About Sketchup Free and Sketchup G

ken · 12 Dec 2022, 19:33

Yes, I know this forum is for the paid Sketchup. However, after using Sketchup for years and making money, I decided to retire now that I am 78. However, I did have an idea for a tablet mount for my car and so I downloaded Sketchup for Free. What a waste of time. So I paid the $119 to get the upgrade. So I have two questions. I know, you think I would try their site? However, every time I have tried it, the program comes back with, "Sorry there seems to be no one here at the present.

Questions:

1.I paid the $119 for the upgrade. But nothing changed.

Was the $119 just so I could us the program longer. Because I find the program an embarrassment to Sketchup team. A small drawing that normally would take me 5 minutes to finish and have a STL file read to print, has now been 3 days.

I also found that the Sketchup was installed on my new iPad - (note I didn't install this program, just found it on my iPad). Still doesn't work worth a damn. But the layout is different and there seems to be other options. So, my question is do I need to pay $119 for the iPad and another $119 for the desktop.

Very disappointed in both programs, but can't get any one at the Sketchup site to answer my question.

I mean this is not a hard 3d object to make.

Do wish you guys to know that this forum has been very helpful over the years. Thansk

Ken Edwards

Rich O Brien · 12 Dec 2022, 19:53

https://sketchup.com/plans-and-pricing#commercial

Or for detailed comparison...

https://sketchup.com/plans-and-pricing/compare

...looks like you purchased SketchUp Go. Which is the browser and tablet version only.

I can't comment on whether they are good replacements for the desktop version as I've never used them.

But that SketchUp Go offering is as useful to me as tits on a bull.

ken · 12 Dec 2022, 21:32

Thanks, Rich for the reply.

If you have or are using Sketchup Free, there is a place asking you if you want to upgrade. Sketchup Free was so bad, I thought maybe the upgrade would be better. Extending your time is not an upgrade by any means.

If that all the upgrade is, I want my money back. I would be ashame of putting the Sketchup name to this very limited program.

Will, I am going to keep trying to get ahold of the Sketchup personnel.

To tell you one of the problems, if you have a box, and you want to draw a line so you can extend on part of a side. It is very hard to get the new line to connect to the box lines. Frustrating for damn sure.

Again thanks for your help.

Last question, has anyone used the pro version? Can you use your plugins?

Rich O Brien · 12 Dec 2022, 21:57

Sketch Pro is the classic SketchUp you know from the past. The one that installs as an app on your system. Along with LayOut and Stylebuilder. You also get other apps bundled in too. The tablet and viewer stuff and few other things.

Yes, plugins work as normal.

A free version of SketchUp 2022 does not exist in a desktop app unless you roll back a few years.

ken · 12 Dec 2022, 23:41

what irritates me is the iPad has some plugins that the window version doesn't have. What I don't know is do I actually have Sketchup Go or Sketchup Free. There is no place in the program to determine what version you have.

As an example, the iPad has copy and paste in a place where the window version does not have these plugin.

OK, will let you alone, sad, I can't contact anyone at Sketchup.

Box · 13 Dec 2022, 00:03

What makes you think it has no copy/paste in place?
See this.

There is quite a difference between the Free and Go versions. Go has outliner, style editing, material editing, extra export tools and so on. These are just the things that spring to mind.

The main difference between any of the web versions and any of the desktop versions is the layout of the user interface. I can't say I enjoy the web interface, but generally everything is there to be found. The top icon on the left toolbar is a very useful search function, click that and start typing something you are looking for and it will start to popular with relevant tools.

Currently none of the web versions support 3rd party extensions.

If you buy the pro package you get the web versions included, but buying the web version won't get you the pro version.
There is no Pro Web version as such. There is Free, which will have a watermark (the easiest clue to it being free) or Go which is the upgraded version with extra tools. If you click on the outliner icon on the right toolbar and it opens without asking you to upgrade then you are using Go. If it still asks you to upgrade you haven't managed to get the browser to understand you have the paid version. Often fixed with just signing out and back in. Sometimes more problematic.

What is it that the Ipad has that others don't?

ken · 13 Dec 2022, 00:54

Well, darn this is a copy-and-paste menu. I Saw that menu but just didn't see that it was copy-and-past. On iPad, the icons look different.

Guess it's going to take some time to get use to this program.

Thanks for the feedback

Box · 13 Dec 2022, 01:00

Yes, the ipad looks quite different and works very differently, mostly due to the touch screen and pencil.
Basically it's all about the user interface, unfortunately it just means needing to learn the new ones.
Most desktop users never get fully comfortable with the web version, but if you only learn the web version it all works fine. It's a case of us oldies not liking change while the young and restless want the new improved version every few days.

Box · 13 Dec 2022, 01:04

There isn't a specific forum for web versions, so ask what you need and people will answer.