Exporting PDF

qwerter · 6 Oct 2008, 14:59

Hello everybody,

Recently made the step from Sketchup free to the Pro version.
The main reason for this was that I though I would be able to export big Pdf files (A2, A1, A0,).
My problem is that, although I'm able do do this, the exported Pdf does not show the selected Sketchupstyle and shadows??
I already tried using Layout and the style comes out great but couldn't find any way to make a Pdf bigger then A3?
Is there a way around my problem?

Thanks

Nout

rsw · 6 Oct 2008, 15:09

Not sure about exporting direct to a pdf, but I've always found printing to a pdf via cutePDF writer works well for any size sheet.

qwerter · 6 Oct 2008, 15:37

Thanks but I think my problem is one step before printing.

I managed to create a A0 template in Layout but when I choose this one after I gave the command 'Send to Layout' in Secthup it only shows an empty A0..

Gaieus · 7 Oct 2008, 05:25

Hi qwerter,

The problem in LO mightbe that you are running out of memory to create such a big image (models are actually diplayd as png files in LO).

Also there might be some problem during the export to LO so try this method: copy your model (select all and use the simple Ctrl+C command) then paste it into LO. Normally it should work so if it does not, there may be some other problems.

Also, try to send to LO onto a smaller paper first and then choose another, bigger template to see if things work and where exactly the glitch happens.

I'll move this topic to the LayOut discussions because the GSU Team frequently monitors that forum.

jhauswirth · 8 Oct 2008, 16:36

Ideally you would create an A0 LayOut document and then File->Insert your skp file.
But since LayOut is still in beta, it has problems rendering to large bitmaps.
This should be fixed in the next release.

matteo · 17 Oct 2008, 20:18

actually, there are two ways to export a pdf with sketchup:

the first one is to use a virtual printer to create a pdf, like rsw said.
The result is always a bitmap image (jpg) enbedded in the pdf - this action will keep the scale and the original style you choosed, plus textures, shadows and enviroment settings like fog, sky and ground.
If you plan to print an A0 file @ 300 dpi and you have enough ram (!tons!) installed, you will avoid an out of memory error and output a huge pdf file.
Your plotter or printer must also be able to handle such big files or you will not print them.
In few words, this procedure is possible, but is a computer killer.
I've found that it is much easier to export a big jpg file and edit it with some good dtp software. It allows you to enter and edit text + graphics - you can also optimize your pdf output and suite it to your printer - moreover you can create a layout template to use for every page you will print, or for future documents.
Sketchup layout should be able to do this, but at present it is still unstable.

The second way is to use the internal pdf converter of sketchup.
This tool is not able to export bitmap entities like textures and line styles. Also forget to export shadows and fog. You will just export the vector edges and, if you're lucky, some flat coloured fillings between the edges. The result depends on the combination of your cpu, graphic card and memory - it is quite unpredictable. If your model is enough complex, you'll print a white sheet because your pc is not able to calculate it.
This method works quite good to export b/w technical drawings, but is not suited for artistic outputs.
The good thing is that you can produce big format drawings that weight a few dozens of kb, then you will not need such a powerful workstation to print an A0 sheet.

I hope this helps you
/matteo

jhauswirth · 17 Nov 2008, 17:47

@qwerter said:

Recently made the step from Sketchup free to the Pro version.
The main reason for this was that I though I would be able to export big Pdf files (A2, A1, A0,).
My problem is that, although I'm able do do this, the exported Pdf does not show the selected Sketchupstyle and shadows??
I already tried using Layout and the style comes out great but couldn't find any way to make a Pdf bigger then A3?
Is there a way around my problem?

LO 2 should be able to handle large papers sizes now. LO just left beta.
Post any problems you find please.

remus · 17 Nov 2008, 18:30

You seem to be having a lot of fun going trough and ticking of all these requests no bad thing btw.

JuanV.Soler · 17 Nov 2008, 18:35

Layout 2 is indeed worthy