Import Sketchup Objects into Cinema 4D - 'Dots' / Strange Geometry Appearing

[star-long]

Hi there,

I'm currently trialing Cinema 4D, all is looking promising for purchasing. One thing that I can't work out, when I import Sketchup objects some of them have strange 'dots' attached. I'm calling them dots because in the Attributes menu and then Object tab their shape is set to Dots, I can change it to 'None' so they disappear. But why are they there in the first place? And is there a way to stop them appearing at all? When I import large models there can be hundreds of them! So removing them all can take a long time! Hopefully you can see a screen shot here: I have one selected, where the move axis is, but you can see another to the left of the move axis, just to the right of the object.

I can't seem to post anywhere other than the Site Issues forum, apologies for that, I'm just hoping to get this solved before my trial expires!

[Dr. Sassi]

Hi star-long,

I have to check why the trial option prevents forum access. That is not how I would love to have it. Sorry for the problems that this caused.

Is there any way I could get a small Sketch-Up file? I had a license over 15 years ago, but nothing works.

Please use Dropbox, Google, Adobe, Apple, or Wetransfer services. Thank you.

If nothing is available, I can set up an upload link.

Enjoy your exploration.

[star-long]

Thanks for coming back to me, that's not a problem, here's a wetransfer link: https://we.tl/t-8gNbgvQXUS

That's the same file as the screenshot, but I've noticed it with a lot of Sketchup models. The worst being stadium seating in a stadium, I had thousands of random dots everywhere!

If I convert to OBJ the dots don't appear - so there is a work around. It just takes quite a bit of time to export to OBJ, it would be nice if I could avoid having to do that.

Thanks for your help, I appreciate you taking the time to have a look for me.

[Dr. Sassi]

Hi star-long,

The file looks like most CAD files, with long triangles and an unideal polygon flow. That is the worst I can see. I explored those with Remesh or Volume but could not find a quick improvement. It was not your question, but I looked at it anyway.

What you might identify as "points" are Nulls. They come either from groups or layers when things are important. Since they have individual names, I assume you find a reason for their existence in SketchUp.

In the Editor View> Menu> Filter> Null, they are not visible anymore, but if selected, the Axisa might show. The shortcut option/alt + D hides that axis. How far that limits other areas to work with is up to you to balance one or the other.

If you don't need separate parts of an object, then Object Manager> Object> Connect Objects and Delete.
If you have thousands of objects that could be one object, then that is the best way to deal with it.
Since I don't know the setup, please explore this on a copy.

Single objects are faster in Cinema 4D than many objects, given they share the exact point/polygon count.

All the best

[star-long]

Ah I see, that makes sense. I did notice the Nulls that are created in Cinema 4D yesterday - I just hadn't connected them to the Sketchup files. They must be created when you create a 'component' in Sketchup, but Sketchup doesn't visually show a marker for components, you can just tell that they are there from the boundary on the object when you select it. They are pretty similar to Groups in Cinema 4D.

Thanks for helping out with that. I spent about 30 minutes trying to remove them from a stadium file and then decided to give up! Glad I didn't carry on now!

[Dr. Sassi]

Thanks for the reply, star-long.

Let me know if you need something else; if so, please open a new thread.
I will move this thread to the Q&A now.

Cheers