SketchUp 8 M2 is out!

[jbacus]

@unknownuser said:

...and I'll update you guys why it was so difficult to use. Has anyone else had any problems with that?

I'd be keen to hear why you prefer the old "Film & Stage" plugin to the new "Advanced Camera Tools" as well. We think the new version works better than the old one, of course

john
.

[jbacus]

@chiefwoodworker said:

The biggest problem is in printing to scale.

LayOut is the better solution to this problem and it contains many tools that will help you print more effectively to scale.

john
.

[Krisidious]

did I hear someone say plugin installer?

[jeff hammond]

@jbacus said:

@unknownuser said:

now, i can only have sketchup open on one computer at a time ?? unless i install both free and pro on all computers??

It sounds like you may be using a network license, not a single-user license. You'll need to change some things about your configuration to use SU8M2. Please drop us a line here for more information.

john
.

hmm..you know, it's been quite a while since i bought pro but you might be right re: the network license.. i actually bought 3 licenses at once (from @last) but two were for windows and the third (mine) is mac.. i always assumed mine was a single-user license since it was a different OS but my user name is "<company name> -User 3"..

my su8 upgrade email says this prior to listing the SN

SketchUp Pro 8 Commercial License for OSX - 1 Seats

does that means i have a network license instead of single user?
[fwiw, one of the licenses 'home base' is in florida, one in denver, then mine in NYC.. i haven't talked with them yet about this but i assume they're going to need sorted out as well ]

but yeah, i'll mail you guys privately to get this sorted..

[ken]

DAMN

Well here goes a Friday wasted on this upgrade.

1. After installing I now have a major grayed out context menu. Desktop, Win 7 Home Premium. Which I did not have before this upgrade. Note, don't have gray out problems with laptop, Sketchup M1, Win XP.
2. Can't run on two machine at same time. Wish to run on both machines when I come back from working remote. Now I can't do that.

On side note, if I have Sketchup M2 open on the desktop, and try to open Sketchup on laptop M1, it will open on the laptop, however it operates strangely, drawing a line with the pencil doesn't work right away, there is a delay in drawing the line until you select another tool.

If I have Sketchup M1 open on the laptop, then try to open Sketchup M2 on the desktop, it indicates you have more than one running and will shut down.

Check my license, Single-user.

3. Tried to re-install older version, M1 on desktop as I have a project to get out. However I can not re-install Sketchup from an older version over a newer version.

So big question, if I remove Sketchup M2 from the desktop, write down my pro license number, can I re-install the older version and use the old license number. Need to get back to work.

Ken, peeved at myself for doing this install when I had work to be done.

[ken]

OK, I am back to Sketchup V 8.0.481 M1. Grayed out context menu gone.

Now back to work.

[jbacus]

@unknownuser said:

my su8 upgrade email says this prior to listing the SN

SketchUp Pro 8 Commercial License for OSX - 1 Seats

does that means i have a network license instead of single user?

I'll leave it to the Sales gang to get you sorted out officially but it looks to me like you have a single-seat network license, not a single-user license. Fill out the form I referenced above and we'll get to you as soon as we can.

john
.

[Chiefwoodworker]

@unknownuser said:

@chiefwoodworker said:

I just installed it and was really disappointed that the Print functionality is still broken.

hey chief.. you have suPro so maybe save some headaches and do your printing via layout?

I teach the free version of SketchUp in addition to using the Pro license for my own work so Layout is not a general solution. I can't tell you how many students trip over this problem and are put off by it. I know how to work around it but beginners don't. Here is an email that I got just this morning.

"joe.
i have now been trying for a total of more than 40 hours just to print to scale. i have tried hundreds of different combinations of scales and measurements on 3 different computers.writing down every detail as i go.. there is no pattern in the times it will print to scale and the times it wont. it is just random. i have no choice but to try another way all together. can you recommend another program that i can send the images to to continue my work elsewhere?

thanks"

This is a problem Google should correct. I don't understand why, after 8 versions, they haven't addressed it.

[jbacus]

@unknownuser said:

1. After installing I now have a major grayed out context menu.
2. Can't run on two machine at same time.

Hi Ken,

Glad you were able to get back to a working state in time to finish your project. When that's through, I think that we can probably troubleshoot the problems you reported.

1. Some things about the Ruby API did change to support plugin installers. Grayed-out context menus are typically a problem with one or more of the scripts you have installed.

2. Sounds like you may have the same issue wrt licensing as Jeff– if you have a network license (even a "single seat" network license) you'll have to make some changes to your configuration. Fill out this form and we'll get back to you as soon as we can with additional info.

3. Not sure why you'd be seeing a lag with either tool activation or drawing a line. If you can get me more information about that I'll see about getting you some specific troubleshooting help.

john
.

[Chiefwoodworker]

@jbacus said:

@chiefwoodworker said:

The biggest problem is in printing to scale.

LayOut is the better solution to this problem and it contains many tools that will help you print more effectively to scale.

john
.

See my reply to Jeff Hammond on this issue. LayOut is not a solution for those who do not have a Pro license which most of my students do not. Besides, a bug is a bug and should be fixed, especially if it has been around for 8 major version releases and numerous maintenance releases. This just isn't very professional of Google and its SketchUp team. But I will live and use SketchUp anyway ;<)

[jbacus]

@chiefwoodworker said:

I teach the free version of SketchUp in addition to using the Pro license for my own work so Layout is not a general solution.

