Interesting that I have not received any comments. Either
I have been thinking about putting together some preliminary specs/rough design for a more comprehensive presentation product. I think LayOut is fine as a documentation product but very weak as a presentation product.
Yes, there are some good presentation products out there (i.e. PowerPoint and Keynote) but they do not allow me to include my SketchUp models and/or animations. I have also seen other products that do a good job of displaying 3D models but again they are a little weak as presentation products, at least from the aspect of being able to stand before an audience and present the company/organization, its objectives/goals, and the products/solutions they are bringing to their audience.
As an example, you want to tell your audience a little about your company/organization and at some point include your 3D model. In the case of SketchUp (I am not that familiar with the capabilities of other 3D modeling software) I would like to be able to manipulate the model during the presentation. In the case of LayOut, I am required to double-click the model to be able to orbit or pan it or to show scenes one at a time. Not the most professional approach.
In particular, I think it would be nice to be able to play the scenes automatically (or even better, some subset of the scenes in the model) without having them in a movie file.
Before I go off and start laying out a more detailed outline or design, I thought I would see if there was any interest. While I would like a full product that allowed the user to have a full 3D experience for all aspects of the presentation, I could also envision a plugin or player that could be used with other products (i.e. PowerPoint or Keynote) that would provide complete control over how the model is presented in the presentation (again, the ability to orbit or pan the model and the ability to take advantage of scenes in a model to provide some level of animation and control over the animation (not just a fixed animation that can not be controlled or manipulated inside the presentation.
It will be interesting to see what, if any, responses I get. I have a number of ideas "in my head" but have not taken the time to put together a design yet.
Well, I finally fixed the problem. It really has nothing to do with the size. I adjusted the zoom so that the model only uses about 75-80% of the width of the screen and it came out fine. In all of the cases the height always came out OK, it was only the width that is effected. I have seen this same issue when creating images.
Maybe now I can rethink if I want to put together my ideas for the presentation software. I have found a product that comes fairly close but their UI needs some work and their documentation needs some serious work (their English is very poor, highly repetitive and their examples in the documentation are very poor as well).
Dave R, I really appreciate your responses to this thread. I do think Trimble needs to address the issue of not really capturing the full window/view port.
@dave r said:
I don't know what to tell you. I set the viewport to 1280 wide by 720 high and exported an MP4 in the 16:9 ratio and the video showed just what was in the viewport. There was no additional cropping at all.
Did the model fill the entire width of the screen?
I would post my skip but it is too big. I will see if I can create one that I can upload that has the problem tomorrow. I appreciate the replies.
@dave r said:
The extension is Eneroth Viewport Resizer. Try that.
Figure out your ideas and post them in a specific thread. It probably won't be a plugin that you're after.
Plugin did not help. Tried to reduce the size of the SKP file but it is still too large to upload.
Getting frustrated that I cannot find any setting that will produce the correct results.
Dave, the movie is still chopped off on both sides. It still looks exactly like the original. I saw a post once before where someone had the same problem with an AVI file.
I cannot post the movie and it said my SKP file was too big as well.
It would not let me set it to the same dimensions so we will see what comes out this time.
What is the name of the extension. Might be worth installing since I see more of this coming in the future.
BTW: Thanks for the tip. Have not run across that one before. That might have helped me a couple of times when I was creating transparent images using a plugin I found for that.
Some times I think I will never learn all of the little tricks to this software. Since you are online, I am thinking of putting together a design/ideas for an enhanced presentation product or plugin. I have thought enhancements to LayOut, a new SUPresenter product or a viewport that could be used in something like PowerPoint and Keynote that would allow viewing SU models with greater control than the current presentation mode in LayOut. I cannot decide which way I think would be the best or where to post my ideas.
OK, since I need to match the window size, where in Windows 8, do I get to see the window dimensions so I can match them up?
Yes, when I set it to 1080p with the 1920x1080 (which is the size of my full scree), I wound up with the same results.
That is what my settings were (like your screen shot). I am trying again with the 1080p settings. I will let you know how it comes out
I have created an MP4 animation of a model but both the left and right sides have been chopped off. I know I could go back and zoom in each of the scenes but why does this happen.
