I use both for work. SU is like bringing a knife to a tank fight, there is really little comparison. Although you can use SW to make quick models they are a mess and are very difficult to rework. Where it is incredible is getting to the exact thing you wish to produce that is very complex and requires high precision between them all. SU can do many things, including making files that can be 3D printed just like any other 3D CAD program. SW does not own this domain in any way, lots of students may use it as well as those who work for well heeled companies but if you are not doing complex assemblies with critical relationships, it's not worth your money. I print and machine parts from both programs, they look identical when they are done regardless of which program they are drawn in. Autodesk has a suite of free programs you can use to make files for printing you may wish to try. A well drawn part in SU will print just fine, you need to ensure its a solid to not have problems. Use the least geometry possible and you will be much happier.

Great stuff guys. Thank you all for your input.

Mac, I couldn't get your link to work, but changing the filetype to PDF worked...like this (PDF download): http://www.stratasys.com/~/media/Main/Secure/White%20Papers/Rebranded/SSYS-WP-AccuracyMyth-03-13.pdf

http://www.smustard.com/script/CloseOpens http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=267856#p267856 http://sketchucation.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=210736#p210736

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FWIW, the SketchUp inspector window has always been displayed by default on my installations of LO. I believe the default is to have all of the inspector windows out on the right side although they can be closed.

Just in case you missed the support pages. SketchUp › Help articles › Beyond SketchUp › Dynamic Components [image: TJnU_DC_Support_Topics.png]

@gaieus said: I told you, Jax! Congrats! Guess I had to find out for myself. Thanks my friend.

Hey Jax... I have been thinking about modeling an old Depot in my birth town for a little while. I was getting ready to contact the local Historic Preservation after doing a few google searches to see if there were any plans on the building documented anywhere. Since they are looking at restoring the building it looks as if they had as-builts done, at least partially - and they are located on the Library of Congress website. Looks like a good starting place for anyone looking for historical documents. http://loc.gov/pictures/item/la0418/#step3 I got lucky and was linked from this website that discusses the history of the building. http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/caneriver/tex.htm Hope this helps in whatever project you are hunting down.

@genma saotome said: @jaxcoffee said: Has anyone else used this type of resource to model from? It would be interesting to see if any history has been modeled from this type of information, don't you think? Modeling from Sanborn maps is pretty much what I do. I have a San Jose library card which gives me access to the California maps and at various times I've had access to NC, UT, MT, and NY maps as well. I've found that it helps a whole lot if the building is still extant and can be seen in birdeye's view in MS Bing. Sometimes Google street view is clear enough to also be useful but a lot of times the Bing images is good enough. Do you have any question's in particular? Thanks so much for your input Dave. I have sent a PM to you with a question. Thanks again.

Hi Jax, Thank you for your post, glad the fix worked. Just to let everybody know that Shaderlight for Sketchup has now been released as an open Beta. Please give it a try and let us know what you think. It is available to download free from http://www.artvps.com This is not yet the complete product as we are going to be adding advanced features such as enhanced lighting and our trademark MELT interactivity which is the ability to make interactive changes to materials, environments, lights or textures at any stage in the rendering process without having to restart the render. This will available later this year. Martin

@chris fullmer said: That library and plaza setup in Sonoma is just beautiful. I've spent a few good evenings there hanging out or eating at a restaurant. It sure is an enjoyable space. You're lucky to be so close to it Peter, I never realized you were in Sonoma. Chris Chris, Next time you're coming up, we can pop into Murphy's Irish Pub. My shout... or whatever you're into. (Free jazz once a month in the summer.) Yes, town squares really work. Other nice ones are Healdsburg, Oaxaca, San Cristobal...

Thank you very much for offering your help through joining your team. I am gladly accepting your offer. http://bigpaperwriter.com/blog/essay-on-andrew-carnegie and offering a little something in return. Here is an article I would want you to look through and maybe you will find it rather interesting for yourself.

@chris fullmer said: I foten take the best info I can get. In your case, that is the .shp files that are outdated. Then go through and identify all the areas that are innaccurate. Then see if Google Earth has image info for those blocks. If it does, then use G.E. to trace the footprints of all the buildings. Also update any city block outlines that need to be updated. And also any road centerlines that need to be updated. Just make sure to keep everything organized well. Keep the same layers that you got from the .shp files. They probably gave you a block outline, road centerline, and hopefully bldg footprint files. So when you add your data, just follow the same scheme so that it is all organized correctly. Then you can export your block layer (or component) out as a .shp file. And same for all the other layers you have changed. To recap: Take base .shp file info Determine the blocks, parcels, roads, buildings that need to be updated. Use Google Earth Images as a new base for those areas. Just trace what Google Earth shows Export everything as .shp files. And that is probably how I would approach it. If there are areas that Google Earth is not current on either, you will just have to go out and measure it by hand if possible. Thanks so much Chris, Used older version of SketchUp (version 5 with .shp plugin) to read the shapefile, and saved it to a skp file. It shows building foot prints, and that is all. They are like a component, and I can double click on them to open them, and then right click to edit, and pull up a building. The zip file I got from the city has other files besides the shapefile. How do I read those, and glean the information from them? Can I overlay a graphic pulled in from GE with the shapefile now turned .skp file, or the reverse so I can reference one with the other? The city says the GIS file I recieved is all they have, and would be more then happy to get updated information, and also mentioned getting that information of GE would be accurate enough for them. Is that true? And can I export a Sketchup model out as a shapefile? OK! The biggy Chris. Can I get you to create a plugin that could automate all of that? LOL! I heard you could! Chris