dohh - thanks for the quick answer jorgensen

[image: nVNk_Ztest1.jpg][image: faeB_Ztest2.jpg]Hi Numberosis, I think I know the issue. I found I offset the image by 1mm does work, of course, but the graffiti image did not show up in SU therefore I assumed it would not show up in the render if it did not show up in SU. I have attached images showing firstly the view in SU and the result of that same view in the render.

Those many lines are the way sketchup has to convert CAD splines into sketchup curves with high accuracy. You probably don't need that much accuracty for terrain contours.

@dave r said: I think the trays are a great idea and wouldn't want to go back to the old way. I was setting up SketchUp for years with the utility windows stacked on the right outside of the drawing window so the tray thing mimics my old setup with the added benefit of a little more toolbar space across the top. I found it incredibly annoying to have the windows covering the modeling space. Keeping them outside the modeling space eliminates that. +1 I don't know if you guys are using make or pro, but every new version of Sketchup, even if it doesn't bring a whole new set of features, represented a significant improvement for me, mainly because of Layout, but still an improvement that I can appreciate.

thanks to Eneroth, i learned that the axis origin of a group can be moved to wherever you need it by right-clicking one of the axis lines in the edit mode and choosing ''place''. you then close, re-open and scale. but to be clear, i am talking about re-sizing - not scaling. although re-sizing can also be construed as re-scaling. clear as mud?

I'm one of those people that try to push sketchup beyond what is meant to, but what I found when doing that, is Sketchup is able to stretch and I gain productivity. I ditched away CAD in exchange for SU and there is more people doing that each year. I believe that Sketchup will adjust in time and be even more competent for that. Revit is what it is, it's much more than Sketchup for certain architectural businesses, but Sketchup is fit for 90% of the other scenarios. What I like about Sketchup is that it isn't as streamlined as Revit and so allows for a multidisciplinar approach and a very flexible workflow that I couldn't find with Revit. I have quit using Revit long ago and adopted Sketchup instead. I didn't fully use Revit, but it seemed to me a standard architectural software that somehow forced us to work in a standard way. I don't know how Revit evolved since then but Sketchup, even limited as an Architectural software, allows for creative freedom. The downside is that it forces us to find convoluted methods to get standard output done. Even so, I rather keep using Sketchup as I cherish that design freedom. I find advantage on that freedom even in the latest stages of design and construction documentation. It's probably because of that that I also don't use your plugins Meedek. I admire your work but cannot think in standards nor work always on similar contexts. Your plugins represent standards so I have no great use for them, hence I thought Revit was fit for them. However, as you see with Plusspec, Sketchup is useful for people that deal with standards too. The problem with plusspec might be about Layout then, as it isn't yet as capable as Revit for documentation standard output.

Might be worth trying to update/reinstall your graphics driver as TIG hinted? I experience the same symptoms if i revert to my iGPU [intel hd4000 on a i7 3770k] AND Win10 has done an update. As a short term solution using the intel driver assistant to manually reinstall the Intel driver has always got things working again for me and is easier than uninstalling the microsoft update. I'm not too concerned as i only use the iGPU occasionally when I want to continue working and my discrete GPUs are rendering. If the above is relevant, and you have a desktop, then a discrete GPU might be worth considering?

I suppose that you say Vray for SketchUp ... ? It's maybe not the same price! ( * 6-7 ) I am not sure it makes seven times better images ? Vray is not known for its facility of use...

@cuttingedge said: I was refering to Max files (from CG axis, evermotion etc) full scenes being converted to sketchup... Many of those are pirated, but it's rare that you see something that can't be done in SUp. I think we don't see many examples because a lot of people are happy to buy, download and import whatever they need. It does take a lot of dedication to model complex items in SUp, so it's sort of understandable.

Do any of you that have used the Surface Book with SketchUp have any updates since the last post? I am seriously considering getting a Surface Book i7, 16gb, 512 ssd with the performance base. I want to run SU 2017. Keep in mind I will be using this to mostly present models and make some adjustments on the fly. Most of my modeling will be on my desktop.

@filibis said: Hi Alan, You probably saw his other plugin in use: Vertex Tools Thanks Mr. Filibis Yep I made a mistake by searching for another pluging I was looking for this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7OpGb0NwHc0 If someone is searching for the same plugin, I found it here: https://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5475

@juju said: You could always download the RBZ and do a "manual" installation via the Extension Manager, that is what I did. Great minds think alike mate, downloaded new RBZ and installed via Extension Manager. Easy peezy. Thank you

Thankyou all so much. Thank you @TIG and @Fredo6. Really appreciated. I haven’t updated to the latest OS for Mac yet, and I won’t do for a while yet, as everything is running smoothly at the moment. I will now install the updates to the Extensions though. Once again, thank you. Kind regards Mike

Hello, I know this topic is open a long time but i had the same problem and i found out that when you "explode" all your lines in the AutoCad drawing and then save the drawing again it will load into SketchUp when imported as a DWG-file.

I am getting this issue now - twice in the last 2 weeks. I have a 1080ti and a Titan X installed

Tweak in unit type for the import

The main API issue with the v2017 changes was how exploded entities' IDs changed. Perviously if you made a temporary group and got references to its edges/faces etc, then when you exploded the group you could reuse those references, if they were still valid. With v2017 any in-group references are lost, all exploded entities get new IDs ! So all of the code using the old methods needs recasting so that it catches the IDs of the exploded entities, not there previous IDs. Another workaround is to give the group's entities' custom attribute IDs and then re-collect them after the explosion... This is possible: it's just a pain [PITA] to recode. However, there are some subtle issues that are still unresolved. In a few weeks I'll be at DevCamp... and then. hopefully, thomthom and others can help me track what's up with a few of my ExtrudeTools. I have now trapped all of the issues which I can see, and I ensure that start/commit_operations are properly set... BUT in a few of the tools, although they complete their work perfectly, when the user subsequently does an UNDO it BugSplats ! That is after that extrude tool has successfully completed and the commit is properly recorded !!

Thea 4 Sketchup is very good in that. IES lights are represented as SU geometry - components which can be saved as you wish. Here is how lights work: https://youtu.be/wpfxLgbsSyQ

Thank you

@steve rugg said: Still has great flaws but I have not seen anything easier and better. Couldnt agree more Steve. I decided to shift and abandon Sketchup for its "lack of robustness" in handling complicated models way too many times. But the ease of use factor and the countless good things that is added every single day kept me coming back. Thank goodness , very sloooow, but making great progress... I still see a promising future for SU as the user base grows tremendously.. It may not be "the one and only" 3d software you'll ever need, but it is becoming more and more indispensable in many 3d production workflow.