Great, I will try these solutions.
I particulary like seeing thin crisp lines rather than the thick mess produced by Windows codecs.
So, the still image export solution looks good. (PNG or JPEG?)
Will look at the links provided as well
Thanks for this very useful info guys.

Still be nice to be able to export directly to QuickTime from within SketchUp.

Just tried exporting some still frames (xxx.jpg) from SketchUp under the animation export option.
In the dialog box there is no setting available for quality compression or for anti-aliasing to be on/off as you would normally get when exporting a still image using the 2D export option. Any ideas?

Regards
Mr S

Hi,

I have the full Pro version of QuickTime installed on my PC.
This gives me the option of creating QuickTime movies from within my Video Editing applications.
The codecs provided with QuickTime provide good results especially when producing movies from computer generated images. In my opinion, the results from an AVI file, even when choosing to use "full uncompressed frames", still produce unwanted artifacts and poor anti-aliasing. Considering that I then have to recompress this large AVI into a WMV or something similar to produce a reasonable file size, I have to suffer even more degradation of the quality!

So, does anybody know why I can't export to QuickTime from within SketchUp?
Why am I restricted to AVI only?
I am using the Pro version of SketchUp and Quicktime, so why doesn't SketchUp allow me to export using QuickTime like my Video programs?
The MAC version must allow this, so why not the PC?

Regards
Mr S

This is simply stunning work.
I doubt many, (including myself) believed such superb results could be achieved with a low-poly modeler such as SketchUp.
I have read many times about how important lighting and textures are to 3D modeling.
Your skills demonstrate this more than any words could possibly hope to convey.
It would be fantastic if you could upload a short video tutorial demonstrating your workflow and techniques.
I am certain you would have many grateful students here.

Regards
Mr S

@unknownuser said:

I have to say I use may other rubys and nothing compares to Whaat's "subdivide and smooth"!

I do not mean to take away from other ruby's, all of them are great! It is just that Whaat's ruby will change the way people model within Sketchup.

Scott

OK, I have looked at the Smustard and Ruby Depot Library websites and can't seem to find this Ruby script.
Can you provide a link to download from?
Thanks.

Mr S

Ignore this post, i have just seen in a different thread (dated april 21st 2008) that Whaat estimates this will be available in 10 days.

Hi,

I found a workaround solution.
My main problem was that the trees are spread over a very uneven terrain.
Rescaling them all in one go caused some to sink and others to float above their ground level.
So, I selected all the trees and moved them upwards about 20 metres vertically.
I then scaled them to the size required.
Then I re-used the "Drop at Intersection" ruby script.
All trees are now back to their own ground level and sized as I wanted.
Great!

Regards
Mr S

Hi,

I have have a scene which has lots of 2D trees.
These are the default "Tree_2D_Semirealistic_Pine3.skp" which comes supplied with SketchUp.
I scaled them too much vertically and then saved the file.
I need to return them to their original size.
I can use the the right-click menu and select "Reset Scale" to correct each individual component, but I don't want to have to select all the trees individually and do this manually one by one.
I have tried the "reload" option but the replacement component (whether it be my original choice or another component) loads with the scaling alterations I made still effecting them.
Anybody have any ideas how to solve this?

Thanks
Mr S

Hi,

I have managed to minimize the effect but not remove it completely.
Make sure you render the animation without any compression.
Choose the "Full Frames (Uncompressed)" option in the animation dialog box.
Then render the output file in the video editor of your choice to a Wimdows Media Video file.
The result I got was far better than trying to render from within SketchUp using the Cinepak codec.

Hope this helps others.

Regards
Mr S

Yes, I have often used the "render large than reduce in Photoshop" method for still images, but I was hoping there was a better solution for animation.

Do third-party renderers cure this problem?

Regards
Mr S

Hi,

I would open your SketchUp file with the correct camera position and delete everything from the scene. Then open up your other file in a new instance of SketchUp and select all and copy. Return to your copy of SketchUp with the good camera setup and "Paste in place".

Regards
Mr S.

Hi,

Do you know how to get rid of moire patterns in animations?
I have attached a single frame from an animation I have produced.
The roof shows the awful moire pattern effect that occurs.
Its bad enough on a still, but it completely distracts you when viewing the animation.
Any ideas or advice for a cure?

Thanks
Mr S

----------

@daniel said:

I usually model everything in the default layer 0, but always put cars, people, and trees in their own layers so they can be turned off while modeling other things.

ditto

Hi All,

Just curious as to how many of you are obsessive or laid back about your SketchUp work.

Imagine you are working on a project and you know that there are lines that don't quite match up but are so minor that only you will ever know.

Are you laid back about it or are you like me and have to spend time fixing it.
Yep, I may have an obsessive compulsion disorder

Which are you?

Regards
Mr S

Hi,

Just in case anybody else wants the answer...

I have figured out that all you need to do is zoom out, point your cursor to where you need to go, and zoom back in. The focus goes where the cursor is pointing.
Just a slightly different way of panning around but works.
(Still prefer the SketchUp method though)

Regards
Mr S

Hi,

I know that this should probably go to a 3DS MAX forum, but as some of you guys know both of these programs I am hoping you will be able to provide me with a solution.

I have what I think is an easy question but it may be difficult to explain in words only.

After working with Sketchup for so long I am trying to translate how I navigate around the screen in to 3DS MAX.

For instance, when in SketchUp:

I navigate around the screen using the middle mouse button to orbit.
I use the shift key and the middle mouse button to pan.
I use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out.

This is the important bit:
If I have a tool selected, such as the Line Tool, whenever I use any of the above key combinations to navigate around the screen, when finished I am always returned to the tool. This is great because it allows you to “plot” a start point for the line then navigate (zoom, pan or orbit) to another point currently off screen and then “plot” the end point.
I do this constantly when tracing over CAD plans.

