@unknownuser said:

For me the more funny and easy is Lumion but in free Max (1280 x 720p) and a very little logo watermarked
it has a crazzy terrain Modeler, ocean, skyes... and accept any sort of file!
Direct file from SU + material with DAE format
[flash=560,315:ij7wvjv2]http://www.youtube.com/v/pYHVVtdeCas[/flash:ij7wvjv2]

This looks brilliant so I'm going to give it a go. Thankyou

Hello again

My query this time is which method of rendering would you recommend for simple folk like me who are still trying to get to grips with the myriad of functions on SU? Some time ago I downloaded Kerkythea, but I think I'm a long way from being able to use it as it is really rather difficult to figure out (I'm one of those annoying people that doesn't like reading boring instructions and prefers to figure things out by intuition ). I don't require things to look "photo real", just anything that is an improvement on that basic SU renders.

Thanks

@dave r said:

Next time it happens, turn on Hidden Geometry and see if there's anything connected to the geometry you're trying to move.

You never said, is the "thing" you're trying to move a group, component or loose geometry?

There were two components, a handful of groups and various loose geometry. However, when I returned to work today, the problem had somehow disappeared and I was free to move everything however I wanted

@mitcorb said:

Can you select then use the up down left right arrow keys?

I've never tried that method before, it seems to lock the axis but the flippin item still won't move. I'm afraid I can't share the drawing as it's one from work.

I've managed to get round it, but I wish I knew why this happens from time to time.

Thanks for your input gents.

@dave r said:

Is it possible the "thing" you're trying to move is a component with gluing characteristics? Or perhaps the thing is part of some other geometry that won't deform?

I'm not sure about the "gluing", it's certainly not something I've intentionally done as I just draw the equipment and "make group" when I've finished an item - nothing more. In the case just today I was trying to lower several "groups" in one go within a room that remained where it was, but it would only let me move along the red axis. I ended up having to raise the building instead!

Hello again oh Sages of SketchUp.

A simple question for you if I may. How come sometimes SU only allows me to move items along one axis? I see to frequently encounter problems moving things up and down the Blue Axis more than any other. The problem still occures when I try to follow a line that I've drawn that is on that axis, it just doesn't wove at all.

Thank you

Hello yet again.

This time I'd like to know if I can alter template setting to include the dimension styles, text fonts etc please.

The default Tahoma font isn't very good and there are other little tweaks that crop up from time to time that I'd like to alter if possible.

Thank you

@unearthed said:

Hi Grizzler

Once you've geolocated your building, it'd be useful to do a massing model of the house (and any other nearby buildings) and check shadowing, which will also help your plant placement. It can make a nice graphics with grey existing buildings and a colourful garden amongst them.

Regarding this (which sounds great by the way) and other advice from you experts, when using terms that you wouldn't use in conversation with your Grandparents, could you please elaborate or provide a link to a tutorial if possible? I know this must be a pain for you, but I only ever post in the "Newbie" section for good reason

@tobobo said:

For a start I would avoid 3D plants, use a post program to add in veg if you are rendering especially. Face-me components are always a good option.

I would include at least the back of the house this will give you a back ground for the image exports.

That sounds like good advice, now what's a "post program"?

Good idea re' showing the house wall too!

I've been asked if I could have a go at preparing a design for a friends garden and before I start doing things the long/difficult/wrong way like I normally do, I thought I should seek your advice.

Are there any tips/rubies that you think are particularly helpful when doing this sort of thing? I'm more used top dealing with practical sheet metal than beauty and organic stuff

Hello, yet again.

Can you tell me why I'm getting the attached message please? i just want to use the same style on each scene in order to export them as jpegs with them all having the same style.

I like the "Earth modelling" style mostly, so do I have to select it at the very beginning of a drawing in order to use it on each scene?

@tig said:

You have one longer 'hidden line' that is almost 2 miles away from the origin !
Erase that [and have a general tidy up - e.g. why all the unattached dims?] and everything will be fine !

Wow. And there's me thinking I kept it tidy!