I tried to upload the files but got messages that said MP4 not allowed and that the SKP file was too big 
@unknownuser said:
ntxdave,
If I understand.....why not look at creating a.pdf "portfolio"
It will require you to have Adobe Acrobat Pro (maybe you have already?)If you create your "slides" (pages) in LO and either export to .pdf or print to .pdf you can then convert the file to a .pdf portfolio that you can share wih your clients/etc.
Backgrounds/colors/styles of the portfolio can be custom or just use stock templates.
Upload a small .pdf file and I can quickly create a portfolio if you like.
C
I appreciate your reply (especially since it was the only one ) but this is not at all the direction I am looking to go. I did go take a look at Portfolio.
I do not want a static file like a PDF. No animation of the objects on the presentation screen and no 3D objects. We already use PDF files for "static" information for our customers. I am looking for a PowerPoint/Keynote type of product that will allow me to insert SU (or other 3D modeling) models/components that can be displayed and manipulated during a presentation. I do not see PDF as a "real" presentation package in any sense. If I am wrong, I would be happy to be corrected/updated.
Since I got no other responses, I am going to make an effort to go define how I would like to see enhanced in LayOut, or a new presentation product offering that would more fully exploit SU models. Part of my dilemma though is where to post it. I toying with the idea of putting together some UI suggestions for what I would like to see.
Are there any tools (either SketchUp Pro or Layout) that will allow me to create interactive presentations?
I have been building models of car washes. I would like to be able to show a step by step process of building the carwash (just showing the components that make up the car wash). I have created a number of scenes that show just one component being added at a time. However, I can only do it as a video. I would like to be able to control stepping through the process one piece of equipment at a time (kind of like a slide show where I control when each slide/scene is displayed) by clicking the mouse or some other action (maybe touching the screen).
I have looked at several animation plugins and there are some good ones out there but they only allow me to create videos, not interactive "slides" where I control the displaying of the slides. Yes, I could save each scene as an image and then paste the images into PowerPoint or some other presentation software but there are situations when I would like to be able to go to the next level including animations and other things.
Layout can get me closer but then you must have SketchUp Pro so you have access to the layout file. Plus Layout is pretty antiquated in the presentation space (IMO). Even with a Flash file, you can control movement from one keyframe to another manually (but I have not seen any plugins to create a Flash file from a SketchUp file.
I have found presentation software that will allow me to embed a SketchUp model (by export it to .dae, 3ds or some other 3D model file. However, that does not allow me to create the "animation" sequence I would like to have.
Any suggestions? I think this would be a huge win in many corporate and/or sales environments.
@tt_su said:
Even just a keyword that we can use to look up a specific crash related to this discussion.
Since it has not happened for several days now, nothing comes to mind. As I said, it was very inconsistent as to when things would happen. I promise that as I move forward when things happen again I will be more diligent in adding information about what I was doing when I have the problem.
@tt_su said:
Dave, do you have specific reproduction instructions? Like some action or operation you can reliably see the difference?
Also, do you see these performance/stability issues without Plugins enabled?
You say you sent error reports - you mean BugSplats? Did you enter any details into that which we can use to look them up?
Unfortunately I have to admit that many times I did not put notes about what was going on when I had the problems. I can tell you that I have never detected any type of pattern and have not been able to reproduce the problems. Again unfortunately they seemed to happen when I was under a little time pressure and needed to get the job done. I can also say that I did not see any of this with 13.
I do isometric drawings for a company that builds car washes. I built most of the parts/components with 13. Most of the work I have been doing with 14 is put together layouts/models of the proposed carwash so they can show the client what the carwash will look like. I have had problems when adding components to they layout, updating styles, rotating equipment/components to fit in the new layout, modifying existing components for something that is unique to the new layout, and etc. Again, I see no consistency as to when the problems occur.
I will be more diligent going forward about adding notes to he BugSplats going forward.
I have uninstalled some plugins and see no to little difference in loading the software and have not noticed any difference in the error conditions after having removed those plugins that I do not use very frequently.
@rv1974 said:
tt, the weirdest point is that v.13 behaves way better than the '14; hope it will be addressed in following updates.
I have also noticed degraded performance with 14. I have gotten MANY more error conditions (where it sent error reports to Trimble) that with 13. I also have noticed a significant delay when loading the program (in particular menus/toolbars take several seconds to load). I have tried uninstalling some plugins that I do not use frequently to see if it helped but that has not had much of a difference either.
