@smicha said:

Here is my solution - works prefect for me:

1. Define new shortcuts:
   F5 - parallel view. Pressing F5 twice will switch from parallel to perspective.
   Alt+1 - top view (I also have defined Alt+2 for bottom, and so on up to Alt+6)
   Z - zoom extents - it is defined as ctr+shift+e by default, but I use this function too often. So simpler Z works perfect.
2. Now select your object among many in your model. Hit F5 for parallel view, then alt+1 for top view and finally Z for zooming on your selected object.

Hope it helps.

smicha, using this method, the views are still intermittent, but I really like these shortcuts! Thanks! I will use these heavily!

@dave r said:

Odd. It was working consistently on the model I had open at the time I wrote it. I opened a different one and the behavior is different.

So what I originally suggested and then deleted will work. Select something in the area you're looking at, switch to the Top view, right click on the selection and choose Zoom Extents from the Context menu. If nothing else it'll get you close.

Yah, it's weird and very sporadic. Seems the closer I am to the middle of the model, the better it works. Anything further out is a gamble.

Oh well, not a deal breaker. I just thought there was a parameter I was missing somewhere.

@dave r said:

The Top view is set up to put the model at the center of the drawing space unless you tell it otherwise. Before you select the top view, select something at the location you're working, switch to top view and the camera should center over the selection.

That doesn't work for me. I highlight an object within my group, hit the top view button, and I get put in the middle of the model again. Sometimes it does actually work, though. I just can't replicate it. It seems totally sporadic.

I've been using Sketchup off and on for a few years and I have a pretty firm grasp on the methodology such that I can create huge conveyor system models without much issue, packed full of lovely groups and components and whatnot (never any loose geometry, can't have that).

Anyway, one thing I have never been able to find a solution for is the following:

When I am focused in on a small part of a large model, and I want to see the top view of just that area, I would think that if I hit the "top" camera view button would do so. But when I hit that button, I'm sent off to a similar sized area in the middle of my model (hundreds of feet away). Then I have to scroll-zoom out and pan over like mad to get back to the area in which I was just working.

There has to be an easy solution to this. Is there?

@bmike said:

@tk0001 said:

Layout seems so completely devoid of help, it's frustrating.

I have a Layout file that I want to print out on a letter size sheet. It's an E size document. I printed it out before with no issues, but now it only wants to plot full scale (so I only get the top left corner of the layout). Every imaging software that I've ever seen has a "scale to fit paper size" option, but I don't see one for Layout, and all attempts to get online help assumes I'm looking for Sketchup, not Layout, help.

export from layout to pdf.
print to any size with acrobat, preview, or whatever.

Thanks. That must have what I did before. I can't believe there is no place to select print to scale in Layout.

Layout seems so completely devoid of help, it's frustrating.

I have a Layout file that I want to print out on a letter size sheet. It's an E size document. I printed it out before with no issues, but now it only wants to plot full scale (so I only get the top left corner of the layout). Every imaging software that I've ever seen has a "scale to fit paper size" option, but I don't see one for Layout, and all attempts to get online help assumes I'm looking for Sketchup, not Layout, help.

@jarynzlesa said:

nice project
does your customers prefer renders than drawings? I am talking about design not about product.

This is actually something I did on my own. I would like to use it as a marketing tool, to show my customer the potential of using me for 3D work. Currently I only do 2D work for this customer.

So, I'm open-ended. This is not something I designed out of the blue. It's a typical sorting area that exists in several facilities, in different incarnations. And this is just a very small part of a much larger system. What I would like to sell them is the idea that instead of (or in addition to) 2D engineering drawings, they can also get 3D representations of their systems which would help in streamlining integration and reducing future change orders. Basically, I want them to utilize me to improve their engineering quality overall, rather than just being a part of it.

In the galleries here, I've seen Sketchup used in a lot of architectural applications, but there are also some of us who use it in the industrial world. I created this small 6-way manual sorting area for a parcel sorting facility.

I'm a novice when it comes to lighting and rendering, so I would appreciate any input you may have. I rendered these using Podium.

I would love to know what you think.

I am now returning to SU after a bit of a hiatus. I wish I could generate money from doing SU full-time, but alas, the industry in which I work is still an AutoCAD world.

