SketchUp 2016 Wishlist
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DesertRaven: What pushpull bug is this? I don't think I've ever seen it.
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I'd like a built-in user-configurable tabbed window for tool sets. This would go a long way toward decluttering the typical SketchUp screen! I've seen a couple of examples built using WebDialog, but they are still somewhat buggy and awkward due to the necessary communication between javascript and Ruby.
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@slbaumgartner said:
I'd like a built-in user-configurable tabbed window for tool sets.
Ideally - arrange all windows, dialogues, toolbars, visibility settings, snap settings - give this a name - assign to shortcut key. And now (for example)...
Shortcut 1 - I want to make a new component without any distractions.
Shortcut 2 - Now I want to paint/texture things with the prettiest view possible.
Shortcut 3 - I'd like to manage all my custom materials and components.
Shortcut 4 - Show the boss/customer what I'm up to right now.Much as I love SU, the user experience (especially once you have a few plugins installed) is too much like trying to keep your kitchenware, DIY tools, stationery, clothes, toiletries, car spares etc. etc. all in one drawer that you have to rummage through every time the task at hand changes. Nor do we put all "sharp pointy things" in one category (cutlery for the dinner table, lawnmower, surgical instruments) or all "red things" in another (tomato, stop sign, blood sample).
Of course, SU is not alone in this respect - way too much software is "tool oriented" rather than "task oriented". SU's customisable toolbars are a promising step, but different tasks not only require different toolbars - often they require a different arrangement of the windows, different camera and style settings, different use of inferencing and snapping, maybe a different component/material folder visible...etc...
PS: And please can we sort DC's out!? I want to be able to say - "stick an M4 bolt here, it should be 20mm long, with a countersunk head" - at no point am I thinking "can I please have yet another duplicate component definition that no longer relates to all the other instances of this generic thing that should only need describing once!!".
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Since I've started using Sketchup my screen space for the actual model is shrinking fast. I'm annoyed by every wasted pixel.
Every tool is so complex that has 1, 2 or even 3 tool windows open. I have a new monitor on the way, but I'm afraid it won't be enough as this windows simply can't be arranged in a logical and tidy fashion.
Some examples:
- DC components has 2 windows wich are big and should be open side by side a lot of times. Considering there's a lot of work that could be done with outliner and entity info, it's four windows open on top of model space.
- A rendering tool like Thea, can have 3 windows floating on top of model space.
- Managing scenes needs at least 2 windows for layers and scenes, plus the scenes tab that's always on.
- Even painting stuff around opens up a window;
There's no way of combining plugin windows with native SU windows. You hit esc in the middle of an operation and you close a window. You use mouse on a window you loose mouse from model. You have the paint window open on edit and mouse wheel changes the current paint color. You want to search some component on the component browser and you have to wait ages. You want to have outliner open but you can't because some plugins will take minutes to operate while they take fractions of seconds if outliner is closed. You want to grab a coffee, and when you come back all those windows are all over the place so you want to take another coffee so you can just focus on what you were doing...
There's too much going on with our lives while also using sketchup, answering phones, checking emails, going to the toilet that we wouldn't need tool windows to distract us even more.
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Unify more of the UI between Windows and Mac to eliminate as many as possible of the seemingly arbitrary (that is, not simply Windows vs Mac look and feel) differences. For example, the materials UI is so different that it can be hard for a user of one system to even explain to a user of the other how to proceed.
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- Allow SU to reference external objects in other files, skp skm etc. If you are building relatively small DC's that have lots of materials and textures file size goes up in a hurry. So say if the collection of DC's number 40 then the project size gets very large. I looked into 1 DC that almost brought my computer down to its knees. The basic geometry wasn't huge but when you added in all the hardware choices and textures the file size was over 150 MB.
I would rather wait a little longer for the the DC to change out materials / components, rather than try to load everything.
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Fix the tool bars and buttons. When I run into parsing issues while creating / editing a plugin some of my tool bars get moved around.
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store true radius's so dwg exports will work properly. This would also simplify other types of exports.
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- Multicore support
- Recommendation: not only "minimal hardware" and "recommended hardware" but also "optimal hardware"
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@eneroth3 said:
DesertRaven: What pushpull bug is this? I don't think I've ever seen it.
Hi eneroth3, I get this "bug" all the time when working on complex shapes.
The red face was push pulled, why is the blue line there?I've seen the many nice plug-ins you created, my favorite one is the "erode" tool.
