A new home for SketchUp

opal · 20 May 2012, 04:19

Just a short note about blender. To learn blender, one must be able to SEE the interface.. it's just too small for those of us that are visually challenged which is why sketchup is the program of choice for me.. a UI that is both user friendly and visible with crappy eyesight.
I gave blender a shot about 3 years ago.. failed and someone told me that a lot had changed/updated since then so a couple months ago, I tried again and could not find any way to make text and buttons large enough to make the program user friendly for me.
I hope the new owners choose to leave the interface alone.

jpalm32 · 21 May 2012, 01:42

Interesting Free BIM Software from Trimble

http://www.teklabimsight.com/

ArCAD-UK · 21 May 2012, 09:29

@jpalm32 said:

Interesting Free BIM Software from Trimble

http://www.teklabimsight.com/

Now that's an interesting pointer to SUs future...

Mike Lucey · 21 May 2012, 12:35

Maybe SketchUp could leverage LeapMotion to bring the modeling experience forward? http://news.sketchucation.com/leapmotion-just-like-star-trek/

michaliszissiou · 21 May 2012, 13:04

@unknownuser said:

Just a short note about blender. To learn blender, one must be able to SEE the interface.. it's just too small for those of us that are visually challenged which is why sketchup is the program of choice for me.. a UI that is both user friendly and visible with crappy eyesight.
I gave blender a shot about 3 years ago.. failed and someone told me that a lot had changed/updated since then so a couple months ago, I tried again and could not find any way to make text and buttons large enough to make the program user friendly for me.
I hope the new owners choose to leave the interface alone.

Well, the first I check on a new app is the preferences panel
Please, try DPI=100 for instance.
Don't forget to click "save as default" if you're happy.

Rich O Brien · 21 May 2012, 13:11

@michaliszissiou said:

Please, try DPI=100 for instance.

great tip

michaliszissiou · 21 May 2012, 13:23

@Rick

I know, where can we find all these tips? An endless search my friends. And lot of questions on http://blenderartists.org/forum/index.php
Seriously, under preferences panel, you'll find a lot of interesting parameters that will make blender a lot more friendly and familiar to SU users.
I'll say it again, it's a powerful application. I just found an interesting post and I like to share it with you. On this topic, because beside my love to SU, I can't stay and read all these against blender. Probably, I'm not serious now, I know

A blender modeling, octane renderer.
http://blenderartists.org/forum/showthread.php?255681-Urban-appartment

dale · 21 May 2012, 13:29

@mike lucey said:

Maybe SketchUp could leverage LeapMotion to bring the modeling experience forward? http://news.sketchucation.com/leapmotion-just-like-star-trek/

Man Mike, nice find, pre-order for $75.00. WOW! http://www.leapmotion.com/

Mike Lucey · 21 May 2012, 14:20

@dale said:

@mike lucey said:

Maybe SketchUp could leverage LeapMotion to bring the modeling experience forward? http://news.sketchucation.com/leapmotion-just-like-star-trek/

Man Mike, nice find, pre-order for $75.00. WOW! http://www.leapmotion.com/

Not my find, Tavi put me on to it. I just did the follow up. I'd really like to try the LeapMotion out as I think SketchUp would rock with it

Mark H. · 21 May 2012, 14:43

Hey all,

We've noticed that the discussion on this thread has been moving towards what you all hope for in SketchUp. We're still waiting for the Google/Trimble deal to be approved by Uncle Sam, but we're eager to start a dialogue about the future of SketchUp. This Wednesday, we're planning to host a community chat session on Reddit, so that multiple folks on our team can comment on some of the suggestions that the SketchUp community has offered here and across the web.

We've submitted our request to the Reddit moderators, who should approve our event soon and put it on the broader Reddit calendar. Right now we're shooting to run this chat for four hours this Wednesday from 11:30 - 3:30 pm (Mountain time).

I'm starting a new thread on to announce this more broadly on SketchUcation , but I thought the folks on this thread would be especially interested. I'll chime in here again with any relevant links and updates on this chat, but the best place to keep track of it is on the other thread .

