Sketchup Shorts

PurpLev said:

Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)

I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.

This tutorial is one of many short - tip/tool specific - tutorials that can help people get around Sketchup and have an easier time around.

Zoom and Center ALL

Sometimes you add a new component to your model (or you're working inside a small part (zoomed in)) and want to see the "whole picture" zoomed across the entire screen, and centered.

This is possible using the 'camera-zoom-extent' feature. click the zoom-extents button

or press SHIFT+Z (this is the default hotkey) and Sketchup will zoom and fit everything in your model into view and center it across your screen:

Zooming and Centering Specific Parts in your Model

Sometimes you want to zoom and center on a specific piece in your model (a specific component, or a specific surface/line/arc/circle/etc). Sketchup can do that too.

Select the part you want to zoom and center upon (in this example, it's the circle for the hole):

right(ctrl for mac)-click on it, and select "zoom-extent", it will zoom and fit that part in the center of your screen:

The later zooming technique is referred to as 'edit-zoom-extent' and can be assigned to a hotkey of your liking- more about that in a later tutorial.

Click to expand...

PurpLev said:

Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)

I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.

This tutorial is one of many short - tip/tool specific - tutorials that can help people get around Sketchup and have an easier time around.

Zoom and Center ALL

Sometimes you add a new component to your model (or you're working inside a small part (zoomed in)) and want to see the "whole picture" zoomed across the entire screen, and centered.

This is possible using the 'camera-zoom-extent' feature. click the zoom-extents button

or press SHIFT+Z (this is the default hotkey) and Sketchup will zoom and fit everything in your model into view and center it across your screen:

Zooming and Centering Specific Parts in your Model

Sometimes you want to zoom and center on a specific piece in your model (a specific component, or a specific surface/line/arc/circle/etc). Sketchup can do that too.

Select the part you want to zoom and center upon (in this example, it's the circle for the hole):

right(ctrl for mac)-click on it, and select "zoom-extent", it will zoom and fit that part in the center of your screen:

The later zooming technique is referred to as 'edit-zoom-extent' and can be assigned to a hotkey of your liking- more about that in a later tutorial.

Click to expand...

PurpLev said:

Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)

I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.

This tutorial is one of many short - tip/tool specific - tutorials that can help people get around Sketchup and have an easier time around.

Zoom and Center ALL

Sometimes you add a new component to your model (or you're working inside a small part (zoomed in)) and want to see the "whole picture" zoomed across the entire screen, and centered.

This is possible using the 'camera-zoom-extent' feature. click the zoom-extents button

or press SHIFT+Z (this is the default hotkey) and Sketchup will zoom and fit everything in your model into view and center it across your screen:

Zooming and Centering Specific Parts in your Model

Sometimes you want to zoom and center on a specific piece in your model (a specific component, or a specific surface/line/arc/circle/etc). Sketchup can do that too.

Select the part you want to zoom and center upon (in this example, it's the circle for the hole):

right(ctrl for mac)-click on it, and select "zoom-extent", it will zoom and fit that part in the center of your screen:

The later zooming technique is referred to as 'edit-zoom-extent' and can be assigned to a hotkey of your liking- more about that in a later tutorial.

Click to expand...

PurpLev said:

Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)

I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.

This tutorial is one of many short - tip/tool specific - tutorials that can help people get around Sketchup and have an easier time around.

Zoom and Center ALL

Sometimes you add a new component to your model (or you're working inside a small part (zoomed in)) and want to see the "whole picture" zoomed across the entire screen, and centered.

This is possible using the 'camera-zoom-extent' feature. click the zoom-extents button

or press SHIFT+Z (this is the default hotkey) and Sketchup will zoom and fit everything in your model into view and center it across your screen:

Zooming and Centering Specific Parts in your Model

Sometimes you want to zoom and center on a specific piece in your model (a specific component, or a specific surface/line/arc/circle/etc). Sketchup can do that too.

Select the part you want to zoom and center upon (in this example, it's the circle for the hole):

right(ctrl for mac)-click on it, and select "zoom-extent", it will zoom and fit that part in the center of your screen:

The later zooming technique is referred to as 'edit-zoom-extent' and can be assigned to a hotkey of your liking- more about that in a later tutorial.