My question to you, how hard would it be to write a plug in that could just simply split up a solid in to quad faces? Maybe with some x/y/z parameters?
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This might have been already discussed somewhere but I find a bit weird the way Sketchup displays colours of surfaces. It uses the different shades of the same colour for surfaces at different angles to your view and this is OK and normal as it gives you a clue about 3D aspect of your model. But I find that contrast between those shades is exaggerated. I got used to it (though never entirely) but not once happened that the client stared at the darker shade of a certain colour asking to change it - not realizing it's the same colour he/she likes/sees on the other surface!
See the image. (For those ones who want to check it: RGB - 222, 230, 255)
P.S. Actually, none of these shades are close enough to the original as the frontal surface is too bright. And don't try to apply shadows too this...
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@aureus said:
... But I find that contrast between those shades is exaggerated. ...
you can adjust the contrast, what do you have it set at?
john -
Good to know, where's that option? (SU2014)
I know to adjust it for shadows (Shadow Settings - Light, Dark) .
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I think you want "UseSunForAllShading" unchecked in the 'Shadow Settings' dialog...
toggle it and you can see the difference of your 'Light/Dark' choices better, set 'View' >> 'Shadows' off when you do it...john
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@driven said:
I think you want "UseSunForAllShading" unchecked in the 'Shadow Settings' dialog...
toggle it and you can see the difference of your 'Light/Dark' choices better, set 'View' >> 'Shadows' off when you do it...john
John, the image was from the SU model which has all that what you say. "UseSunForAllShading" was unchecked and the shadows were off. If on - all the surfaces would be pretty dark thanks to that 'overhanging'.
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Actually, you were right, there's a way to fix it. The "UseShadowForShading" should be CHECKED but "Shadows" should be OFF (View-Shadows-Off).
And DARK level should have much more value than LIGHT (in this case meaning less contrast). Upon installing SU it's usually vice versa /Light-80, Dark-45/ though it should be different: more like about Light-45 (or 30), Dark-80.
An interesting combination.
Thanks.
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I normally set it in ruby code so I should of checked ...
I set it to gives me an unshaded 'green screen' view when exporting images...john
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@aureus said:
Does having "UseSunDorAllShading" checked all the time slow down work in any way?
I don't think it's as bad as 'Shadows'...
btw.. I removed my code block because I'm still deciding on the final setting's, 100 100 is probably better for zero shadows...
would you mind deleting it from your reply?
john -
@driven said:
I normally set it in ruby code so I should of checked ...
Sketchup.active_model.rendering_options["BackgroundColor"] = (Sketchup;;Color.new(0,255,0,255)) > Sketchup.active_model.shadow_info["UseSunForAllShading"] = true > Sketchup.active_model.shadow_info["DisplayOnGroundPlane"] = false > Sketchup.active_model.shadow_info["DisplayOnAllFaces"] = false > Sketchup.active_model.shadow_info["DisplayShadows"] = false > Sketchup.active_model.shadow_info["Dark"] = 100 > Sketchup.active_model.shadow_info["Light"] = 0 > Sketchup.active_model.rendering_options["EdgeDisplayMode"] = 0gives me an unshaded 'green screen' view when exporting images...
john
Anyway, you're obviously much more into this than me. Does having "UseSunDorAllShading" checked all the time slow down work in any way?
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@driven said:
@aureus said:
Does having "UseSunDorAllShading" checked all the time slow down work in any way?
I don't think it's as bad as 'Shadows'...
btw.. I removed my code block because I'm still deciding on the final setting's, 100 100 is probably better for zero shadows...
would you mind deleting it from your reply?
johnSurely not that bad but if does slow down work, then better to be unchecked with large models prior final exporting images. As for large models and smooth work - I skipped SU2013 but when I installed 2014 I noticed a very nice difference compared to SU8: one big file which took SU 203 seconds to open was an easy task for 2014 - only 17 seconds! The same computer and system. I don't know what they did but they did it excellent!
But let's return to the wishlist.
It's not the biggest thing but right now moving from editing complex components and groups back to the whole model is making me pretty annoyed...
I wonder if one day this could be a bit easier... Right now you need to click somewhere out of the box of the group/component which can be hard if it's bigger than your window. -
Use the Outliner ?
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@jiminy-billy-bob said:
Use the Outliner ?
Yes, so far that's the fastest way. Simply I forget to keep it open, when I have some other windows open.
One another wish: don't make it licenced for montly subscription. Just in case you (Trimble) considered that like some other software manufacturers (Adobe for example).
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