I think it's like that because the edge of shadows become less sharp the further away they are from the source (edges become fuzzy). In order to fix this you need to render at a higher quality setting. Have you got a glabal illumination setting (GI)? Also you need to have anti aliasing switched on (AA).
Rob
Hey Adam
Good luck with the competition! If you PM me your email address I can send you the install file for the IES software, but I warn you it's 55Mb 
. I obtainined it from the IES website but maybe they don't give it out to student email addresses?
You can probably do everything you need in SketchUp without using Revit. In my opinion SU is now a BIM application since release 7. A couple of weeks ago I was at a Revit training day and I didn't see anything there that can't be done in SU. You will need to have a look around for plugins to allow you to output data however you need it (scheduling etc). You also need a 2d CAD application for level 400 such as Autocad Lt.
Kind regards
Rob D
Hi All
We'd love to have your views on a SketchUp training camp or forum of some sort over in Europe somewhere. I know that sounds very vague, so please could you help firm up our ideas by filling in a quick poll?
Create and publish online surveys in minutes, and view results graphically and in real time. SurveyMonkey provides free online questionnaire and survey software.
(www.surveymonkey.com)
It's anonymous, but you can fill in your email address if you'd like to receive the results. Kind regards, Rob 
I've set up a quick survey. Just 6 questions, it's completely anonymous but you can enter your email if you'd like me to send you the results:
Create and publish online surveys in minutes, and view results graphically and in real time. SurveyMonkey provides free online questionnaire and survey software.
(www.surveymonkey.com)
Hi Jeff
I like the idea. I've been thinking about an event like this for a few years and have an offer to put on the table. East Midlands airport in the UK, accessible by rail, air and road from anywhere in the UK. By air from any EU country. Multitude of conference venues within a stones throw, or a short bus or car journey into Nottingham, Derby or Leicester. London is just 2hrs by train for sight seeing or the Eurotrain. Many hotels nearby at various budgets.
My wife has been a conference organiser and I've had lots of organisational experience and am happy to stand up and crack bad jokes in front of lots of people. Willing to either head this up or be a worker in the background if someone else steps forward. I live nearby so can get all the day to day organisation done on the ground.
In addition my wife's been involved getting sponsorship in place for this kind of event, most noticeably orange (the phone people). Obviously funding is a necessity unless we all pay to attend.
So that's an offer on the table. If anyone's interested, or if anyone lives nearby and wants to get a coffee and talk SketchUp, please PM me! Likewise if any companies reading this are interested in sponsoring such an event.
Kind regards, Rob
Hi Dave
That's a mountain of work you've got there! I've been there myself and all I can say realistically in the long term: Try to extricate yourself from the situation. Your family and day job may already be suffering, so unless you really need the money...
But, on the other hand, there may come a point where you find you have enough work to go freelance full time, and that's a different issue. On a practical level, I'd just keep a note of every hour spent in your diary. Amongst other things this prevents you under charging.
I hope the machine sells a million (and you get a royalty!)
regards
Rob
Chris
Thanks for the hint on using the xref ruby. I hadn't realised you could xref components with it too. That's made my day! 
Chris
Make sure all parts of your drawing are created as components. Go to window "outliner" and click on each component and "save as". You can then open each of these files individually to dimension them.
A further tip. If you want to dimension orthographic views, it's best to export views as dwg/dxf and reimport so that your dimension leaders snap correctly. There's a ruby somewhere which does orthographic views automatically.
regards
Rob
Hi
Complex section handrails with curve can be done (see attached). Does your handrail path contain a helix? If so, how have you constructed it?
Regards
Rob D
I agree about seeing the doctor because it could be RSI.
If you're doing exteriors, Vue Esprit is great because you don't need to worry about additional vegetation. For nteriors try KKT or Podium as suggested by others. With both of those it's the texturing and lighting that's key, so doing tutorials from arch-viz websites is essential. For speed's sake it can be better to invest in Maxwell or Cinema 4D because there's much more training, help files, pre-sets, components and materials bundled in.
Tailored training is always the best way forward. If you have bags of time, tailor your own training using forums etc. If you don't have time, or have several people in your office needing training, do a "training needs analysis" and get a freelance in to cover those topics.
Hi
Textures are often best just left alone. If you get a good photo of some gravel, taken at a similar angle to your SU scene, you can just create a ground plane in SU and paste the image onto it. Alternatively insert the image in photoshop/GIMP.
Dynamic blocks don't seem to import into SU from Autocad. Does anyone know a workaround? Any idea when this feature will be supported in SU?
Thnx
Rob
I've just been out to yet another building site where we've been forced to specify 2.5m deep trench foundations because of NHBC chapter 4.2 "Building near trees". The builder has ended up almost filling the building footprint with concrete a storey deep! Does anyone know of any other reliable source of info which could be used instead of NHBC? Has anyone in the UK / rest of world any success stories where they saved money and hassle?
Thanks
Rob
Hi all.
Once again, thanks for the insight.
I fully respect the amount of time and money any company or individual puts into their IP, and it is only right that they should protect that. 5 years research - wow! This is why I always use genuine software (which is often swimming against the tide).
I've been on a seminar arranged by the UK patent office for small business advisors, so I'm pretty clued up in the main, but it's not always the same over the pond. The Formica example is interesting but it doesn't apply IMO. They let the word become associated with something not their product. SU is SU and no-one's trying to label "sketchy" software in general as "sketchup".
Looks like the way forward is to build up the site so that G can see what I'm doing and if it's a competitor or a benefit to them. I think it'll be a benefit which is why I was surprised at their stance. Kris may have hit the nail on the head with his comment:
"and of course if you ask Google what they think, they are always 100% of the time going to say no, and protect their trademark or copyright."
In the meantime I'll keep the URL parked.
Thanks for that insight, MH. There's a lot of similarities between the two companies it seems. So the next question is: Since there's no chance my coffers could outlast Google's coffers, and since I actually want to get on amicably with Google, what are my options? Should I just start up a site and see what they do? (I was actually the one who contacted them in the first instance to check with them what their IP policy was).
Btw is MS still bigger than G? What are the current G problems?
Thanks for the help so far. That at least explains some of it. Can they do that though? If I buy a Mars bar, I can sell it on wherever and however I like, since it's my property. I can use the text "mars" to describe what it is I'm selling, because a "mars bar" is what it has colloquelly become known as. The company cannot control that. So how come Google is trying to with SketchUp? I'm merely describing the service I'm providing, and as I own my own expertise and training materials, that's none of their business as long as I don't "pass myself off" as officially Google.
Trademarks and copyright are there to protect brands from being copied. So if I tried to sell a CAD package called "Goggle Sketchy" I would expect to be shopped. Some input from Craige or Bil might be helpful on this, though I don't expect they know either.
Kris: What's a C&D?
Rob
Hi all
I noticed that at the top of the forum there's the SketchUp logo, and also the phrase "Home of the SketchUp community". I've talked to google about having a SketchUp related website and they don't seem to allow anyone to use their logo or SketchUp in the name or catch phrase. Am I doing something wrong where Coen's doing something right? I've also bought a domain name with "sketchuptraining" in it and they don't like that. Surely any site that promotes sketchup is good for them?
Any thoughts greatly appreciated,
Thanks
Rob
It seems to go away if I explode blocks in Autocad before importing into SU.
When I import an Autocad 2004 dwg architectural plan, anything that's nested within a block has jagged jumpy edges. See the walls and insulation on the attached jpg.
