Building in Four Dimensions! - Google SketchUp Workshop: Modeling, Visualizing, and Illustrating - page 107

Assigning the xD Objects is carried out via the following steps:
• SelecttherelevantSketchUpelements.
• ClickontheiconforthedesiredxDObjects.
• Iftheaboveissuccessful,youwillgetthefollowingmessage:The
SketchUp Entities Have Been Linked.
At first glance, nothing appears to have changed in the model: But, of course,
all the elements are now linked together.
This assignment can also be carried out over various stages, based on differ-
ent selections, either because it is easier or because there are some elements
that were left out of the initial selection.
Stage 4: Navigating in Time
Objective : To show the state of construction of the project at a specific date.
Data : SketchUp xD model created in the preceding stages.
Tool : The xD toolbar in SketchUp.
As indicated in the introduction, when you navigate in time, certain elements
are either visible or hidden. Their colors also change according to the prevail-
ing situation. The color and material are chosen by the user according to the
type and status of the activity. So, for example, a construction in concrete
might be red while it is being poured, but textured gray once set.
All the temporal navigation functions are found in the xD Virtual Builder
toolbar.
FiG 6.3 All the temporal navigation
functions are easily accessible from
the xD Virtual Builder toolbar.
Navigating in time can be done in several ways: either by choosing a spe-
cific date or by “scrubbing” through the entire construction process. You can
choose a specific date via the Calendar tool.
Starting with a particular date, you can continue moving the process forward
or rewind back to any particular point in the past:
View past or future dates, moving backwards and forwards by a defined
time interval.
Show the Time Interval list.
Run the simulation automatically, stepping forward by a defined time
interval.
The time intervals can be chosen by the user. The standard interval is found
under the Stages list. This list gathers together all the start and the end dates
of the xD Objects. Other available intervals are Every Week, Every 15 Days,