Click to expand...

PurpLev said:

Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)

I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.

This tutorial is one of many short - tip/tool specific - tutorials that can help people get around Sketchup and have an easier time around.

Zoom and Center ALL

Sometimes you add a new component to your model (or you're working inside a small part (zoomed in)) and want to see the "whole picture" zoomed across the entire screen, and centered.

This is possible using the 'camera-zoom-extent' feature. click the zoom-extents button

or press SHIFT+Z (this is the default hotkey) and Sketchup will zoom and fit everything in your model into view and center it across your screen:

Zooming and Centering Specific Parts in your Model

Sometimes you want to zoom and center on a specific piece in your model (a specific component, or a specific surface/line/arc/circle/etc). Sketchup can do that too.

Select the part you want to zoom and center upon (in this example, it's the circle for the hole):

right(ctrl for mac)-click on it, and select "zoom-extent", it will zoom and fit that part in the center of your screen:

The later zooming technique is referred to as 'edit-zoom-extent' and can be assigned to a hotkey of your liking- more about that in a later tutorial.

Click to expand...

PurpLev said:

Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)

I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.

This tutorial is one of many short - tip/tool specific - tutorials that can help people get around Sketchup and have an easier time around.

Zoom and Center ALL

Sometimes you add a new component to your model (or you're working inside a small part (zoomed in)) and want to see the "whole picture" zoomed across the entire screen, and centered.

This is possible using the 'camera-zoom-extent' feature. click the zoom-extents button

or press SHIFT+Z (this is the default hotkey) and Sketchup will zoom and fit everything in your model into view and center it across your screen:

Zooming and Centering Specific Parts in your Model

Sometimes you want to zoom and center on a specific piece in your model (a specific component, or a specific surface/line/arc/circle/etc). Sketchup can do that too.

Select the part you want to zoom and center upon (in this example, it's the circle for the hole):

right(ctrl for mac)-click on it, and select "zoom-extent", it will zoom and fit that part in the center of your screen:

The later zooming technique is referred to as 'edit-zoom-extent' and can be assigned to a hotkey of your liking- more about that in a later tutorial.

Click to expand...

PurpLev said:

Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)

I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.

This tutorial is one of many short - tip/tool specific - tutorials that can help people get around Sketchup and have an easier time around.

Zoom and Center ALL

Sometimes you add a new component to your model (or you're working inside a small part (zoomed in)) and want to see the "whole picture" zoomed across the entire screen, and centered.

This is possible using the 'camera-zoom-extent' feature. click the zoom-extents button

or press SHIFT+Z (this is the default hotkey) and Sketchup will zoom and fit everything in your model into view and center it across your screen:

Zooming and Centering Specific Parts in your Model

Sometimes you want to zoom and center on a specific piece in your model (a specific component, or a specific surface/line/arc/circle/etc). Sketchup can do that too.

Select the part you want to zoom and center upon (in this example, it's the circle for the hole):

right(ctrl for mac)-click on it, and select "zoom-extent", it will zoom and fit that part in the center of your screen:

The later zooming technique is referred to as 'edit-zoom-extent' and can be assigned to a hotkey of your liking- more about that in a later tutorial.

Click to expand...

PurpLev said:

Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)

I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.

This tutorial is one of many short - tip/tool specific - tutorials that can help people get around Sketchup and have an easier time around.

Zoom and Center ALL

Sometimes you add a new component to your model (or you're working inside a small part (zoomed in)) and want to see the "whole picture" zoomed across the entire screen, and centered.

This is possible using the 'camera-zoom-extent' feature. click the zoom-extents button

or press SHIFT+Z (this is the default hotkey) and Sketchup will zoom and fit everything in your model into view and center it across your screen:

Zooming and Centering Specific Parts in your Model

Sometimes you want to zoom and center on a specific piece in your model (a specific component, or a specific surface/line/arc/circle/etc). Sketchup can do that too.

