Could it be a plugin/extension in 2018 causing the issue, that is not in 2020?

I would recommend using 2021 if possible. There has been a lot of 'under the hood' improvements with bug fixes etc.

Periodically I (and many others) contact the developers regarding this issue and still no solution unfortunately.

You can try using the TXTEXP command in your CAD software which should explode the text allowing it to be seen when importing into SketchUp.

My favoured workaround however, which I think works better, is to use Imsi Doublecad XT which is free to download (https://www.turbocad.com/content/doublecad-xt-v5).

Open the DWG in Double CAD and you can select various options when exporting including explode text and explode objects and save as a new file name. Then import into SketchUp and the text will appear.

The downside with exploded text is that it does slow the model since the text will be small pieces of geometry. You can however right click the text, save all on the same tag and make a component of the text allowing you to hide it when you don't need it, making the model faster to use. Alternatively, paste it in place in another file and only paste it back in when you need it.

I just logged in here today after not doing so for a while. Chrome alerted me to a possible data breach when I did so and suggested I change my password. Maybe there has been a breach?

Does anyone know if it would be possible to produce an extension for vehicle swept path analysis in SketchUp?

There is software out there such as Autotrack and Autoturn but these are expensive and require other software such as Autocad to run them.

I've also tried Autoturnonline (https://autoturnonline.com/) which as the name implies, runs online without other software, where a DWG can be uploaded and a swept path created but I found it very clunky and limited. It's also $69 per month which is still expensive and has a very limited vehicle selection for that price.

It would be great if someone could write something for a reasonable price that provides basic vehicle tracking within SketchUp for those of us not requiring specialised highway engineering grade software but nevertheless would like to check swept paths in masterplans etc.

Thanks also to TIG for the reply, you beat me to it!

It was already in metres, however you got me thinking and I tried it in mm and it has sorted it! Thanks very much.

I've been given a topo survey file by a surveyor (see attached) and it looks fine in CAD software but after importing it into Sketchup it displays as a geometric pattern (see attached).

I was hoping to be working on it today but I can't get it to import correctly. I've tried exploding it and also running it through Doublecad, which is usually quite good at sorting problematic files by exploding blocks etc.

Does anyone have any ideas how to fix it?

DWG Import Appearance.pdf

Topo file.dwg

This thread has got me thinking about how long I've been using SketchUp. I did a search on my email and it was back in May 2001 I downloaded the Version 1 demo. I thought it was great and tried to buy it ($475 back then!) but it wasn't even licensed outside North America. I couldn't officially buy it in the UK until 2 months later.

There was nothing else like it then, or even today. I remember going on an Autocad course that my employer at the time sent me on and thinking that there had to be something easier than this! I researched the market and found SketchUp, which I trialed and then bought. After using it and demonstrating what it could do as an urban design tool, I also persuaded my employer to buy a couple of licenses as well.

Although it was very basic compared to today and crashed a lot, it was like a breath of fresh air. I also corresponded with Tom Wyman and Jim Holman at @last (the original company that developed SketchUp) who were great and passed on my feedback to the developers who slowly ironed out the bugs and added features. The @last forum was also very helpful with fellow pioneers feeding back our experience of the software, including Mike Lucey I remember! I haven't looked back since then and it's no exaggeration that SketchUp has been the foundation of my whole career, and I never did learn Autocad...!

If you only have a limited number of these points above the terrain causing the spikes then delete these points before running Toposhaper.

It is possible but you will have to choose the 3d model DWG option rather than 2d graphic. The 2d DWG export flattens it to one layer.