Just waiting for CAD to open the two files. Presumable I now take the mesh and drape my existing cad plan over it or snap to a landmark and I can then extrude the buildings and river etc?
I'm really sorry to ask so many questions this is the first I've used a grid shell terrain.
Oh, you're a diamond! I'd be forever drawing vertical lines if it was left to me.
It was the only format it would let me save as that was older that 2010.
Here's a version saved in 2004 format. That's the oldest version I can save as.
sorry. 
I'm a forum mod myself I know how frustrating it can be dealing with an idiot. 
I run and education version of cad which is free but limited in what you can do with it, I'll see what I can do with regards back saving the file.
Ahhh I see. I'll include my working rough master plan then. I was planning on creating the mesh as I had in the past by working out the lowest point in the model then treating this as the base then drawing an array of verticals where the spot heights on my plan were and then joining them up to create a terrain. I was always certain there was a better way though because it takes forever.
My .DWG came from Leeds city council originally and when the text is turned on has spot heights for the area.
stylistically his is my end goal: http://bp1.blogger.com/_Ymx9e66vrGc/SH7SNrCTvGI/AAAAAAAADco/aFMdUZyfWn0/s400/PT_Eastside_city_view_ready.jpg
http://www.cityfarmer.info/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/harlemfarm.jpg
http://archiculturefilm.com/director/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/biotopes_1000.jpg
I was then planning on using layout to produce a master plan that could be overlayed on G.earth to look like this.http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSApdJacS6xlacAc0D-64DMgANB8WCgtiD5iLd2JHm_0ZWUx4bk17pT3hPXAQ
I see.
Well, I'm a landscape architecture student and I was planning on presenting my site design using sketchup or at least using it as point where I could try and turn it into some "proper" renders, add illumination get some proper textures in there, make it look less video game like etc.
I was also thinking I could export it through layout to avoid having to redraw things in CAD because I don't know how to use cad properly.
I've ordered a copy of this: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Google-SketchUp-Site-Design-Architecture/dp/047034525X/ref=lh_ni_t_mi
But it's taking forever and a day to arrive so I've been trying to do what I can here and there so I'm not dead in the water as the deadlines creep up.
Me too, sorry.
There's two files, the original .dwg and the .skp which is an import of the .dwg. In the original file there's a spot height array which I assumed would build into terrain when I imported it into sketch up ie, going from 2d to 3d so that when I start to lay out the terrain isn't flat but as set out by the spot heights.
Yeah they are indeed "ghost" items. I'll clear them away now.
Should I include my CAD plan to see if the spot heights are tagged to a terrain layer or not, if not is there a way to access them and draw topography from it through sketch up?
Sorry to ask such newb questions. 
Refreshed the document, 9kb!
I don't think there is a terrain file in there, if there is I can't find it.
Rather than start a new topic and clog for forum. Once I've components drawn, what is the best way of rendering them so they don't look like 90's video games?
Still haven't managed to get it below 7kb. I did as suggested and purged layers but to no avail. Who'd have thought it so hard!
I'm building up a site plan that's roughly 800mx800m-ish. I did think I'd got a topography layer from which to work with with having a spot height array layer in CAD but it's still in the "flat" format when I import it. I can't say I know a lot about cad though, in fact, pretty much nothing, how to scale images to print and that's about it. I use sketch up for just about anything for the sheer speed of it compared to CAD. I'll spend a part of the day today and try and figure out how to get it <4mb. I'm working on building components for repeating objects at the minute so it's no big deal that the master plan isn't fully sorted.
Yeah, too big to attach. Any ideas on where I could upload it to?
I'm so sorry to keep posting like this, I feel such a newb after I thought I'd got sketchup basics cracked. I could really do with getting a book on the subject and learning some plug ins, I'm super slow when it comes to repetitions of things like trees and light standards etc. And awful at topography!
And if I delete a single point once I have a face the face disappears and if I delete it before hand the face won't form?! What's going on? 
Hello again.
So in the process of starting to flesh out the bare bones of my layout with which to work and face are appearing on the bridge without me drawing them, almost as though there's some "ghost" layer at play.
I tried to upload the file to demonstrate my issue but alas it won't load
Anyone have any ideas?
Unless there's a plugin for turning every face that isn't there into a face after I've imported my .dwgs?
Oh man that'd be great but the data files I'm working with are 2d. No short cuts here I don't think. Thanks though, that plugin looks amazing!
Thanks guys, only 3 of the buildings are actually in the catalog but alas they don't match exactly with my CAD plan so I suppose I'll have to redraw a lot of them or at least figure a way of forcing them to my footprints. It was a nice idea while it lasted that I could just import what I could see in Google Earth.
Hello, me again.
I've just started mapping out a new site using an imported CAD file and was wondering if there's anyway of importing the area including buildings from google earth? I had looked around for the answer but it seems to be something many want to do but no one knows how if not I'll have to redraw everything which would put my project back a whole load with having to model the site before I can work on the actual design aspect of it.
I'm using sketch-up pro 8 set for architecture on Xp.
Also, while I'm here, I'm a landscape architecture student and I've noticed there seems to be a version for LA, is there or is it just the same as my current version of 8?
Thank you in advance.
Gareth.
Hello, thanks guys for the tips and help. I've had a quick few goes in Kerkythea not without a few niggles that are doubtless down to me just being a bit rubbish and learning on the job. The backsides of planes changing the materials and so on, need to get into the hang of cleaning up models I guess...?
Thanks JGA, The bowl was a pretty easy exercise, I knew all the transitions and the depths so it was a matter of drawing out the skeletal frame which would become faces then "triangulating" them. The transition between depths was done by drawing a cross section and figuring out when the transition would fall and then mapping to end points. Slow but relatively straight forward once I'd cracked the basic frame work. The bowled ends themselves were finished using follow me the dead faces being cleared out at the end.