Cheers,

Mark

Starling75 · 21 May 2012, 15:01

@mike lucey said:

Maybe SketchUp could leverage LeapMotion to bring the modeling experience forward? http://news.sketchucation.com/leapmotion-just-like-star-trek/

[flash=560,315:b5bmk60f]http://www.youtube.com/v/V5cZtxfeSwg?version=3&amp[/flash:b5bmk60f]

thomthom · 21 May 2012, 15:01

( Mountain Time = GMT -7 )
18:30 - 22:30 GMT

pbacot · 21 May 2012, 16:37

@starling75 said:

@mike lucey said:

Maybe SketchUp could leverage LeapMotion to bring the modeling experience forward? http://news.sketchucation.com/leapmotion-just-like-star-trek/

[flash=560,315:l98ohx7p]http://www.youtube.com/v/V5cZtxfeSwg?version=3&amp[/flash:l98ohx7p]

That will liven up the architects' offices. Should be quite aerobic at deadline time.

opal · 21 May 2012, 19:03

@michaliszissiou said:

@unknownuser said:

Just a short note about blender. To learn blender, one must be able to SEE the interface.. it's just too small for those of us that are visually challenged which is why sketchup is the program of choice for me.. a UI that is both user friendly and visible with crappy eyesight.
I gave blender a shot about 3 years ago.. failed and someone told me that a lot had changed/updated since then so a couple months ago, I tried again and could not find any way to make text and buttons large enough to make the program user friendly for me.
I hope the new owners choose to leave the interface alone.

Well, the first I check on a new app is the preferences panel
Please, try DPI=100 for instance.
Don't forget to click "save as default" if you're happy.

WHOA! nobody ever told me that DPI had any relation to something besides printing. I'm thrilled! Now I can actually SEE what I don't understand (yet)

tysm!

JClements · 21 May 2012, 19:54

So, how the heck can we get a hold of the "3D Web Viewer" used in the http://www.google.com/sketchup/showcase ?

I'd like to create some web pages to display various models.

Rich O Brien · 21 May 2012, 20:03

it's using some viewer embedded with...

<iframe src="http://pompidouviewer.appspot.com/viewer.html?Pompidou/nomeclatura_torrecildosimplificada12.dae" scrolling="no" width="645" height="460"/>

Starling75 · 21 May 2012, 22:46

@rich o brien said:

it's using some viewer embedded with...

<iframe src="http://pompidouviewer.appspot.com/viewer.html?Pompidou/nomeclatura_torrecildosimplificada12.dae" scrolling="no" width="645" height="460"/>

nice .. http://sites.google.com/site/sandboxdae/

I wonder whether the pompidouviewer app could be converted into google gadget.. it would be very useful for web presentation of models..

Mark H. · 23 May 2012, 18:28

Tagging back in, the SketchUp team is now live on Reddit . We'll be posting for the next two hours or so; hope you can join to talk about some of the features that you all have proposed here!

Mark

jolran · 23 May 2012, 19:16

HOLY macaroni!

Been away from Sketchucation and all that has todo with a computer for a while.
And now I see this

Got some reading to do, 50 + pages.

I wonder how this will affect Ruby API etc
I'm worried..

paddyclown · 24 May 2012, 08:48

I am intrigued by this new development in Sketchup history... i have been a user for a while now & it has become a core tool for my architecture business.
I have also used the tool as a teaching support for groups of young people in social reinsertion programs.
In both contexts it has been so valuable for several reasons: (not in order of priority)
1 - ease of initial learning
2 - cost, whether free for the students, or a reasonable price for a very small architecture outfit in the Pro version.
3 - ease of capture of google earth terrain
4 -the wonderfully rich plugins available from an extremely talented & dedicated community.

Like so many of others that I have read on various blogs & forums, we all seem to share worries on these (& other) core principals of what makes sketchup so special.

I have been 3d modelling since about 1988 (yes, on a mac with no hard-drive) when i used the then revolutionary modelshop software from paracomp (later bought by macromedia) which was a precursor to sketchup in so many ways: A no frills, easy to learn, intuitive & value for money product... & we all know what happened when it got bought by macromedia... RIP.
I, like so many million other users out there rely on Sketchup to remain accessible to ordinary folks who do not want & cannot afford Autodesk et al. & their huge unwieldy products which are surely useful for corporate architecture/engineering... but akin to killing a fly with a bazooka when it comes to small & medium size bespoke buildings... We don't need, or want full BIM, just reliable easy software to quickly sketch-up & work up projects that we can communicate to clients who do not understand working drawings !
A bonus would be easy extraction of 2d drawings for contractors, but only if that does NOT involve a huge price hike & loss of ease of use ! BTW the current Layout is sooooo like pedalling in molasses that it is next to hopeless (yes, I have tried to give it the benefit of the doubt, but I just can't get it to be smooth enough, so short of taking up smoking again, I gave up...)

So ? The real question is, does Trimble care about us small users, or are they only interested in their corporate clients to the extent that they will let sketchup share the same fate as modelshop ?

Let's hope the core team of developers really will be allowed to keep some freedom & not be marshalled into the big-boy rigid world of BIM bam boom & large price-tag licence programs... good luck guys, 'cos i think you'll need it to keep the faith !

(www.multiplicite.fr)