Sketch-up

[wrmnfzy]

Help. I don't know much, if anything about Sketch-up. Upside any downside? Free vs pd versions? Any info would be greatly appreciated. I usually spend a lot of time drawing what I hope my projects will come out like.

[dusty]

Help. I don't know much, if anything about Sketch-up. Upside any downside? Free vs pd versions? Any info would be greatly appreciated. I usually spend a lot of time drawing what I hope my projects will come out like.

Don't buy SketchUp Pro until you have used the free version and know for sure that you luv it.

The Pro version is powerful but you may never need what it can do. The free version is very adequate for what most of us wood workers need. Don't get me wrong. The Pro version has a lot to offer above and beyond the free version but you know when you get there if you need more than the free version offers. The beauty of it all is that what is in the free version is also available in the pro version.

Try it. I think you'll like it.

[wrmnfzy]

I found the old WF threads on it and the 5 lessons and have down loaded same. I'll be down loading the free version and from what I've been able to see I don't know if I'd need the pro version, it appears to be above my pay grade. Thanks for the response

[emagnet]

I decided to try Sketchup and was disappointed that the free version would not let me import dxf files from my 2D Cad program. A bunch of google searching uncovered that I could download and install Sketchup Pro 7 on a free trial basis. Once the trial time expires, I am told that the product reverts to the free Sketchup 7. For this, there is a third party plugin that will import dxf files. I have no idea if all this will work as I'm still waiting for the trial license time to expire. If this is of interest to you, I'll provide a link to the third party plugin, if I can find it again.

[dusty]

I decided to try Sketchup and was disappointed that the free version would not let me import dxf files from my 2D Cad program. A bunch of google searching uncovered that I could download and install Sketchup Pro 7 on a free trial basis. Once the trial time expires, I am told that the product reverts to the free Sketchup 7. For this, there is a third party plugin that will import dxf files. I have no idea if all this will work as I'm still waiting for the trial license time to expire. If this is of interest to you, I'll provide a link to the third party plugin, if I can find it again.

This may be your answer. Autodesk has done a pretty thorough job of guarding their dwg and dxf formats.

[emagnet]

This may be your answer. Autodesk has done a pretty thorough job of guarding their dwg and dxf formats.

Dusty, if you look at that link, you'll see that it is a Pro only feature. On the free version, you can't click on "Options". That's exactly why I went through all this trouble. Sketchup looks nice but, before I invest any time learning how to use it, I need to know that I can import all my old Intellicad files.

[brad_nalor]

There's lots of plug-ins as found by digging on Google. At worst, if the plug-ins don't work, delete or redownload Sketch-up. Another company now controls Sketch-up and not sure what the future holds, but I hope the open source continues.

ACAD always played the game that if you saved a dwg from a later version and sent it to someone else who had an early ver., they could read it but not edit. That way, customers are forced to buy upgrades ($$$$) but there's free plug-ins for file dwg. edit from later versions too. I still run an old Acad 14 on a Win7 OS but in XP virtual mode... works perfect for my needs. Don't know who makes these hacks, but its common found links. It's quite different than SkUp. I'm also using the free SkUp version. I tried a third party file converter and didn't work in the freebie SkUp.

Lastly, back to SkUp- download the free RealPlayer vid program. Then you can save all the Sketch-up tutorial vids for your own library without being logged on. I use a laptop running a dual monitor so a vid open on the small laptop doesn't interefere with the view on the large monitor.

There's thousands of add-ons and others sharing drawings that you can change parts or elements to your liking, saving lots of time. Awesome product for basically nothing. Have fun

[mountain4don]

Sketchup looks cool for sketching some rough, undimensioned shapes and stuff, but can it present actual dimensioned drawings to take to the shop and build from? I have a very old version of AutoCad that I run on a very old computer that allows me to produce fully dimensioned furnature and parts and drawings for shop use. Would the free version of Sketchup do that for me?

[dusty]

Sketchup looks cool for sketching some rough, undimensioned shapes and stuff, but can it present actual dimensioned drawings to take to the shop and build from? I have a very old version of AutoCad that I run on a very old computer that allows me to produce fully dimensioned furnature and parts and drawings for shop use. Would the free version of Sketchup do that for me?

I have AutoCad 14 that I run on the one XP computer I have left. I have not used it in quite a while. It is the computer that is in my shop. I also have Sketchup loaded there.

I find that I am more inclined to use Sketchup. Yes, you can produce fully dimensioned and layered drawings using Sketchup.

[brad_nalor]

Todays super high res monitors are a big help too.

Also, no plotters needed these days for the budget minded. Scale the drawings to poster size or wall size if you wish. Each sheet is number connected and you can tape them together to make full size patterns or whatever. Probably don't need it but some fellow was offering a neat program called 'Big Picture' and is great for printing full size scaled drawings.