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File management in SketchUp with OpenStudio and EnergyPlus

asked 2014-11-14 06:01:47 -0600

iasonas_fng's avatar

updated 2015-08-06 04:44:32 -0600

Hello. I'm really new at all this and I have trouble with some of the basics. I want to simulate an office building but I cant seem to figure out the correct way to save my progress, which is causing a lot of frustration. I'm using SketchUp 2014 with OpenStudio 1.5.

What I do is:

  1. Create some Spaces, Thermal Zones and Geometry
  2. Selecting Save As or Export from the OpenStudio menu doesnt seem to do anything so I start with Save As .skp model from the File menu
  3. I am then able to use all options under OpenStudio menu (Save As, Export as both .idf and .osm)

When I reopen SketchUp, I can't open any of the files I previously saved!

The .skp file is blank, and both .idf and .osm files give me error messages (some message about EP versions and a "Validity check: Failed to load file" for the .osm file)

I'm pretty sure I'm missing something really simple here, any help please?

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@iasonas_fng - welcome! I edited your tags so that your question is searchable.

MatthewSteen's avatar MatthewSteen  ( 2014-11-14 06:43:07 -0600 )edit

5 Answers

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answered 2014-11-14 08:08:50 -0600

Hi @iasonas_fng, sorry for your troubles. When working with OpenStudio you only need to save your OSM file, you do not need to save the SKP file. When you open SketchUp you can go to the OpenStudio menu and choose open OSM, re-opening a SKP file linked to an OSM sometimes causes problems. I am a little unsure what you mean by "Selecting Save As or Export from the OpenStudio menu doesnt seem to do anything so I start with Save As .skp model from the File menu", can you expand on that? When you choose "Save" or "Save As" from the OpenStudio model it should prompt you for where you want to save your OSM file if you have not already saved it.

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Clicking "Save OpenStudio Model As" in the OpenStudio menu does nothing. The prompt you mention only appears when I try to save in .osm after I have already saved in .skp format. When reopening SketchUp, selecting Open OpenStudio Model does nothing. I can only open the .skp file, which doesnt really load anything. After that, if I try to open the .osm file I get the "Validity check: Failed to load file" error message.

iasonas_fng's avatar iasonas_fng  ( 2014-11-14 08:36:52 -0600 )edit
3

answered 2014-11-14 08:04:34 -0600

updated 2015-04-06 14:55:06 -0600

OpenStudio does not store any of the energy modeling information in the SketchUp (.skp) file itself, but rather uses SketchUp as a visualization tool. Modifications made to the energy model (including the energy model geometry) are stored in a separate file. The Legacy OpenStudio SketchUp plugin stored this model information in a .IDF file (the EnergyPlus input file format). The current OpenStudio SketchUp plugin (which you are using) stores this model information in a .OSM files (the OpenStudio input file format). The plugin has its own save, save-as, open and open buttons in the OpenStudio toolbar. These buttons are described in the OpenStudio SketchUp Plugin Documentation.

The OpenStudio introductory tutorial contains a series of videos showing how to do each of the steps you are interested in if you want to see things step-by-step.

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Thanks for the quick reply. I read through those tutorials but it doesnt seem to work for me. I go to the Plugins>Openstudio>File menu, select Save OpenStudio Model As and nothing happens. No pop-up box, no error message, nothing. Any ideas?

iasonas_fng's avatar iasonas_fng  ( 2014-11-14 08:30:43 -0600 )edit
2

answered 2014-11-17 04:23:24 -0600

iasonas_fng's avatar

After uninstalling and reinstalling everything a few times, I finally got the menus working. It probably had to do with the install order. What I did was: 1) Install EnergyPlus 8.1 2) Install Sketchup Pro 2014 3) Install OpenStudio 1.5 (without the legacy) and use Administrator Rights during every step. Just saying, in case anyone else has the same troubles in the future.

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answered 2014-12-01 11:10:43 -0600

ChrisBalbach's avatar

Perhaps it will help to consider the SketchUp file format (.skp) and the OpenStudio file (.osm) as containing the objects required to managing two completely separate object models. Aside from some links and pointers described above, they are independent files.

SketchUp related model objects (lines, circles, dimensions, views, etc.) will be saved in the .skp file when one saves using the SketchUp -> File -> "Save" command

OpenStudio related model objects (OpenStudio surfaces, subsurfaces, construction definitions, material definituions. schedules, etc.) will be saves to the .osm file when one saves the Plugins->OpenStudio -> File -> "Save OpenStudio Model" command.

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Ok, thank you for the further clarification. I've also found useful this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrX2v...

marika's avatar marika  ( 2014-12-10 05:32:16 -0600 )edit
0

answered 2017-03-17 12:46:48 -0600

wollz's avatar

I was working in my .osm file into sketchup normally. So i started to organizing my folders after work and when i tried to load the .osm file into sketchup was showed the message "Validity check: Failed to load file". (All files have been moved from folder)

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Asked: 2014-11-14 06:01:47 -0600

Seen: 3,842 times

Last updated: Mar 17 '17