## Legacy OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in help and documentation ### Help and documentation are sorted into three categories (see left navigation). The Reference Guide provides a short description and screenshots for all Legacy OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in toolbar commands and menu items. The Tutorials provide more details and focus on workflow rather than a specific tool. Some tutorials deal directly with Legacy OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in tools; others with native SketchUp tools that you may find useful in your Legacy OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in workflow. The last section is the Release Notes. This contains installation instructions, software requirements, known issues, links to external resources, and other content. ### About Legacy OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in #### What It Is A geometry editor for EnergyPlus. It enables you to create building geometry from scratch: add thermal zones, draw heat transfer surfaces, draw windows and doors, draw shading surfaces, etc. Enables you to open EnergyPlus input files, whether or not they were drawn with the plug-in, and begin to make geometry changes: modify zones, delete surfaces, add new surfaces, etc. #### What It Is Not Is not a full-featured interface for EnergyPlus. It will help you create some nongeometry EnergyPlus objects, but you will still need to work with the EnergyPlus IDF file outside of SketchUp. To effectively use EnergyPlus with the plug-in, you will still have to be willing to learn about building simulation and work with the low-level EnergyPlus syntax of the text input file. Is also not a translator from SketchUp to EnergyPlus. You cannot use the plug-in to convert an old SketchUp model into an EnergyPlus input file unless you consider how to divide your building into thermal zones. To use the plug-in as intended, you must have the energy model in mind as you create your EnergyPlus model. Some of the tutorials cover workflows for converting existing models to EnergyPlus input. #### Conventions In SketchUp, every object you draw on the screen is called an entity. Entities include groups, faces, and edges. These terms are consistent with the SketchUp documentation, which a veteran user will recognize. The EnergyPlus Input Data File (IDF) is also composed of objects. An EnergyPlus input object is a block of text with data values separated by commas and terminated by a semicolon. Allowable values for each field of the object are defined by the Input Data Dictionary (IDD). The InputOutputReference.pdf file in the EnergyPlus documentation provides details about the meaning and impact of each field of each object. #### Conclusion The Legacy OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in makes it easy to enter geometry data for your EnergyPlus input files—a task that was once both difficult and time consuming. Before you start, we recommend you look at the known issues. If you have problems, feedback, or questions about the plug-in, see the troubleshooting on the Release Notes page. Thanks for reading, and good luck with all your EnergyPlus endeavors. We hope you find the Legacy OpenStudio SketchUp Plug-in useful.

U.S. Department of Energy