning it back into basic geometry and purging its definition.

Groups and Components vs Tags

To get started with Components, view the following articles:

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