Pick Commands

🙋 Pick me! Pick me!

Pick commands, also known as pickers, are Landshape's most powerful and accurate commands.

If you take some time to understand how pickers work, you will unlock the world of Landshape.

Pick Overview

Pick in a Nutshell

Pickers let you use Sketchup geometry to impose your vision onto the terrain.

In Landshape, you use input geometry to communicate with the terrain.

The input geometry you select will drive the result.

This way of working enables great accuracy, control, and repeatability. Sketchup is already pretty good at creating geometry.

The input is simply standard Sketchup geometry — faces, surfaces, edges, points. Input should be grouped. It is also known as control groups.

Some pickers allow you to interact also with non-terrain. For instance with input groups.

Terrain Editing Examples

For instance:

• To move terrain up or down, select a grouped face, and run Fit.
• To smoothen terrain, select a grouped face, and run Smooth.
• To add local detail, select grouped edges, and run Embed.
• To color terrain, select a grouped painted face, and run Zone.

Input Editing Examples

For instance:

• To remove e.g. tiny edges from an input group, select it, and run Clean.
• To flatten an input group of edges, select it, and run Smash.
• To make faces in an input group, select it, and run Face.

Valid Pick Input

Different commands require different input.

Some commands already support a quite liberal range inputs. However, some commands simply will not work with certain kinds of input.

Troubleshooting Command Input

🤔 Does Command not work as expected? Probably, you are using invalid input.

😎 For Pick commands, it's easy to learn valid inputs. Try one of these:

• Simply hover the toolbar command button. The tooltip summarizes valid input.
• While Commanding, right-click geometry and go directly to: Landshape > Learn Command. Alternatively, open Learn from anywhere, and manually navigate to the command's page.
• Open SketchUp's Instructor panel. The Instructor will update as you switch tools. You may dock it to the side.

are already Some input will not work with some commands.

One reason for this is because different commands have different purposes. Some commands only make sense for an enclosed area. Others only make sense for a path of edges.

Holygon aims to expand the range valid inputs in future updates. Ideally, all pickers should support any input that makes sense. A long-term goal of Landshape is to become very liberal with input.

Always Group Input Geometry

Generally, pickers expect groups. Make it a habit to always group your input geometry. This way, you can also easily select, move, hide, show, and generally interact with the input.

Some pickers also support raw geometry input. Holygon plans to make all pickers work with raw geometry in the future.

Pickers versus Other Command Types

Pick commands may be contrasted with Brushes. Brushes let you edit terrain by directly stroking the terrain.However, brush strokes may not have the same accuracy and resuability as geometry-based commands do.

For an overview of all command types, see Command Types.

Pick Operation

Direct

1. Pre-select valid inputs.
2. To adjust result, type values.

To finish, switch to any other tool.
To keep commanding, continue to item 2, below.

Alternatively:

Picking

1. Run Pick Command with nothing selected.
2. While running Command, Pick valid inputs.
3. To Command, click Enter or Doubleclick.
4. To adjust result, type values.

To finish, switch to any other tool.
To keep commanding, repeat from item 2, above.

While running, type VCB values anytime.
Values control active result, and next result.

Most or all Main Pick commands may be used in the way above. Note that a few pick commands, e.g. in Prop, may not yet support all of the above.

First, create standard Sketchup geometry — faces, surfaces, edges, points, and group it.
Second, select the groups.
Third, run a Pick command.
Fourth, adjust result by typing values into the VCB.

Pick Details

Input affects the terrain above and below it.

Most pickers have parameters. Parameters like Distance and Falloff may allow you to e.g. expand or shrink the area affected.

Pick commands that use areas as input will per default effect any terrain area above or below it.

For all pickers, the most important property of the input is its plan position. This also known as the red and green axis, or the X- and Y-dimensions

For some pickers, their position in height does not matter at all. This dimension is also known as elevation, blue axis, Z-dimension. The reason is that Landshape automatically projects the input up or down to the terrain. An example of this is Embed.

For some pickers, only their relative position in height matters. The reason is that when Landshape automatically projects the selected input to the terrain, it needs to to so in a meaningful order. An example of this is Zone.

