So, do most of you use sketch up for your designs?

[Spectric]

I'm mildly jealous, I have to resort to excel solver or clunky VBA macros these days.

Hi The VBA programing language may not be in the same league as a proper compiled language like C or Pascal but it can be very helpful when handling large CSV files. I have a VBA script that imports a navigation CSV file from a GPS in BNG format, converts to WGS84 Lat and Lon before using the OSGB15 conversion to deliver a much more accurate BNG location on a map.

 

[Jelly]

Hi The VBA programing language may not be in the same league as a proper compiled language like C or Pascal but it can be very helpful when handling large CSV files. I have a VBA script that imports a navigation CSV file from a GPS in BNG format, converts to WGS84 Lat and Lon before using the OSGB15 conversion to deliver a much more accurate BNG location on a map.

Curiously enough, it was doing the opposite transformation which was the first thing I used VBA for...

A friend who work in computing described VBA as

"Rarely the best solution, but often a fast and adequate one... The expanding foam of programming languages if you will."​

​

Which sums it up nicely, it's often a practical solution for me but I'd much rather use one of the languages which has a well documented, dedicated solver libraries for simultaneous and differential equations, and numerical methods.

 

[Spectric]

A good way of describing it, it is apart from Delphi the only OOP language I use, most of my programing was in control systems, power supplies and powertrain where C is the language of choice for embeded and firmware uses especially when you need safe C certification.

 

[galleywood]

Does anyone feel qualified to make a SketchUp guide 'sticky'?

 

[pe2dave]

Does anyone feel qualified to make a SketchUp guide 'sticky'?

A concern with this idea, good though it is.
If you sift the youtube examples, you'll find them out of date (version) with the current offering.

I'm guessing with the rate of development, SU will have many changes, so any guide must
make it clear this is for revision x.y for it to stand a chance?
(Just my experience of using SU examples / tutorials)

 

[billw]

It would be easy(ier) to do for SU Make since that's no longer being updated. I find it so much easier to use than the web based version too.

 

[Sean33]

Thanks Jonm, i will have a go at that

 

[Sean33]

I use a Late 2009 iMac (also a photgrapher) and am using SU Make 2017. Are you setting the SU preferences? This is a global setting, and I have never changed it since I installed SU.

View attachment 96149

To be honest with you i can't even find how to download make 17 version, complete technophobe when it comes to this so been playing with SU free, continually change to mm but always reverts to inches, drives me mad!

 

[billw]

To be honest with you i can't even find how to download make 17 version, complete technophobe when it comes to this so been playing with SU free, continually change to mm but always reverts to inches, drives me mad!

https://help.sketchup.com/en/downloading-older-versions

 

[billw]

Also, you can change the measurements in settings so it always opens in mm. I'm sure someone posted a link to a video walking you through the exact steps.

 

[Sean33]

https://help.sketchup.com/en/downloading-older-versions

thanks billw, much appreciated

 

[Sean33]

H

https://help.sketchup.com/en/downloading-older-versions

hi Bill, did i mention that i am rather a technophobe, clicked on the link, downloaded but seems to be sketch up pro and a free 30 day trial, probably me being stupid but does that sound right to you ?

 

[DBT85]

The basics required for sketchup woodworking should be fairly standard no matter the version.

 

[billw]

H

hi Bill, did i mention that i am rather a technophobe, clicked on the link, downloaded but seems to be sketch up pro and a free 30 day trial, probably me being stupid but does that sound right to you ?

There's three sections on the page, SketchUp Pro 2020 at the top, then Sketchup Pro 2019, then Sketchup Make 2017 - it's the last one you need (choose either PC or Mac depending on what you use).

 

[MikeK]

H

hi Bill, did i mention that i am rather a technophobe, clicked on the link, downloaded but seems to be sketch up pro and a free 30 day trial, probably me being stupid but does that sound right to you ?

It's been a while since I downloaded it, but I think you have the pro version for 30 days. After the 30-day period ends, it reverts to the free version automatically. You don't have to do anything different, but you will lose access to any of the features that are unique to the pro version. I have no idea what those differences are, since I only use the free version.

 

[SamTheJarvis]

I can only think in sketchup these days. The ability to tweak a design, adjust component dimensions and adjust colours etc. on the fly is too handy for the design workflow. Quicker iteration = better product. Plus modelling parts often follows a similar process as to how they would be built, at least with regards to machine processes, so it almost serves as a dry-run to building it (sometimes even in the specific order of machine operations).

 

[Sean33]

There's three sections on the page, SketchUp Pro 2020 at the top, then Sketchup Pro 2019, then Sketchup Make 2017 - it's the last one you need (choose either PC or Mac depending on what you use).

Hi Bill, i did click on the bottom one the 2017 version, MikeK has posted an interesting point that maybe i have the pro version for 30 days, then it'll revert to the make 17, hopefully it will and thanks for the link as i spent a good few hours trying to find it !

 

[Sean33]

It's been a while since I downloaded it, but I think you have the pro version for 30 days. After the 30-day period ends, it reverts to the free version automatically. You don't have to do anything different, but you will lose access to any of the features that are unique to the pro version. I have no idea what those differences are, since I only use the free version.

Hi MikeK, thanks for this, ill tinker with it and see what happens in 30 days.

 

[billw]

Hi Bill, i did click on the bottom one the 2017 version, MikeK has posted an interesting point that maybe i have the pro version for 30 days, then it'll revert to the make 17, hopefully it will and thanks for the link as i spent a good few hours trying to find it !

Ah, apologies I don't recall that happening when I got mine but heyho! I think the big difference for me was that 2017 is software downloaded to your PC, and the newer versions are web-based. Now I'm quite probably wrong about this, but locally bases software seems to be much easier to control (e.g. keystrokes and combinations) than web-based software that relies on how keystrokes are interpreted by a browser.

I tried using the "modern" version of SU but when I got the downloaded version I found it way easier to use.

 

[J-G]

I have both 2017 and 2014 installed and, as far as I can tell, 2014 is the last version that is truly 'Free' to use and I find easier - not that I've done a lot in 2017, I'm just very comfortable with 2014.

2017 was installed at the behest of a.n.other because he wanted a file in that format but in fact 2017 can read 2014 files and 2017 can 'save as' a 2014 version so there is no issue with compatibility and file transfer. The only thing that occasionally flags up an irritation is that the 3D warehouse no longer supports 2014 so you need to jump through a hoop to find .dae format files if you need to use images created by someone else to speed up a project where your own design or drawing would take longer than the effort warrants. I've used about 5 such files over the past 4 years.