Shadow Display Problems 8 pro

lylemills

I am having issues with shadows displaying in the wrong places and incorrectly. They are usually on flat planes with nothing around them to cast a shadow, so there shouldn't be any shadows there. This is not z-fighting as there is only one face. I have downloaded and installed the shadows strings fix, but it doesn't help. When I turn off shadows it disappears. If I zoom out far from the object in the scene, the problem disappears. I zoom in and it reappears. It doesn't affect 2D image exports as shadows appear in the proper place and correctly.

Turning off hardware acceleration solves the problem. Does this mean it is the video card or Sketchup?

I am on a PC laptop with the latest driver for my ATI mobility Radeon HD5870 card I have updated Sketchup pro and have all the necessary updates on my laptop. I have attached an image to show the problem of the whacky shadows. Any advice would be great. Thanks.

TIG

http://sketchupdate.blogspot.com/2011/01/we-fixed-shadow-bug.html
The Sketchup.fix_shadow_strings=true [or =false]
Fixes this type of issue, but sometimes it's better 'off' than 'on'...
In the latest v8 there's a View > Toolbars available called 'Shadow Strings Fix' which automates toggling it on/off...
Have you also checked that your graphics-card drivers are up to date and that the settings are optimized for SKPs [some ATI cards are known to be flaky!]...

Dan Rathbun

I get funny misplaced shadows for components: SU v8.0M2:
EDIT: OK.. the component is set to "Always face camera" so it's rotating, but the shadow cast is not updated.

The shadow fix has no effect.

thomthom

Dan Rathbun

Yup you're correct.

Why on earth, did Google make that option always checked by default ?

thomthom

Because most probably want it? A face-me is usually 2D and the shadows would just disappear in certain angles.

Alan Fraser

I agree with Dan; I'd much rather it was unchecked by default. It's far more preferable to see a gradually thinning shadow than one that periodically jumps and loses all contact with the object that's supposed to be casting it. This just looks weird.