SketchUp 2014
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Personally, I am loving the direction that Sketchup is taking. Not everything that I wished for is coming true, but I have renewed hope that they may be fulfilled in future.
The things I love (and some improvement suggestions):
Layout:
- Smart labels. Love it, BUT - There is an issue here for nested components/groups and geometries. A feature to toggle through the nesting levels would be very cool. For example, you may want the area of a face within a component, but you can't get the area, because it's in a component. Imagine pressing up or down keys on creation of a label to toggle through the label types. Also, lack of integration with text added using the "Classify" (and Component Options dialog) tool is a massive opportunity missed.
- Autotext! It's brilliant. I think the settings for this should be added as a window pane - could be very useful for annotating things like <insulation spec>. If the insulation thickness changes in the project, just change the autotext, and all instances are updated.
Sketchup:
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faster shadows - well, you're not going to be displeased by that, are you?
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Classify / IFC - it sounds very boring, but actually, this feature really makes the building and sharing of Sketchup models in a standard way very useful. I hope this helps Sketchup be taken more seriously among other building professionals. I don't think I still understand the full implications of this feature - I am waiting for an evangelist to sell this to me fully.
More thoughts on Classify / IFC:
I have been waiting a while for attributes to be integrated into the entity info pane, and I think this does help to do it, albeit in a standardised way. Check out the "Component Options" dialog to see the full feature set.I have checked out how you might make a new standard "type": http://help.sketchup.com/en/article/3000045
It troubles me that it is not friendly to the lay user to create new standards/workflows in the area of attribute mapping. Perhaps this is a good thing, which forces users to stick to and become familiar with the industry standards. What does everyone else think?
Also, this feature should have been integrated with LayOut's smart labels....
But in conclusion - more BIM, a smarter Layout - it's going in the right direction in my book.
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@frederik said:
real curves
Although my knowledge in this area is somehow limited, I don't know any other 3D app. having real curves, nor do I see the need...
AutoCAD and Revit doesn't have real curves (as far as I know) and I believe the compatibility with other applications (in particular the option to export to DWG format) also limits the option for this...all of the CAD apps use real curves. (autocad, rhino, solidworks, catia, etcetc )
I mean, if you're really building the things you draw and those things involve using curved lines/surfaces then it becomes pretty obvious as to why you'd need these capabilities in your application.as it is, sketchup isn't sold as a CAD app.. so it's not like they're lying about it's capabilities and whatnot. it's just that it seems like it could become a CAD app with a few modifications instead of it more/less being limited to arch viz.
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My 2 cents worth. I'm really impressed with SU 2014.
Seems much more stable than previous versions, obviously significantly faster in dealing with large models than previous version due to the Ruby 2.0 + other engine optimizations. Just better all around in my book.
The everlasting debate as to whether SketchUp is for sketching or capturing production designs isn't going away - and to be fair, whether the SU team like it or not, I know many users do use SketchUp as a (easy to use) CAD tool and therefore I do empathize with some of the moaning.
Adam
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Have to admit that I didn't know that, Jeff...
Whenever I open a dwg-model in AutoCAD, all circles and arches are not real curves...
They're all consisting of segments, just like circles and arches are in SU...Perhaps I'm misunderstanding something here...
Can someone show/explain what is meant here...?
I have understood this as if a circle is a real curve without any segments... -
@frederik said:
Have to admit that I didn't know that, Jeff...
Whenever I open a dwg-model in AutoCAD, all circles and arches are not real curves...
They're all consisting of segments, just like circles and arches are in SU...Perhaps I'm misunderstanding something here...
Can someone show/explain what is meant here...?
I have understood this as if a circle is a real curve without any segments...Kim - it's a display issue. You can change the display to show more refined segments or less refined, whatever. The engine underneath is actually calculating a real curve. Giving real intersections, etc.
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Thanks, Andy...
I didn't know this...I don't use AutoCAD much and when I import a dwg file to SU, circles and arches remain segmented when imported to SU, but I understand this is caused by the way SU is making circles and arches...
So... Why is it important to have exact curves...?
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@numerobis said:
And why should DWG export be a problem?
Limitations in the format... But as I understand it now, the limitations is within SU and not the dwg-format...
(Great to learn something new...
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@frederik said:
[
Although my knowledge in this area is somehow limited, I don't know any other 3D app. having real curves, nor do I see the need...