I have a model which is a parcel sorting facility. It's a pretty large facility, but the geometry within it is pretty simple. I have no "loose" geometry - everything within my model belongs in a group and on a layer. The model is 15MB. It contains 950 Groups, 457 Component Definitions, and 38 Layers. There are 37,391 Component Instances.

When I worked on this model pretty heavily before (about 5 months ago), I THOUGHT I had discovered a setting which would enable SU to run faster. But now, it seems to be taking a long time for SU to process nearly every command. For instance, SU "hesitates" when I copy a simple component. I click on it, and it takes about 4 seconds before the component highlights. If I escape out, it takes another 4 seconds to do so.

Shadows are turned off, and the model performs the same whether I have textures turned on or off.

I'm willing to believe it's a computer issue, but I want to try everything before trolling Amazon for a new one. Any suggestions would be most appreciated.

ETA: I can't remember what the setting was that I discovered. I'll write it down this time, promise.

Yeah, I figured it must be something on my end, but it's maddening when it happens. I'm still getting my model back to where it was two days ago.

I've resolved to shut down SketchUp after I'm finished for the day. Guess I should reboot my computer every once in awhile, too.

..whenever Windows 7 automatically restarts overnight to make updates? This has happened to me before, and I don't understand.

I made huge progress on my model yesterday, saved all throughout the day. Finished up, saved, then put my computer into sleep mode. This morning I turned on my computer and saw it had automatically restarted overnight. Opened up my model and saw a version from 3 days ago. I backed out, and opened up the backup version. Same thing. Then I opened up the Autosave version. Same thing. Now I have to waste a day just putting things back to where they were last night when I finished. I am IRATE.

I see absolutely no practical purpose for this, and I haven't seen anyone say that I need to save and COMPLETELY shut down SketchUp before finishing for the night. I guess I will from now on (plus save the model to a thumb drive, just to be sure).

Is this just one of those quirky things that sometimes happens, or is there some idiotic setting somewhere that I am unaware of?

Here's the other side of the building.

@mitcorb said:

If you did those chutes yourself, you are a fast learner. That is no mean feat.
Impressive model.

Thank you very much!

Yes, I did do those chutes myself. Everything in the model was created by me. Those spiraling concave chutes were by far the most challenging components I've done so far. I'm pleased with how they turned out.

Thanks again for the kind words.

Messing around with Podium, putting together the proposal. I plan on adding these images to it as a sampling of what is possible. By the way, there are no supports and everything is floating in the air. This is on purpose, since this is a functional layout, with the intent of finding interference, so supports aren't necessary. This is also why every detail hasn't been included.

@d12dozr said:

It might be a better day when you discover LMB + scroll wheel = Pan as well

I just tried it. Didn't work.

ETA: Whoops, yes it does.

This is the greatest day of my life.

Does anyone know if SU Viewer would run resonably well on an iPad?

This would be an immense help for those of us using SU in industrial applications. Bringing an iPad to a job site where you can bring up a display of the model and show installers would be extremely helpful. And cool.

The day I discovered SHIFT + pressing the scroll wheel = pan was a good day.

@gaieus said:

@tk0001 said:

Although I still can't wait to see what it would look like textured with just paint and rendered.

Then get stated and hurry up!

Believe you me, if I could start today I would. They just need to give me the project and I'm off!

@gaieus said:

Well, I am sure you can finish the job with SU. Having seen your other models, this one does not really look like much different.

Since your later render does not necessarily include difficult texturing ("just" - or mostly - some shiny paints), I am sure it won't be too hard to achieve the results either.

This is a relief to hear. Thanks very much for the assistance.

Yes, the texturing will almost entirely consist of shiny paints. That's primarily why I haven't bothered with texturing and rendering up to this point. This is an industrial application, so there's no need to get complicated with texturing.

Although I still can't wait to see what it would look like textured with just paint and rendered.

@gaieus said:

BOTH Twiight and Podium are integrated into SU therefore have the memory limitation.

I do not suggest either (in fact, I should be unbiased here as an admin ), only Pete's idea made me think.

You can download and install the trial version of both and with some limitations (this mainly means size limit at export), can test both. They both have quite competitive prices, too.

Ah, understood.

I have downloaded the trial version of Podium and have tinkered with it, thus my leanings toward it. But before taking on this task (if I'm fortunate enough to win the job), I need to know if there exists software that can do what I need within SketchUp so that I can complete the entire job and not just 99% of it. So I ask the experts who have more applicable experience with the rendering software in question.