Recently, I have also been getting a bunch of "Application Not Responding" messages and a couple times I have lost a fair amount of work. I have set the system to auto save every 30 minutes (had a shorter timeframe but it slowed things down too much) to try to stave off the problem.
Unfortunately, I uninstalled 13 so I can not go back to it. When you pay an annual fee to keep up with the latest version does not seem that there should be a reason to keep older versions around. 
I had not commented before because I thought maybe others were not seeing some of these issues. In general, my impressions is that 14 is not as stable as 13 was. I very rarely ever use the warehouse so other than the upgrading of Ruby, I am not sure I see much difference between 13 & 14 other than more error messages being generated and sent it.
But then, I am not a power user either. Still consider that I am learning.
Yes, I thought of those things as well. Since I am still on the first floor, I also though of temporarily reducing the height of the walls to make it easier to perform the trace function.
Seems like this is a common situation that could/should be addressed. I do not think I could write a ruby script to try to come up with some type of plugin though.
When I see all of the neat stuff that people have done, I posted this because I thought I might trigger some of you programmers to come up with a way to do tackle this. Again, I am sure this is a common problem (particularly for people who model buildings) and wanted to see if someone had, or could build, some neat way to address this situation. It would seem to me that there are many situations where users need to address the ability to navigate "inside" of a model.
I sometimes find navigation to be a bit of a challenge. As an example, I am working on a model of a small house. I have constructed the rooms and walls, added some color texture to walls, added some textures to the floors and inserted a couple of doors. Now I want to put baseboards throughout the house. I have accomplished it in a couple of areas but I find that at times it is very challenging to rotate around so that I can draw lines where I intend to add the baseboard using the Follow Me tool. I find that I am doing a lot of orbiting, zooming and just down right struggling at times to both draw the lines and then select them so I can use the Follow Me to draw the baseboards (hope all of that is understandable).
I have looked through the extensions/plugins and do not see anything that looks like it would make the navigation around the interior of the model any easier. I have experimented somewhat with the Walk and Look Around tools but that seems difficult and time consuming as well. Thought some of you may know or have some good tips for navigating around in the interior of a model.
I was watching a video were someone was using the 3D Connections navigation tool and it looked like they had much better control and navigation capabilities than what I have with my mouse. Again, just wondering if there are some tricks/tips that would make the job easier.
@tt_su said:
@ntxdave said:
Compression setting - What does it accomplish? What is recommendation?
That applies only to JPEG. Higher value is less compression if I remember correctly.
That is good to know. Thanks. I will ignore that setting since I generate PNG files.
@tt_su said:
@ntxdave said:
Antialias setting - Default is No and I have to set it to Yes each time. Any recommendation?
Hmm.. that might be a bug. I actually never use it as I think the AA is too poor. I prefer exporting without AA in a larger size, like double, and resize down in PhotoShop. It's even faster as AA is so slow.
I have had a problem a few times when I had to create the image multiple times because of sizing issues. Sometimes I had to increase the width setting. I use AA almost every time (just a habit in creating graphics). I will have to try a couple without the AA and then compare them. I am using the tool to build a catalog/brochure/guide of the components I have built for the company I am doing the work for. I really like the capability this tool adds.
@wo3dan said:
@ntxdave said:
....The "In Model" view of the component is the Top view and I want it to be the front view......
Component's thumbnails(FAIK) are saved as seen in the current view at time of saving......, unless they are saved with 'Glue to' property. Then they are saved in Topview, seen along the local blue axis, the component's blue axis.
You can create a component in its front view without the 'Glue to' property. Then, if desired, change/edit its property to 'Glue to' in the components browser. The thumbnail will remain in front view.
The other way I solved the problem was to "explode" everything, view the component with "front view" and then recreate the component. That resulted in the thumb nail giving me he front view but it is in top view when I dropped it in my model.
I appreciate your reply. Where the heck are all of these things documented? In MANY instances I find the help system almost useless and lacking in TONS of details. This SketchUcation forums provides the best help going. I just feel silly always asking how to do things that, at least at times, seem elementary.
I have a component that I am trying to update. I am having a problem saving the view I want of the component. The "In Model" view of the component is the Top view and I want it to be the front view. No matter what I do, I do not seem to be able to get the "In Model" component to update to the front view instead of the top view.
How do I update the "In Model" view so that I can also drag it to may saved components.