For some pickers, their height matters. The reason is that they move the terrain towards the selected target. An exampe of this is Fit

Best Practises to Pick like a Master

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Group Your Input

To avoid cluttering

Most Pickers should work also with components.

Tag Your Input Groups

In complex models, your viewport may get cluttered with input. To keep your model tidy, Holygon recommends tagging your input groups. This way, you may show and hide your input at a single click.

Check Affected Areas

To check which parts of the terrain should be affected before running a picker, view your terrain from the top and parallel projection. There is a command for that.

Technically, it works equally well to keep control groups below the terrain. However, for practical reasons like visibility and selectability, it is recommended to keep control groups above the terrain.

No Need to Select Terrain

You never need to select the Landshape terrain itself. Landshape will automatically identify the corresponding plot, and apply the command effect.

First, preselect valid input geometry above or below the terrain. Then, run the command. This is the standard way of working

Alternatively, you may first run the command with nothing selected. This activates the pick phase. Then, while in the command, interactively select input geometry. This should work for the majority of Pick commands.

Examples of common Pick commands include ::Form, Mesh, Embed, Fit, Blend, Flare, and many more.

Most Pick commands are found under Main, but several are also found under Prop.

Learn more about Pick Commands.

(Describe, in a concise, user-friendly way, what sets Pick commands apart. Why they are concieved as they are. What their purpose is. How they can give lots of accuracy, power and control to the user, once the user understands the basics. How they work. Briefly mention how they are not supposed to work. And how to use them. And how to learn them.)

• (Describe general geometry interaction.)

• (Describe what all Pick commands have in common.)

• (Describe what sets apart Pick commands from each other.)

• (Describe Area filters.)

• (Describe Cursor states.)

• (Describe Pickphases.)

• (Describe VCB interaction.)

• (Describe Modifiers.)

• (Describe what Pick is not for.)

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For instance, to Fit, do this:

First, create a single face, e.g. a circle or rectangle. You may use e.g. Sketchup's built-in tools. Landshape does not care about how the input geometry was created. Then, ´´Group´´ the raw geometry. Then, ´´Select´´ the group. Then, with the group still selected run Fit. Now, Landshape should automatically move any terrain above or below, towards the geometry in the group that you had selected. In addition, you may control the output by typing values into the VCB.

What counts as valid input may vary between different Pick commands. All Pick commands should accept a group with one raw face, or with raw edges, or with a raw surface.

In case a Pick command should not behave as you expect, then most likely this is either because its current parameter values are unsuitable, or, its input geometry is not valid.

An example of unsuitable parameter might be a Strength so low as to not effect any change. An example of invalid input parameter may be using an open path as too low Strength.

[...]

Brush Commands

Brushes enable you to directly interact with and control the terrain via tools.

Operationally, you select a brush, move the cursor over the terrain, and

There are two kinds of brushes. Standard brushes and Area Brushes. Holygon aims make both types of close in on each other in terms of functionality. [...]

Draw commands

[...]
Draw command icons show an wriggle in their bottom-right corner.

Use View commands to style your terrain.
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View commands

[...]
View command icons show an eye in their bottom-right corner.

Use View commands to style your terrain.
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Survey commands

[...]
Survey command icons show an protractor in their bottom-right corner.

Use survew commands to analyze your terrain properties.

Initially, there are only very few survey commands available. Holygon aims to add more survey commands.
[...]

Grow commands

Grow is a subtype. Grow commands are commands that can increase the model's terrain footprint area. Currently, there are only two Grow commands: Plot and Form.

Grow commands can be identified by the small plus in their bottom-left corner.

Use Grow commands to grow your terrain.
[...]

Shape commands

Shape is a subtype. Shape commands are commands that can move terrain up and down.
Use shape commands to shape your terrain.
[...]

Combo Commands

Some commands only move terrain up and down. Other commands edit terrain resolution or style the terrain, but do not change elevations. A few commands, like Road ,combine shaping, styling, and remeshing the terrain.
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🌱 ...this Learn section is still incomplete. Expect more content in a future Landshape update.

Keep Landshape updated and check back soon.