Select the part you want to zoom and center upon (in this example, it's the circle for the hole):

right(ctrl for mac)-click on it, and select "zoom-extent", it will zoom and fit that part in the center of your screen:

The later zooming technique is referred to as 'edit-zoom-extent' and can be assigned to a hotkey of your liking- more about that in a later tutorial.

Click to expand...

PurpLev said:

Zoom-Zoom (and Keeping it dialed in)

I see a lot of great Sketchup tutorials online (here and there), and while they do discuss different techniques, tools and what not - you really have to follow through from start to end, and go along a somewhat complex path to get the hang of things. one more thing - while on that road - one's eyes are focused on the end result, and sometimes one can miss the fantastic little tips along the way.

This tutorial is one of many short - tip/tool specific - tutorials that can help people get around Sketchup and have an easier time around.

Zoom and Center ALL

Sometimes you add a new component to your model (or you're working inside a small part (zoomed in)) and want to see the "whole picture" zoomed across the entire screen, and centered.

This is possible using the 'camera-zoom-extent' feature. click the zoom-extents button

or press SHIFT+Z (this is the default hotkey) and Sketchup will zoom and fit everything in your model into view and center it across your screen:

Zooming and Centering Specific Parts in your Model

Sometimes you want to zoom and center on a specific piece in your model (a specific component, or a specific surface/line/arc/circle/etc). Sketchup can do that too.

Select the part you want to zoom and center upon (in this example, it's the circle for the hole):

right(ctrl for mac)-click on it, and select "zoom-extent", it will zoom and fit that part in the center of your screen:

The later zooming technique is referred to as 'edit-zoom-extent' and can be assigned to a hotkey of your liking- more about that in a later tutorial.

Click to expand...

PurpLev said:

Outliner - Component Selection - Anywhere, Anytime

Is there an easier way to select components/groups that are behind another geometry? or inside one?
Is there a way to transfer a component from one group to another?

Yes there is. Welcome the Outliner window.

This tutorial refers to components in your model, but in this case, groups behave in the exact same manner.

If not yet visible, click "Window → Outliner" to see this window in Sketchup.

The Outliner window shows you a list of all components and groups in your model in a tree view - meaning, each sub component is shown within it's container (parent) component/group so that it's easy to make the parts that make the whole (think legs and top components within a table component/group)

One thing that is convenient with using the Outliner window, is that you can select components and sub components directly - without having to visually "aim" and clicking them - simply click the component name in the Outliner window, and it will be selected - even if it's inside a different component/group. Double click it in the Outliner Window - and you're in Component Edit mode! in a Snap!

Another powerful usage of the Outliner window is the ability to move sub-components from one group to another.

As shown in the following picture, the label on this model is a component within the model's parent component. if you move the model, the label moves with it (as it is contained within it and is part of it):

By selecting the label sub-component and dragging it outside the model's component in the Outliner Window we are literally taking it out of the model's component, and making it a free stand-alone component, if we will now move the model's component - the label will not move with it as it is no longer part of the model's component:

This way you can easily navigate through your components (another great excuse/reason to use components in Sketchup) and sub components, without having to rely on your angle of view, hiding other components that are in the way, or having to "copy-paste" with exact positioning to move components from one container to another.

Click to expand...

PurpLev said:

Outliner - Component Selection - Anywhere, Anytime

Is there an easier way to select components/groups that are behind another geometry? or inside one?
Is there a way to transfer a component from one group to another?

Yes there is. Welcome the Outliner window.

This tutorial refers to components in your model, but in this case, groups behave in the exact same manner.

If not yet visible, click "Window → Outliner" to see this window in Sketchup.

The Outliner window shows you a list of all components and groups in your model in a tree view - meaning, each sub component is shown within it's container (parent) component/group so that it's easy to make the parts that make the whole (think legs and top components within a table component/group)

One thing that is convenient with using the Outliner window, is that you can select components and sub components directly - without having to visually "aim" and clicking them - simply click the component name in the Outliner window, and it will be selected - even if it's inside a different component/group. Double click it in the Outliner Window - and you're in Component Edit mode! in a Snap!