AutoCAD and Revit doesn't have real curves (as far as I know) and I believe the compatibility with other applications (in particular the option to export to DWG format) also limits the option for this...
@jeff hammond said:
all of the CAD apps use real curves. (autocad, rhino, solidworks, catia, etcetc )
and i think almost every 3d app too... 3DSmax, Maya, cinema4D, Modo, Softimage, Lightwave, Houdini, Bonzai3D, formZ, Moi3D, NVil...
And why should DWG export be a problem?
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@frederik said:
Thanks, Andy...
So... Why is it important to have exact curves...?
A curve in SketchUp is just a bunch of connected lines - what that means is: there's no center to snap to, no radial dimensions, no tangents, nor any of the other geometrical characteristics of a curve. With true curves any point on a circle or arc will always be exactly the same distance from a center point as any other. Alternately, wherever you snap to on a 'chord' will be a different dimension from a hypothetical center than any other point.
Why is it important to have exact curves? - because it's the basis for enormous amounts of basic geometry.
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"jbacus via twitter
When was the last time a feature that made you catch your breath was added to Photoshop? Or Microsoft Word?"This comment concerns me as far as future direction is concerned.
Most of the requests on this forum aren't really about new features - most of them are about adding features that should always have been there.
My request for true curves is a request for basic geometry that no other application I use functions without. Getting true curves would be like Word getting the ability to capitalize letters - not so much something new and additional, as something that shouldn't have been lacking in the original.
I don't want SketchUp to become too much more than it is but I do want it to function well within it's own parameters. Having to scale an object up 10 times to be able to zoom close in to it and then scale it back down is kind of ridiculous. But as more work is exporting out of SketchUp to sub d modelers, to nurbs programs or for 3D printing, those little errors are costly. That function wouldn't be a 'new' feature - it would be basic functionality that should already exist in the program.
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I had hoped ThomThoms quads would be deeply incorporated in this release.
Maybe even his Bezier Surfaces.Never the less, I got a OK from by Boss to uprade SU because of the BIM classification.
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@arail1 said:
Why is it important to have exact curves? - because it's the basis for enormous amounts of basic geometry.
Cheers, Arail11...
I understand much better now...Although I use SU on a daily basis for the business I work within (mechanical/engineering) I haven't had the need to use exact curves...
For me SU is a 3D application, where I can visualize how things can be put together...
For me it's accurate enough, but I can see businesses where exact curves are needed...Thanks for enlighten me...
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@frederik said:
@arail1 said:
Why is it important to have exact curves? - because it's the basis for enormous amounts of basic geometry.
Cheers, Arail11...
I understand much better now...Although I use SU on a daily basis for the business I work within (mechanical/engineering) I haven't had the need to use exact curves...
For me SU is a 3D application, where I can visualize how things can be put together...
For me it's accurate enough, but I can see businesses where exact curves are needed...Thanks for enlighten me...
I'm probably more aware of the issue than you are because I work 'in between' autocad and SU. Consequently I have to jump through several unnecessary hoops multiple times during the day - I make x marks at the centers of circles and arcs in AutoCad because SU wouldn't otherwise be able to find the center, I extend any lines that touch curves in AutoCAD because when I export to SU those lines will be either short of the curve or extend minimally beyond it depending on where on the chord they fall. And then I have to do a lot of cleanup on the SU side. All because of the lack of curves which would seem to me to be on the top of necessary improvements going forward but the Boulder team obviously disagrees.
Have a good day.
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Can someone that uses BIM in other apps explain how the new Classify feature will be useful? I've never used BIM, but am curious if this will really be useful or if it's going to go unused (like Dynamic Components) by the majority of users.
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@arail1 said:
@frederik said:
@arail1 said:
Why is it important to have exact curves? - because it's the basis for enormous amounts of basic geometry.
Cheers, Arail11...
I understand much better now...Although I use SU on a daily basis for the business I work within (mechanical/engineering) I haven't had the need to use exact curves...
For me SU is a 3D application, where I can visualize how things can be put together...
For me it's accurate enough, but I can see businesses where exact curves are needed...Thanks for enlighten me...
