Chris,

In addition to what Remus has posted (this plugin should import SKP 7.0 and 7.1 files), we are working a plugin for Mac as well. We will post again when this is available, and we expect that the "final" plugins for Mac and Windows will be available at the same time.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We are pleased to announce that a Beta version of the SketchUp version 7 Importer plugin is now available for Windows users of bonzai3d version 2.0. For more information on this, please see the link below:

(www.bonzai3d.com)

(This is available to Trial users as well as registered users.)

Please give this a try, and send any feedback to support@bonzai3d.

We now have quite a few large firms (architectural and other) that have implemented bonzai3d, and no one has complained about this yet. In fact we have received a number of compliments on the ease of implementing bonzai3d in a larger office environment.

This being said, there is no reason we can't implement a "delete" or "uninstall" function that will automatically remove the file type registration, the start menu shortcut, and the bonzai3d folder in the documents folder. This could save a few clicks, and if it somehow makes you feel more secure, all the better...

Modelhead,

Thanks for your feedback.

Bonzai3d basically lives inside its folder, and does not distribute files all over the system like some other softwares do.

However, I should have also mentioned that bonzai3d will make a bonzai3d folder in your Documents folder to store custom items that the user creates (such as Components, custom Materials, renderings, etc). To completely remove all traces of bonzai3d, you should also delete this folder -- as well as any other files that you have saved yourself.

Modelhead,

Virus detection software causes all kinds of problems with installation, and we found that users simply did not follow the recommendations to disable this before installing -- and they were ending up with corrupted installations that did not run properly. So rather than forcing the user to disable virus detection prior to installing (which is not possible with all limited user accounts), we simply eliminated the installer. Thus bonzai3d will not be corrupted by the virus detection software running when it is installed precisely because there is no installation necessary. As far as the registry, we basically just register the BNZ filetype, and we also add a shortcut to the Start Menu for convenience of launching bonzai3d. There is nothing in the registry that will cause any harm to the system or programs -- and deleting the start menu item is quite easy (even easier than running an uninstaller).

Thomas,

The BNZ file format will still be associated with bonzai3d -- but that should not cause any issues... Even if you did have another program that used a BNZ file format, it would simply claim the format when it was installed -- or you could manually set this via the File Types if you really wanted to...

Ken,

As Thomas notes, there is no installer -- so you don't need an uninstaller. If you want, you can just delete the folder.

Of course, if you did have any questions regarding its functionality, or if you have any other feedback, feel free to email support@bonzai3d.com and we will be happy to answer any questions that you might have.

Dedmin,

Yes, thanks for clarifying. We have now reproduced this and we will get it corrected. As you note, selecting a Cyrillic font is a way to work around this.

Please let us know if there is anything further.

Gentlemen,

Sorry for the delay in replying back to your questions and comments. Due to popular demand, we have been extremely busy answering all the emails and phone calls that we are receiving directly (at support@bonzai3d.com, or 614 488-8838). We shall try to keep a closer eye on your discussions so we can help or respond a little more quickly in the future!

(Feel free to contact us directly if you have any urgent needs...)

Solo,

Yes, Parametric mapping is for Nurbs objects in bonzai3d -- so if you created this in bonzai3d, mapping it would be pretty straightforward, but if you create the geometry with SketchUp, then you are pretty limited with what you can do with it.

Also, with UV mapping, you typically assign the desired mapping type first (ie, Flat, Cubic, Spherical...) and then set it to UV. Then when you adjust the geometry, the mapping is locked to the surfaces and will "stretch" accordingly if the shape is adjusted non-uniformly.

Dedmin,

We do not understand exactly what you are saying regarding Cyrillic names. Can you please clarify?

ToxicVoxel,

I am having my coffee right now and it smells pretty good.

We plan to continue aggressive development to give designers the best possible 3d tools to realize their projects. Please check out our tutorial videos, give out Trial version a chance, and let us know what you think!

Tutorial videos: http://www.formz.com/products/bonzai3d/bonzai3dVideo_320.php?startMovie=Interface_320.flv
Feature videos: http://www.formz.com/products/bonzai3d/bonzai3dFeatures.html
Free Trial: http://www.formz.com/products/bonzai3d/bonzai3dTrial.html

All our best!

Andrew,

Yes, we are "pushing hard" to make bonzai3d the best that it can be!

Rich,

Thanks for sharing your experiences so far. Bonzai3d should be quite easy to use, but does offer a lot more than SU does, and the interface is a little different, but as you have noted, if you give it a bit of a chance, you should be able to pick up on it fairly quickly.

