@tig said:

You need to contact Google direct - a PC and MAC license are different.

Do you know how hard it is to find anything on their web site other than a reference to FAQs? I found what I thought was a way to contact them several days ago, but have not received a response.

I want to pay them money for their product, but they seem very determined not to take it!

Is there a link to a step-by-step process to get my Windows license to work on my new Mac? I've searched and tried everything I can find, and I have not been successful. I understand I will have to pay ($50, i think), and that's OK.

When I try to "add a new license" on opening SketchUp, it asks me for my username, serial number and key. Well, the authorization mail I got with my original license has a username, serial number and authorization number. No "key". If I use my authorization number for the "key", it gets rejected.

When I go to the sketch-up site, there isn't anything I can find that walks you thru this process.

Very frustrating.

If this has been covered before on this MB, can someone link me to the thread? Searching turned up nothing.

@tig said:

Please tell me that you have kept the email[s] from Google with your license details

I did.

@unknownuser said:

If you have you simply reenter them to make your version Pro again...

OK. It wasn't obvious to me how to do that.

@unknownuser said:

How difficult is it to have a folder of your most important files, or even printed copies

Not very difficult, because that is exactly what I did.

I was trying to free up some disc space and so I deleted what I thought was just an older version of SketchUp, but it appears I deleted the whole thing. I ran the install program again, but I'm only getting the trial version.

How do I go about renewing my license (or whatever it is I need to do)? I bought the pro version a few years ago and have been using it regularly since then.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

Thanks, Jim.

Do I need to go thru the same steps as outlined in this thread to install them side-by-side, or will the free version automatically do that once it sees I have "Pro 6" installed?

Are files created in version 7 not backward compatible to version 6?

I received a file from one of my architects and I couldn't open it. I got a message saying it's version 7 and I don't have version 7. Oddly enough, when I check for updates using the Help tab in SketchUp it tells me that I have the latest updates. I'm 99% certain I only have version 6, though, and that's what I see when I click on properties.

Anyway, is there a way to read this file w/o upgrading? I'm hesitant to upgrade now because my computer always gets bogged down when I do something like that, and I'll probably be upgrading in a few months anyway. But I need to access this file now.

Thanks.

@anssi said:

@goggin said:

I'm technically minded, but will that have any advantages over using GIMP to convert to JPG? Will a DXF file have better line resolution?

If the PDF is vector-based, importing it to SU as a DWG or DXF file would let you use the geometry in the file directly as a base for modelling, importing converts the linework directly into edges in SU. Even if it is not as good as having the original CAD file to model from, it would be more accurate than re-drawing it all by eyeballing from a raster image.

Anssi

I'll try this, but is there a way to know in advance if the PDF is vector based or not? I expect that it was created by exporting from AutoCad (or something similar).

If you have the pro version, you can do what I do and label things when you're in LayOut. Text boxes can be moved and rotated in LayOut like any other object.

@anssi said:

If you are technically minded, you can also try Ghostscript, that is a free Postscript/PDF clone, and some free plugins to that (pstoedit, if I remember right) to convert a vector PDF or EPS to a DXF.

Anssi

I'm technically minded, but will that have any advantages over using GIMP to convert to JPG? Will a DXF file have better line resolution?

Thanks.

@unknownuser said:

I convert my pdf's to jpg.s (or whatever) using GIMP quite successfully.

-Brodie

Yeah, that worked about as well as expected. No sharp, clean lines or anything, but passable enough to trace. GIMP is about as slow to start on my PC as LayOut is.

Thanks for the info. I don't have Photoshop, but I have GIMP, so I'll try that.

What I'm trying to do is take floorplans in PDF format, and then get them into SketchUp so I can work on them (modify and/or do 3D modeling). I'm assuming I'll have to trace over them to make this work, but that's OK.

And, no, I'm not on a MAC (yet). I'm hoping Santa will bring me one this year. I have learned to hate MSFT...

The import function doesn't support PDF files, AFAICT. This seems odd, since most architects give their clients PDFs as soft copies, if they give them anything. Does anyone know how to import PDFs, or is there a good work-around?

Along similar lines (pardon the pun), is there any way to draw a dashed line? That is typically needed on any architectural plans, especially a remodel.

@anssi said:

What happens to layers depends on your export type.

When you export your whole 3D model, layers remain intact.

A 2D hidden line export generates a projected 2D line drawing of your view, and has the option of generating DWG layers according to the visual appearance of the lines. I am not a programmer, but I think that in this case it is not possible to unequivocally determine what layer a line should belong to, as it can, for instance, be a border between entities that belong to different layers.

It works the same in AutoCad itself too. 2D projections created from 3D views or exported as DXB and reimported are on a single layer.

The workaround would be to export one layer at a time and reassemble the layer structure in AutoCad.

Anssi

Ah, I see. So, if I just do a 3-D export instead of 2-D, I should preserve the layers? Is there any advantage to doing the workaround you mention in the last paragraph instead of a 3-D export?

I don't have AutoCad, so I don't actually see the results of my export, I just hear what my architect tells me-- her office is not near my residence.

I read the help section on this, but I can't figure it out.

When I export to AutoCad, my architect tells me all the layers get collapsed into one. Is there a setting I need to use to preserve the layers? They all show up fine in SketchUp when I import from AutoCad.

Dan:

Check out this tutorial in the other forum:

How a Pro Builds a House in Sketchup Part 1

There's a Part 2 in the same form.

Good luck.

Hey, that was the first time I gave advice, as opposed to asking for it, on this MB!

Here is the help page that explains how to do that. Go to: "Modification Tools", then "Intersect with Model Tool".

Charlie:

Looks nice, but I'm not sure why you would need LayOut to do that. Was it just an experiment? If not, which features in LayOut did you use that aren't available in SketchUp?

Merry Christmas, btw. This a great little MB!!

Any idea when the official (non-beta) version comes out, and whether there will be an additional charge for it (beyond what we payed for to get SU Pro)?

It's a nifty tool, although I'm still just learning.