Export to LayOut

Prepares the fabrication set in two stages: first the creation of the SketchUp scenes (one scene per part, framed on the part with the rest of the model hidden), then the generation of a LayOut document holding one page per part (views, dimensions and project information).

This is not a drawing tool: the command opens a dialog window. The model must be saved — it is saved automatically when the window opens and again just before generation.

How it works

1. Launch the command from the CNC toolbar (or the Adwood menu)
2. Section 0 — check the project information carried over into the LayOut document
3. Section 1 — choose the LayOut template and the document unit
4. Section 2 — tick and order the parts, then click "Create scenes for the ticked parts"
5. Section 3 — check the resulting scenes, update them or delete the ones you do not need
6. Click "Generate the LayOut document" and choose where to save the .layout file: it is created, then opened in LayOut

The sections behave as an accordion: click a title to expand it, which collapses the others. The state is remembered from one session to the next.

Section 0 — Project information

Reminder and quick editing of the information that fills the title block of the LayOut document.

• Variables (button) — shows or hides the help about the LayOut variables. Insert them into your template through Text > Insert Auto Text: their value is rewritten on every export.
  • <adwood_client_first_name> — client first name
  • <adwood_client_last_name> — client last name
  • <adwood_client_email> — email
  • <adwood_client_phone> — phone
  • <adwood_client_address> — client address
  • <adwood_project_number> — project number
  • <adwood_project_delivery_address> — delivery address
  • <adwood_project_delivery_instructions> — delivery instructions
  • <adwood_project_notes> — notes
• First name / Last name — client identity
• Email / Phone — client contact details
• Project number — job reference
• Delivery address — delivery location

Each field is saved into the model as soon as you leave it (Tab, Enter or a click elsewhere), and only if it really changed. The variables missing from this section (client address, delivery instructions, notes) are entered with the Project information command; they are still exported to LayOut.

Section 1 — LayOut template & options

• Select a template… (list) — the Adebeo Adwood template shipped with the extension comes first as the default, followed by the templates installed with LayOut and by your own templates
• Browse… (button) — points at any .layout file as a template; it is added to the list and selected
• The path of the chosen template is displayed under the list, as a check
• Keep template cover page (checkbox) — when ticked, the first page of the template is left untouched and serves as a cover page: the first part then takes the second page of the template if it has one, otherwise a page is added; every following part gets a page appended. When unticked, the first part reuses the first page of the template
• Unit (list: mm, cm, m, inch) — unit of the LayOut document and of the generated dimensions. Precision stays equivalent to 0.1 mm whatever the unit

Section 2 — Parts to make

List of every panel in the model, including those nested inside components. The badge shows the number of parts detected.

• Handle (the six dots on the left) — drag and drop a row to change the order; this order drives the order of the scenes, then of the LayOut pages
• Checkbox — includes the part in the scene creation
• Label — reference and name of the part (e.g. P-001 - Left stile)
• Dimensions — net length × width × thickness, in mm
• Select all (double tick) — ticks every row
• Deselect all (cross) — unticks every row
• Pick in the model (button) — clears the selection, then hands over to the SketchUp viewport: click the parts you want, the list ticks itself live and the parts left out are greyed. Leave the tool (Esc or the space bar) to come back to the window
• Create scenes for the ticked parts (button) — creates one scene per ticked part; it stays disabled as long as no part is ticked

If the model holds no Adwood panel, a message says so and the list stays empty.

On creation, a C_<label> scene is added for each part (G_<name> for a group), together with the satellite scenes __AV, __GA and __CP (front, left, counter-face) that feed the secondary views of the LayOut pages. An Initial scene keeps the state of the model. If a scene already exists for the part, you are asked whether to overwrite it.

Section 3 — Scene editing

List of the Adwood scenes in the model (satellite scenes are not listed). The badge shows their number.

• Checkbox — includes the scene in the LayOut document to be generated
• Scene name — same as the SketchUp page name
• Bin (per row) — deletes that scene and its satellites, after confirmation
• Update (button) — reframes and re-saves every scene; use it after moving, resizing or machining a part
• Delete all (button) — deletes every Adwood scene, after confirmation
• Automatic drill dimensioning (checkbox) — adds the drilling dimensions and marks on the LayOut pages, along with the drilling table

Window footer

• Generate the LayOut document — saves the model, creates the document from the template and opens it in LayOut. Disabled as long as no template is chosen and no scene is ticked
• Cancel and the cross at the top right — close the window. Scenes already created and project information already saved are kept

Keys

• Enter = validate the project information field being typed
• Space bar = leave the picking in the model and come back to the window
• Esc = Cancel the operation

Tips

• Prepare your own LayOut template with your auto text variables: the title block then fills itself on every export
• Template, unit, part order and ticked boxes are remembered model by model: a second export starts from your settings
• Do not rename the created scenes: the C_ / G_ prefixes and the __AV, __GA, __CP suffixes are needed to match the pages
• After any change to a part in the model, click "Update" before regenerating the document
• Parts are matched by their internal id, not by their name: two parts sharing a name still give two distinct scenes and two distinct pages
• Fill in the project number before generating: it also helps to name the LayOut file properly in your folder tree