If you're teaching SketchUp to students, an 'Education' license may be the best solution. SketchUp Pro is available for cheap (sometimes free) to schools, teachers and students. Are you teaching in a context that makes you eligible for that program?

john
.

[jeff hammond]

@jbacus said:

I'll leave it to the Sales gang to get you sorted out officially but it looks to me like you have a single-seat network license, not a single-user license. Fill out the form I referenced above and we'll get to you as soon as we can.

i contacted sales via your link.. fingers crossed
thanks for the help!

[Chiefwoodworker]

@jbacus said:

@chiefwoodworker said:

I teach the free version of SketchUp in addition to using the Pro license for my own work so Layout is not a general solution.

If you're teaching SketchUp to students, an 'Education' license may be the best solution. SketchUp Pro is available for cheap (sometimes free) to schools, teachers and students. Are you teaching in a context that makes you eligible for that program?

john
.

Hi John,

I teach at local community colleges and woodworking schools. I don't know if that qualifies me for an Education license, but I will look into it. Thanks for the heads up.

[ken]

@jbacus said:

@unknownuser said:

1. After installing I now have a major grayed out context menu.
2. Can't run on two machine at same time.

Hi Ken,

Glad you were able to get back to a working state in time to finish your project. When that's through, I think that we can probably troubleshoot the problems you reported.

1. Some things about the Ruby API did change to support plugin installers. Grayed-out context menus are typically a problem with one or more of the scripts you have installed.

2. Sounds like you may have the same issue wrt licensing as Jeff– if you have a network license (even a "single seat" network license) you'll have to make some changes to your configuration. Fill out this form and we'll get back to you as soon as we can with additional info.

3. Not sure why you'd be seeing a lag with either tool activation or drawing a line. If you can get me more information about that I'll see about getting you some specific troubleshooting help.

john
.

Note jbacus

I am familiar with the grayed out context menu and adjust my plugins to get rid of this problem and for ver 8.0.481 I had a workable setup. I even modified some plugins that use the context menu to use a tool bar or if there is a choice I will in the script, I will modify the script to not use the context menu choice. So I was happy and working.

However, I upgraded, and I mean that all I did, and wham, the worst grayed out I have seen. Sometime the "make components or group" option was grayed out in the edit menu. So now that I have re-installed ver 8.0.481, I am back to where I was, with a working program. So to me, this upgrade was the problem.

So, please someone find an answer.

Thanks for your help

Ken

[TriciaS]

Hi Ken,

Is it possible to send me your plugins directory (zipped up) so that I could try to troubleshoot the issue with the gray menus?

I'll send you my contact info.

Thanks in advance,

Tricia
Google

[jeff hammond]

so official advice is for me to close sketchup on one machine prior to launching it on another..

whatever, i'm done blabbing about it..

---

i'm glad the scenes are fixed for lion and the new ruby management looks great..
waiting for someone to make an rbz public so i can try it out.

[Rich O Brien]

@unknownuser said:

basically, if you zip your my.rb and rename it my.rbz, SU Extension Manager will load it from your 'download destination' directly into 'Plugins', saving your Users all the grief of what do I put where.

To quote one of our SketchUcators

[jgb]

I know this may sound like a dumb question

I have SU 8 and have not upgraded to M1 version (just lazy)

Can I simply install M2 or do I need to install M1 first

[pbacot]

Where can we learn about turning plugins on and off? In my preferences / extensions there are only a few listed that may be checked off, just as previously. And as previously you need to restart to unload them.

EDIT: Wait NVM. This is what I was referring to. Not a built-in On / off like I hoped.

@unknownuser said:

Mac:
To disable plugins:

Launch SketchUp.
Try to recreate the bug.
Navigate to Window > Ruby Console.
In the Ruby Console, type: Sketchup.plugins_disabled = true.
Exit SketchUp and relaunch. User supplied Ruby plugins should now be disabled and will continue to be disabled until you re-enable them.
Try to recreate the bug again. If you can't recreate it, then one or more of your Ruby plugins are the culprit. You may consider moving Ruby files out of the Plugins folder to isolate which plugin is causing the issue.

I imagined that the "Plugin Manager" that our ruby developers have been talking about is more like a full list of plugins installed and a simple way to turn them on and off. I hope that is a goal. An installer (and that's great, even though I had no problem with it) is not a manager.

[jbacus]

@pbacot said:

I imagined that the "Plugin Manager" that our ruby developers have been talking about is more like a full list of plugins installed and a simple way to turn them on and off. I hope that is a goal. An installer (and that's great, even though I had no problem with it) is not a manager.

SketchUp already includes a system that allows Ruby developers to make their tools into "Extensions", which can then be turned on/off via the Extension Manager. To learn more about that, see this blog post: "Turn Your Plugin into an Extension"

Additionally, SketchUp now includes a system that allows developers to make their Extensions easily installable. To learn more about that, see this blog post: "Distribute your Plugin as One File"

Further, there are new hooks in the API that allow folks who want to build more customized "Plugin Managers" the things they'll need to do so. Expect more news on that in the weeks/months to come as developers come up to speed with the new capabilities.

There is great diversity in the way that Ruby (scripts, plugins, extensions) have been created by the developer community, making it difficult for us to come up with one new system that is capable of managing them all. With SU8M2, we're trying to lay down some groundwork that improves manageability over time.

john
.