For some reason when I read the last two posts, the voice narrating them in my head was that of my Mum - just like when I was a child being told to tidy my room

Consider me told off.

@cotty said:

You can add the skp directly as an attachement to your post (under the text-field).

I've cleaned up all the drawing and left on filter bank item that exhibits the problem. I'm preparing myself for a barrage of comments beginning with "you idiot, you had >insert setting here< active!"

Clipping Plane plus zoom in/out issues

@rich o brien said:

If you delete that large plane I see in the video does it help? You mention things are in meters, how large is that plane?

I've a feeling it is related to axis placement but we'd need a model to examine. Either PM or here depending on whether it can be shared or not.

I just recently added the plane there as I needed to rotate on one of the faces. I've done another tiny clip showing me scrolling in at a constant but SLOW rate, and it still plays up http://screencast.com/t/YJnEMrRy

I can get rid of this problem by using Parallel Projection, but I don't want to work like that, especially as I don't in my other drawings.

Would you mind tell me how I go about sharing a drawing? Do you just mean sharing via the 3D warehouse? If so then I'm afraid I can't do that presently due to the limiations of where I am at the moment. I might be able to do it tonight when I get home.

Thanks

@rich o brien said:

Can you Zoom to Extents(using the menu not the mouse) while in Perspective view

Then without orbiting go to Parallel mode(using the menu not the mouse) and Zoom to Extents(using the menu not the mouse)

Then back to Perspective view(using the menu not the mouse) then zoom in?

I did what you said but nothing has altered. The problem is definitely something to do with "Perspective" as "Parallel Projection" does seem to correct things (I previously thought that "Parallel Projection" setting would default back to "Perspective" as I didn't save my changes on closing the drawing. I now realise that this only affects the items that have been drawn and not the settings of SU )

@rich o brien said:

As a matter of interest....

When you go from Perspective to Parallel are you activating the Parallel view while the error is on screen? Likewise are you toggling back to Perspective while zoom in close?

I'm afraid I had jumped the gun in thinking the problem was solved. It isn't

Perspective is back on as standard, but I can't quite seem to fix this "clipping plane" thingy. It is literally only on the one drawing which is what baffles me, but it's one I use for reference and as a bit of a catalogue for components.

So far the possible solutions that have been eliminated are:

1- Field of View (which is the 35 degree standard)
2- Perspective (turned on)
3- Scale of model too large/small (several items on the drawing, each measuring approximately 1metre in length)
4- Distance from Origin Point (I always draw as close to them as possible and they are always on show)
5- .dwg import (not applicable as nothing imported)
6- Hidden geometry far from main drawing (I checked and this is not the case)

Back to you lot

Thanks TIG. Your suggestion re' extraneous bits of geometry that are "miles away" was the first (and only ) thing that entered my mind. Just about my only redeeming feature when it comes to using SU is my fastidiousness - I hate having untidy drawings so I'm usually OK when it comes to random fragments causing problems, oh and I'm forever clicking on "Zoom extents" to make sure .

I often import .dxf files, and though they can make things a bit messy, the drawing I had the issues with did not have anything imported into it at all.

@cotty said:

Some hints may be here: http://support.google.com/sketchup/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=36261

Thanks for that. I think I've sussed it, but it's a bit backwards. The guide states "Another situation that can cause clipping is when the Perspective camera mode is turned off." But I found that by turning "Perspective" off it eliminated the problem

At the level I'm presently using SU too I'm not presently aware of what the pros and cons are of having Perspective on/off, but at this moment all that seems to have changed is that my problem has stopped

This issue doesn't occur on every drawing, but it is a real problem for me. When I try to zoom in on a point it often shows a plane through the item, jumps straight past the item or zooms me out to a huge distance away. I've tried to show it on the short clip below (I used Jing and Screencast that I've just found out about - they seem like useful tools). Hopefully you can see that as I try to zoom in on a corner of an item it disappears!

I'm sure I must just accidentally have activated some setting somewhere that I don't know about, but if you could please point me in the right direction then it might stop me tearing my rapidly greying hair out

http://screencast.com/t/ZtujLBU3M5aj