[quote="tallbridgeguy"]
I liked sketchup because of Google, they stayed out of the way. quote]
Google did not stay out of the way of SU development. If anything, they were very much in the way. Its the main reason we saw many tools developed for Google Earth like building maker, integrated road views, enhanced Photo Match, Add Location (direct integration with Googles Terrain and Map servers)....all released with SU 7 and 8.
Thanks
Daniel Tal
Hello All,
Hope for the best but I think this is good news. SketchUp is getting a new lease on life after not being allowed to be developed as the community had hoped for the past 5 or 6 years. I think we will get to see SU further enhanced and moving along. The brand name is already established as is the user base.
Google could have killed it or said nothing and let SU die by lack of development which was the direction it was headed in since the release of SU 8. Instead it was sold.
Trimble is a part of the 3D mapping reality and construction industry. They have been around since 1978. If anything, acquiring SU makes it a bigger player in the A and E industry now.
Live Long and Prosper SU!
Daniel Tal
I thought I would do one of my bi-annual posts 
Attached is a rendering using the DynaSCAPE plant collection - with the exception of 1 tree that is from 3D Warehouse.
Peace
Daniel Tal
Thank you Gaieus. I think its time for a new machine. To many anomolies with this Dell. Somethings work and then they stop working. OY!!
Hello All,
I have been using the Smustard PageExlm Ruby for the past several months (including in SU 
to export and import scenes between models.
Today it has stopped working and I am not sure why. I created a seperate plugins folder containing just the PageExlm Ruby in it and still no love.
Anyone have any ideas or run into the same problem.
edit: This did not work - one thing did change. I am using a newer version of SU 8. I will uninstall and use the older version of 8 and see if that works.
Thank you,
Dan Tal
@bmike said:
How does one get a tree[d] tree into SketchUp?
I'm running Pro 7.? or 8...
No easy way. I used the OBJ plugin and got the geometry into the model but not the textures.
I use 3D trees from the warehouse for rendering and get decent results. SU 7 and 8 can handle a good amount of pollys. It's not VUE so your not going to create forests but you can get some good results.
Most of my models use 3D trees and I can render up to 2 million pollys in Podium, Shaderlight or whatever.
Having 3D trees in SketchUp to be rendered is great. I am a broken record today.
Daniel
Bump. As a landscape architect the one thing I wish I had was a tree-maker for SketchUp. Ideally, trees that can be rendered so full 3D Trees. Crossing fingers and hoping for an early Christmas
wow - thats amazing!
Quick question - if you were to import a BPM image of contours and terrain, could you generate a DEM with this?
Really amazing work. Thank you!
Daniel
Hey Gaieus
Thanks for this. I will give this a try. And you are correct they are skm files.
Thanks again
Dan Tal
Yeah, they are still in sub fodlers but they are in the Google SketchUp 7 materials folder. I've seen this before but its been years and I forgot how it was resolved.
Hello,
We just loaded SketchUp 7.1 onto a friends system. He was using SU version 5 for some reason 
Anyway, he has an extensive material library. We set the path to materials but when we they wont show up in the paintbuck. Any ideas why?
TY
Dan Tal
This Ruby is brilliant.
Hello,
I have a ruby that I use fairly often but I am not sure how I ended up with it. My ruby folder is a bit cluttered but fun.
The Ruby allows me to select geometry and select outer edges, deselect all edges, deselect all faces, etc.
Can anyone please point me in the direction of this Ruby?
Thank you
Daniel
Hello again,
Thanks for the positive reviews. Please, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at gidion311@gmail.com
Hello Alan,
First, thank you for all the models on FormFonts. Modeling would not be the same without what is offered on FormFonts. I do have some model requests but maybe that’s for another time.
Also, thank you for the heads up on the people components. I have not updated those components in about 5 years or so 
Might be time to do so now.
Thanks all,
Daniel Tal
Hello all,
Thanks for the plug, who ever started the thread. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.
Also, thank you Chris and Mike and others for the kind words.
I know many of you are advanced SketchUp users. In many cases, I come to SketchUcation to learn what the community is doing and how SketchUp is being pushed.
If it were not for SketchUcation, SketchUp would not be used in the fashion its being used. I remember all these users on the orginal SketchUp forums and searching to find everyone again. Thank you for all your help over the years!!!
If you’re a beginner or intermediate user, the book is ideal for you.
More important, the book is about process, not just modeling tools. Utilizing a workflow for your models and projects.
I hope this is ok but here is a quick overview:
Part 1 – reviews basics. Most important is the chapter on components. I talk about problem solving your SketchUp model and problem solving SketchUp
Part 2 – starts out with a simple site plan. Then you build a complex site plan , model some easy to complex site elements (benches, ped lights, steps, rails, etc..), next - model buildings and then a chapter on how to combine all 3 separate elements (site plan, custom site components and architecture) into a single model and export specific scenes.
The last chapter in part 2 reviews how to create a real world building model based on the previous tutorials. I used the Jefferson County Courthouse near my home for the tutorial. It’s all curves, windows and a glass dome.
Part 3 – Sandbox tools – I review how to use the sandbox tools to create ‘conceptual grading’. Sorry. I do not review digital elevation modeling and complex terrains (for more on this, see below).
I review how to do organic shapes and how to use From Contour and Drape to create quick, architectural buildings. Both tutorials in this chapter are based on real world projects that I worked on. One building is built; the other is in the process of being built. This is true for many of the tutorial models in the book.
Part 4 – this is a detailed section on converting your CAD drawing into a complete articulated model. I use Todd’s Ruby scripts but show a variety of methods. This is method intensive. The CAD drawings are available for download from Wiley’s web site. The book and my web site (http://www.daniel-tal.com) have a link to these files.
There are models on 3D warehouse to use with the tutorials. Some are complete (so you can check your work) others you have to complete.
The whole book is a giant tutorial .The point is not the specific model you are creating but how to learn the tools to use them for your own needs. There are work arounds that I do not cover and there are short cuts that would be faster in completing some of the tutorials. But that’s not the point – again, its about process.
Advanced SketchUp topics – I was asked not to produce an advanced SketchUp book. There were reasons for this but suffice it to say, another manuscript might (might!) be in the works in which I will go into very advanced topics based on projects and what is being done here at SketchUcation (hint, all those really amazing Ruby Scripts). Another hint - it will be all about organic modeling and digital elevation modeling as well.
Thanks – give me the feedback and I will be around to answer questions.
Also, sorry about the flicker in the animations with Shadows. They drive me nuts as well. I will be posting a new animation hopefully at the end of this weekend of a terrain model.
And yes, I am a huge fan of FormFonts models. They are clean (except for the people who import with extra layers) and they have a variety that’s ideal for site design.
Peace,
Daniel Tal