In 3DS MAX

I navigate around the screen using the alt and middle mouse button to orbit.
I use the middle mouse button to pan.
I use the scroll wheel to zoom in and out.

Zooming in and out using the scroll wheel behaves exactly like SketchUp. You can do this and maintain the tool you are using.
The problem is that whenever the middle-mouse button is pressed it acts like a right-click ending the action of whatever tool you are using.
This prevents me from panning around the screen. I have to set up the screen showing all the area I wish to trace.
This view is usually too far away to work accurately.

I hope you understand the above and have a solution for me.
What seems to be a simple and intuitive navigation process in SketchUp seems to be that bit more complicated in MAX.

Regards
Mr S

Hi,

Want to customise the look of your folders.
Sick of trawling through all those boring identical folders?

This feature has been available for Macs as far back as I can remember.
It's nice to be able to use it on a PC, for free, at long last.
There are other commercial solutions available but this works perfectly for me.

Visit: http://www.foldermarker.com/folder-marker-free.php

Regards
Mr S

@bigstick said:

Things which characterise Autodesk applications in my experience are high price, crappy support, indifference to users, frequent expensive updates adding marginal usability, proprietary formats, feature bloat, overly-complex UI and workflow, unintuitive usability and steep learning curve.

What an excellent description!

Regards
Mr S.

I think the core problem is that SketchUp is only owned by Google because it provided an easy and cheap (free!) way to populate Goggle Earth. Google Earth is an important aspect of the Google Empire. SketchUp is just a handy little tool for them, nothing more. Google will work only on those aspects of it that help make Google Earth more popular.

It simply isn't in Googles interest to focus on developing the software in a way that will provide benefits to Architects, Woodworkers or any of the other minority interest users.

Google only wants tools that the masses can use. Adding more features, particularly powerful features, nearly always makes a program more complicated to use. This is the exact opposite of what Google wants. Google is well aware that people who want more powerful 3D solutions can find plenty of alternatives elsewhere. It will be more than happy for them to do so because these people are not its customer base. SketchUp does not make its owners any money so there is no real incentive to invest in its future. It does the job thats required of it now and if something else is required in the future then Google will simply buy the company (like @last) when needed.

Google has the money, people and resources available to improve SketchUp in ways that @last could only of dreamed of. Why haven't why the simple bugs been solved. Why hasn't DirectX been considered as an alternative to OpenGL? (Sorry, Mac owners!). I have seen many good suggestions made for improvements by other users.

Why haven't these things happened?
Mainly because, despite a fantastic and dedicated small team at Google (mostly the @last people?) and a loyal and passionate user base, there is no serious money to be made.

As usual, it's all about the money.

Like a previous poster mentioned I was also a part of the Amiga community in its heyday.
That was supported by many great third party companies and the efforts of many individuals who created great software for free just like the Ruby scripters of today.
Despite all this the Amiga failed. There were many other different factors involved in that failure. But the main one was that the parent company failed to make money.

Hopefully, I'm wrong. Maybe Google really does believe in "Don't be evil". Maybe they will want to make a great program a fantastic one. But the cynic in me doesn't really believe it.

In the same way that I loved and still have happy memories of the Amiga, I intend to use and enjoy SketchUp for as long as possible.

Regards
Mr S

If you have Adobe Illustrator this may help:

1. Open your EPS file in Illustrator and select all.
2. Go to Object>Path>Add Anchor Points. (by default when you click this it adds an anchor point in the middle of every other anchor point you have) The smoother you want your curves the more Anchor Points you will want to add.
3. Then go to Object>Path>Simplify and check the "Straight Lines" box. Bring your "Angle Threshold" down to 0. You can check the preview box and see how it looks.
4. Export as a .dxf/dwg file and insert into SU.
5. Redraw one line so SU will recognize the shape and fill.

This is not an original solution by me.
It was posted on the old @Last forums but I can't remember by whom.

Regards
Mr S

I am not an expert so wait for other viewpoints as well.

As I far as I know dual graphic cards are only really of any use for 3D games.
Even then you don't get twice the performance. More like a 20% increase in performance.
They are also useful for working with big monitors (think 30") at high resolutions.
So if these needs don't apply you would be much better off buying the best quality/priced single graphics card. You may want to do a search on these forums for ATI or NVIDIA. I am sure that I have come across posts of people having problems with one or the other. I have used both and have never had any issues.

SketchUp will not use dual (or quad) processors as it is still a single threaded application. So in itself, it won't work any quicker compared to using a single processor.
But by using dual or quad processors you will have a much more stable and efficient computer system. You would be mad not to buy a dual or quad machine. It is the way most computers are supplied now anyway. Hopefully later versions of software will be written that do take advantage of the extra power they can provide.

Good Luck

Regards
Mr S

Hi,

Some of you may have seen my recent posts concerning the problems I had been having trying to use data survey in SketchUp. Now, if you visit other software forums when you have problems you often get help from other users. Sometimes you get abused for being a newbie or being stupid. But here I have always got quick helpful advice. Never any negative remarks and always more than one individual offering to help. But yesterday I had even better. Greyhead emailed me and asked me to email the data survey I was struggling with. He edited the file for me (staying up late) and sent it back to me with instructions on how to use it correctly. That is the difference between being just a signed up member of yet another forum and the feeling you have here that you really belong to a community with a shared passion.
Just in case we forgot, a big thank you is owed to all those that kept this community alive when the @last forums died. So, Thank You.

And a big thank you, to Greyhead, who has helped reduced my mostly cynical view of the world.