Hello everybody and help request

Corb

Hi everybody,

I was silently following SKU forums since maybe 1yr, and I got truly precious information and advices just by reading through them.
So, now that I just registered SKUcation, I wanted first of all to say hello and thanks to you all.

I also have an issue with SK to which maybe some of you might offer some help.
It is not a bug but a problem caused, probably, by inappropriate removal of plugin files.
As you know, while some have an uninstaller others have to be removed manually.

I don`t think I removed anything else than the plugin files that I wanted to get rid of, but the result is that SK7 now crashes at startup.

I don`t want to install SK8 as it seems it does not import DWG anymore.

Does any of you have an installer of SK (free) version 7 for Windows?
I would like to reinstall it but on Google site I couldn`t find a download link to older versions.

Any help would be greatly appreciated !!!

Many thanks indeed !
Corb

WinXP Pro x64 Edition
Intel Core2 Duo
E7500@2.93GHz
3.93GB RAM

Gaieus

Hi Corb,

On the Google sites, you can always only find the latest free version offered for download. Here are the pro versions however:
http://sketchup.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=60107
after the 8 hours of "trial" period, they will simply revert to the free version.

I would still try out SU 8 however. There is a dxf importer plugin for it:
http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?t=31186

Different versions of SU can peacefully co-exist with each other (I have everything since SU 6 installed on my machine).

Alternatively, you could try to "restore" the original plugin folder under your SU 7 install and try to fix it that way.

pilou

You have here also version free V6

Corb

Hi Gaieus and Pilou,

I restored the plugin folder and now it runs ok.
Should have been the first thing to do.
Thanks a lot for the advice !

BTW I had made a search for a DXF import plugin right after my post here and I found the post that Gaieus pointed me to.
It seemed to me the perfect solution: the latest free SU + a great DXF importer plugin.

The last post on that thread is infact mine.
I installed SU8 and the plugin but test dxf (with only a few rectangles)
are not imported, no matter which version I use to save them from Autocad 2011.
I hope the plugin author or someone else will have the time and kindness to see into this problem.

Anyway I love SU, and the zillions of plugins available make it a real versatile tool to model with. With good textures the models come to life.
I now also have the beta of Octane, which is amazing for rendering quality and speed.
I just probably don`t have enough computer resources 'cause it crashes when importing complex models.

Thanks a lot for your kind replies!

pilou

@unknownuser said:

I now also have the beta of Octane, which is amazing for rendering quality and speed.

You have now the same with Blender Cycles for 0$

Corb

Thanks Pilou,

I will look into it !
Of course I too like free the most, but Octane beta was extremely cheap for what it offered.

Anyway it's great to see that SU is attracting so many users that a lots of companies now are releasing internal renderers or specific plugings for external ones.

Just looking at your post, Pilou, "the Doppleganger" (http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=37098) I was amazed and left in contemplation.

I also like quite much the feeling given by the native simple way SU renders the models.
The superb work of Monsterzero just explains that:
http://www.giantmonster.tv/giant/?page_id=612

Corb

Hi,

this is just to add that the problem of dxf importing into SU8 has been identified.
The author kindly noticed that there was an incompatibility with filepath names containing non-roman characters (like Japanese katakana, in my case).
My dxf filename was in english but my desktop name was in katakana.

Best, from Japan!

Gaieus

Now that's good news. Some software (or plugins) do this: do not like folder or file names with non-English characters. In my case, Hungarian, this also happens sometimes; fortunately it is a Latin based character set and I have got used to not using our "special" characters in such names (anyway, I started with DOS where it was also not allowed).

Fortunately the Windows default name for "Desktop" has no such characters in Hungarian ("Asztal") so I can work from there with no problem.

Also, in the past, even material names caused similar issues both with Google Earth or some 3rd party renderers like Kerkythea and similar. So I do not even use these characters in material, layer or component names either. An Ö will become O (and the same for Ő or Ó)

Corb

Gaieus,

if it's you the one in the avatar space, then you`re almost identical to the european husband of a Pakistan friend of mine I knew a long time ago when we were both foreign students at a university in Tokyo.

I don`t remember if he was from Germany or from eastern europe.
Not that this means anything to you, I know.
But when I saw the picture I thought for a moment "Gosh, I know him".

Gaieus

Well, I have never had a Pakistani wife (but who knows for the future of course?)