Thanks also for your congratulations! f you find that the 30 day trial is not enough for you to fully evaluate all the capabilities of boznai3d, please send us an email (support@bonzai3d.com) and we will see what we can do to get you an extension to your trial.

Thom,

Thanks for answering the API questions for us. We hope to have the full details for this available soon.

Tom,

Thanks for the suggestion regarding "Ledas." (Yes, we are aware of them...)

Please keep all your comments and feedback coming. We are always interested in your opinions, and we are working hard to add as many new capabilities and features as we can!

We do try our best to be as responsive and effective as possible!

Pilou,

Currently the bonzai3d trial expires after its time period, but we are evaluating different "trial models" for the (near) future. If (before this new version is available) you have not had sufficient time to evaluate bonzai3d fully by the time it expires, please send an email to support@bonzai3d.com and we will see what we can do to give you some more time.

Dedmin,

Ok, if you follow our suggestions I am sure we can show you how successful you can be with bonzai3d -- but if you don't have the time or the inclination -- then that is obviously up to you.

Please let us know if you have any further questions. We are always glad to help.

Dedmin,

You mention that your project was slow in bonzai3d when changing layer visibility. If you hold down the SHIFT key while changing the layer visibility of many layers, this will hold the redraw until you release the shift key -- which should make the redraw faster.

Also, the Shaded Work defaults to Silhouette Edges ON. This is a fairly computationally "expensive" option for complex files, so you should get a lot better performance if you uncheck this option.

And bonzai3d OpenGL display has been tuned to the "current" video drivers. If you are using any version of Windows, and your video driver is more than a few months old, you will likely get better results if you update the driver. (Uninstall your existing driver before installing the latest one for best results.)

Does this help?

(If you have any further issues with your file, please zip and send the BNZ file to us (support@boznai3d) so we can see what else we can suggest -- and what else we can do to optimize the performance for this type of file. And if your file is too big to email, send us an email without the file and we can give you access to our FTP site.)

FYI -- this thread has been continued here:

http://forums.sketchucation.com/viewtopic.php?f=80&t=25915&hilit=bonzai3d

Thomas (& Rocky),

Yes, sorry, we meant Mirror (not Rotate).

You can set the resolution of your project window via the Display Menu: Image Options. Just set the pixels, or the proportions to be the same as your image, and it will not be distorted.

There probably should be a "more automatic" way to do this, so we will see if this can be added.

Thomas,

It shouldn't be too hard to add a background image to the Hidden Line display, but the Hidden Line display mode is a "static" renderer -- and you can't work in that mode (because what is hidden needs to be recalculated as the view changes -- and often these calculations are not immediate).

Perhaps you could put your "important objects" on one layer, and turn the others off to make the view easier to match?

Layer Groups -- yes, these are very powerful and handy, especially in conjunction with the overrides.

Rocky,

As Thomas notes, this is an issue that can occur with certain graphics cards, and we are working on correcting this. If you happen to be one of the few with the "unlucky upside down cards" you can work around this by rotating the image in your editing program. (We should have this fixed in the near future.)

@xrok1 said:

that was jeff.

Oops! Sorry.

Thomas,

There is not a background option for the hidden Line view, but perhaps you can get what you want in Shaded Work by setting the objects to Render as Wireframe and NOT Render as Shaded Surface?

You could do this on an object basis if you want, but it would be easiest to change this back and forth, perhaps, if you used the Layer (or Layer Group) overrides:

Rocky,

Yes, that is a graphic representation of the light source, and may be deleted if you don't want it. (It imports as an actual light source to programs that support it.)

Jeff,

Your second example (extruding horizontally) is the right way -- and you should then use the Round tool on (only) the horizontal segment that is visually close to the (green) Y axis.

If you are having any further trouble with this, please email your BNZ file to support@bonzai3d.com so we can get you a more specific answer.

Rocky,

I was not able to get the view into SketchUp -- but you may know something about SketchUp that I don't...

Regarding bonzai3d preferences, the palette locations AND the tool options are stored in the System General: Preference file (or Previous Session settings). Personally, I don't like the Previous Session option, as it can cause tools to behave differently every time you launch bonzai3d (if you are changing tool options and then quitting). Personally, I like to launch with Default Prefs, change anything and everything I can think of, Save a Preference File, quit, and relaunch once more -- and then exactly the preferences (and only the preferences) that I want will be saved.

Does this help?