I'm probably more aware of the issue than you are because I work 'in between' autocad and SU. Consequently I have to jump through several unnecessary hoops multiple times during the day - I make x marks at the centers of circles and arcs in AutoCad because SU wouldn't otherwise be able to find the center, I extend any lines that touch curves in AutoCAD because when I export to SU those lines will be either short of the curve or extend minimally beyond it depending on where on the chord they fall. And then I have to do a lot of cleanup on the SU side. All because of the lack of curves which would seem to me to be on the top of necessary improvements going forward but the Boulder team obviously disagrees.
Have a good day.
I understand your need. However, I don't expect to see it implemented in SketchUp any time soon because it would require a fundamental redesign of how SketchUp works.
Today there is a 1-1 matchup between how Entities are represented in the model data and how they are drawn on the screen. That is, the internal data representation is all Edges and Faces, and (with some shading and texturing tricks) that is exactly what is drawn on the screen.
To get what you desire, they would have to break this 1-1 relationship so that the screen geometrical representation was dynamically calculated from an abstract mathematical geometry representation (e.g. center point and radius) every time the object was displayed. Obviously it's possible to do that, but it isn't how SketchUp was designed. So, a very major redesign and alteration of how SketchUp works would be needed.
The simplicity SketchUp gets from its approach is also a reason it is so much less expensive than true CAD programs.
Steve
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Think of the Classifier as a means of writing metadata into your geometry.
This metadata is readable in other apps.
Its focus is towards users in the Design,Build and Operate arena.
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@d12dozr said:
Can someone that uses BIM in other apps explain how the new Classify feature will be useful? I've never used BIM, but am curious if this will really be useful or if it's going to go unused (like Dynamic Components) by the majority of users.
One of my first thoughts about Classifier was that it might be useful for SketchyPhysics to classify objects. Right now SP uses a custom AttributeDictionary's to label and track objects in the simulation. It would be useful to use the Classifier to inspect and edit SP types.
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@slbaumgartner said:
I understand your need. However, I don't expect to see it implemented in SketchUp any time soon because it would require a fundamental redesign of how SketchUp works.
Today there is a 1-1 matchup between how Entities are represented in the model data and how they are drawn on the screen. That is, the internal data representation is all Edges and Faces, and (with some shading and texturing tricks) that is exactly what is drawn on the screen.
To get what you desire, they would have to break this 1-1 relationship so that the screen geometrical representation was dynamically calculated from an abstract mathematical geometry representation (e.g. center point and radius) every time the object was displayed. Obviously it's possible to do that, but it isn't how SketchUp was designed. So, a very major redesign and alteration of how SketchUp works would be needed.
The simplicity SketchUp gets from its approach is also a reason it is so much less expensive than true CAD programs.
Steve
Thanks for taking the time to explain that. A very interesting description and, for a non technical individual like myself, rather easy to grasp. Discouraging though. Obviously I'm happy that SU is so cheap by comparison to other programs and I don't want it to become a feature rich / bloated application. It's simplicity is it's strength. But, curves are such an essential function of so much of what I do that I'm forced out to other software because of the lack of true curves in SU.
At least now I'll know to stop asking for and expecting improvement in this area from each new upgrade and then feeling disappointed when it doesn't happen.
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@slbaumgartner said:
I understand your need. However, I don't expect to see it implemented in SketchUp any time soon because it would require a fundamental redesign of how SketchUp works.
yeah, it really would.. i know i wrote 'a few modifications' up there but i didn't mean it as if the devs could just add on to the core.. the core/fundamentals would have to change.. it would (probably) need splines and control points in which lines/curves are 'aware' of their whole length instead of each segment being it's own thing.
i'd guess many/most su users wouldn't even care about it (and might not even notice) -or- the new behaviors would be unwelcome by a lot of people and the gripes would then be 'just make it how it was before etc.'..
probably best to just keep sketchup how it is and the people needing other functionality can get it from other applications.
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This thread has included a variety of issues and questions, many indirectly relating to the direction that SU is headed.
Some of you may have seen this but, for those who haven't, look at the Trimble ad on pg. 8 of the December 2013 issue of "Building Design and Construction". It includes SketchupPro as a companion to their other products, "Proliance", and "Modelogix". Sketchup is described as a collaboration tool, working along with the others to "...track the performance of infrastructure and facilities across your portfolio in order to effectively plan for the future..."
This is where it's headed, hence the BIM direction in the current release.
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