'An embarrassingly small new feature set, not sure how they'll justify the upgrade price this time'

Well maybe it's just me.....but I'm not even mildly tempted

@utiler said:

Glad to hear it works for you, Stu. What does it cost?

So what are you using it for? Do you integrate it into SU at all?

Hi Andrew...long time.....

Using it for 2D landscape design drafting...no integration with SU apart from DWG export...but I'm fine with that.

I think your first question is answered below

And SRX...yes had a look at NanoCAD....was not impressed with the UI....I like nice icons...shallow I know...but if you have to hit them a zillion times a day its better if they appeal, visually.....and more importantly, are clear.

I know, another free CAD program....but this one ticks all the boxes for me.

301 Moved Permanently

(www.3ds.com)

Put together by Dassault, the SolidWorks people it is free to use after a 30 day trial upon registration [registration can be a bit glitchy].

A very nice UI and VERY similar, from my experience, to ACAD LT.

I've tried a few others including DoubleCAD, and prefer it to ProgeCAD which I was happy to buy but was put off by the UI.

Stu

Cant find any mention of this...but I'll be surprised if it hasnt come up before...but anyway

https://www.autocadws.com/

A free, cloud based iPad/iPhone, Android app....imports Dwg files with a basic but useful set of tools.

Thanks Tig and Fiona,

As I suspected the free stuff is pretty scratchy, if it works at all... but I did find Able2Extract
http://www.investintech.com/downloads.htm
Does a good job, converts to DWG as well as DXF, and its possible to set units, line width and scale.

For a $100 it seems reasonable value

Edit:....And thanks Rich and All for the links below

I think this is probably wishful thinking....does something like this exist?

At the moment I'm using a version of AutoCad that was released before PDFs were even dreamed of

I probably should buy a version of IntelliCad but if there is actually a free converter [rather than a trial version] I would be happy with that.

Thanks Guys

Thanks Tig,

Partial selecting would certainly help...but it does seem like a recent problem....Ive been using this function constantly since it was first introduced way back in version? without much trouble.

Hi Guys,
For some reason I am having a problem with the 'Intersect With Model' command.
I am using the free version of SU 7 and until recently it worked fine....its a command I use frequently and is essential in my work flow.
Im finding a reasonably complex intersection just hangs the model and even a simple intersection of a couple of planes takes ages.
I cant really figure what's happening....a video card playing up?.....a RAM problem?.......I havent noticed any other problems with my computer.
Any suggestions appreciated

@jsteacy said:

Very convincing pebbles, I assume you modeled a few then used the fur plugin to distribute them. what we're the settings you used on the fur plugin? Also it looks like (but hard to tell) you used a pebble texture underneath the modeled ones to cut down on the amount of modeled pebbles, smart, I'm curious what this would look like farther away as part of a whole house shot to see if it's still as convincing (plus I don't think many renders would be so close to the pebbles).

Thanks, yes, I used three modeled pebbbles [with a slight sheen in Twilight] as the base component.
There is a pebble texture underneath, as insurance, but I can barely see it.
This image is about a 50% crop of the original, so the area covered wasnt extensive.
Even though I only used 100 instances to a square metre the rendering time ramps up considerably as each individual pebble has to be rendered.
So, generally, something like this is useful for close up shots...or maybe larger areas if you have plenty of time and a really fast computer.

Twilight render...'fur' plugin...FotoSketcher, post processing

I have to agree with EarthMover on most points.....a bit buggy [understandable]...very easy to crash with a lot of Pngs loaded.....impossible to stop rendering... short of pulling the plug ......and I cant get any bumping to work.
It needs more control over light....the images are coming out a bit washed out.
But I do LOVE the sky and clouds settings...and it renders Pngs well [as long as there arent too many of them]
I cant imagine I would forsake Twilight for this...even a non buggy version....but it might give Podium a scare if the price is similar and with a roughly similar UI.
Tom...I havent tried Twilight recently....and I wouldnt be happy if there was any problem with this loaded.

Thanks for that John.

I still think you would be hard pressed to put forward a good case for upgrading.... to SketchUpers who dont use GE or Layout...[and these seem to be in the majority in this thread]
The general consensus seems to be that there hasnt been a lot of signifigant development in 3D modeling....which is really the core of SketchUp.

This is pretty much a Google upgrade rather than a SketchUp upgrade with most of their headline changes revolving around GE.

Ive use SU since V2 and I use it daily. I got really really angry when @Last sold out and the prediction then was that it would pretty much become a GE tool....and we werent wrong!.

But these days Im no longer emotionally involved....and my expectations are quite low [and Google hasnt done anything to change this attitude]

From my point of view there is nothing in this upgrade thats worth paying money for...I dont use Layout [possibly should look at it again though, sometime]...I dont give a stuff about GE...and I can live with the occasional toolbar explosion.

I will continue to use V7 Free [and V6 Pro for DWG export].

You cant help being cynical about the way Google released the free version of SU with most of the Pro power....waited a few years to get lots of converts....and then they started taking out bits like DWG import..and now the North orientation....which commercial users pretty much need.

Jeff in Windows, in the free version, the 'Set North Tool' is greyed out ['Pro Only']

This is a tool I use constantly when Im rendering to set up the right lighting....when dead accurate north orientation isnt important.

@unknownuser said:

Hmm. North orientation is still there and I really like the new implementation of it.

Jeff, to be more specific.....the 'Set North Tool'

Thanks TIG Yes, thats soooo intuitive...making it automatic, as in the previous versions, was just way too easy...

@honoluludesktop said:

Yes, I too with a 3d party plugin, it would not divide neatly into two columns on the left, so I placed them elsewhere.

Yeah Ive had to do that as well, while actually turning off the tool bars I use less frequently.....otherwise, with them all loaded along the top, my SU screen will look more like a letterbox.

This must have been picked up by the beta testers.....I'd love to know why it wasnt fixed.

I'm having a problem setting up my Ruby tool bars in V8.

I cant seem to shape the toolbars vertically as would happen in V7 etc. but rather they stay horizontal or in rows of four tools.

See image

Thanks Guys.

"You might want to down the six-pack of Corona's before that storm hits though".......Exactly!!...I dont know what that guy's doing with a bottle of water?

It's been some little time since I've posted here...so, well, why not?

All rendered with Twilight and the first two with a light FotoSketcher filter after.