Another powerful usage of the Outliner window is the ability to move sub-components from one group to another.

As shown in the following picture, the label on this model is a component within the model's parent component. if you move the model, the label moves with it (as it is contained within it and is part of it):

By selecting the label sub-component and dragging it outside the model's component in the Outliner Window we are literally taking it out of the model's component, and making it a free stand-alone component, if we will now move the model's component - the label will not move with it as it is no longer part of the model's component:

This way you can easily navigate through your components (another great excuse/reason to use components in Sketchup) and sub components, without having to rely on your angle of view, hiding other components that are in the way, or having to "copy-paste" with exact positioning to move components from one container to another.

Click to expand...

PurpLev said:

Outliner - Component Selection - Anywhere, Anytime

Is there an easier way to select components/groups that are behind another geometry? or inside one?
Is there a way to transfer a component from one group to another?

Yes there is. Welcome the Outliner window.

This tutorial refers to components in your model, but in this case, groups behave in the exact same manner.

If not yet visible, click "Window → Outliner" to see this window in Sketchup.

The Outliner window shows you a list of all components and groups in your model in a tree view - meaning, each sub component is shown within it's container (parent) component/group so that it's easy to make the parts that make the whole (think legs and top components within a table component/group)

One thing that is convenient with using the Outliner window, is that you can select components and sub components directly - without having to visually "aim" and clicking them - simply click the component name in the Outliner window, and it will be selected - even if it's inside a different component/group. Double click it in the Outliner Window - and you're in Component Edit mode! in a Snap!

Another powerful usage of the Outliner window is the ability to move sub-components from one group to another.

As shown in the following picture, the label on this model is a component within the model's parent component. if you move the model, the label moves with it (as it is contained within it and is part of it):

By selecting the label sub-component and dragging it outside the model's component in the Outliner Window we are literally taking it out of the model's component, and making it a free stand-alone component, if we will now move the model's component - the label will not move with it as it is no longer part of the model's component:

This way you can easily navigate through your components (another great excuse/reason to use components in Sketchup) and sub components, without having to rely on your angle of view, hiding other components that are in the way, or having to "copy-paste" with exact positioning to move components from one container to another.

Click to expand...

PurpLev said:

Going to the Lumberyard - Virtually

so you wanted to use specific materials in your Sketchup project? exotic/local lumber? metals? leather? other?

I saw this subject raised in one of DaveR's latest blogs, and it's a fairly simple thing to do in Sketchup. You can use any material you so desire in sketchup, but first, we need to 'make' that material.

Creating new Materials in Sketchup (Using live materials as source)

1. get your material 'source' - this can be any photo - either from your digital camera, or do an online search for your desired material and look for a photo that resembles what you want it to look like, in this example, I've googled 'birdseye maple':

I copied the one that I liked (I dragged it to my desktop, but you could also right(ctrl for mac)-click and do "save as") to my desktop. and then opened Sketchup.

In Sketchup I made a simple box for this example, and opened the paint palette window (paint bucket tool). I then selected my wood folder (or any other folder you might want to place your material into for organization purposes) and selected color->new Texture:

A window will open asking you for the source image/photo for this new material:

simply browse and select the material photo you've downloaded to your desktop.

Sketchup will ask you to confirm/modify the size of the new texture - you could leave this as is, or modify it and resize it as you see fit (experience will tell you what and how you'd want to modify this) and also prompt you for the name of the material - in this case, I'll call it Birdseye Maple … seems so fit.

you can now select a face, and use the new material to paint it with:

As Simple As That.

PS you can also reposition the texture after you've applied it to a face/geometry, and resize it per face.

Click to expand...

PurpLev said:

Going to the Lumberyard - Virtually

so you wanted to use specific materials in your Sketchup project? exotic/local lumber? metals? leather? other?

I saw this subject raised in one of DaveR's latest blogs, and it's a fairly simple thing to do in Sketchup. You can use any material you so desire in sketchup, but first, we need to 'make' that material.

Creating new Materials in Sketchup (Using live materials as source)

1. get your material 'source' - this can be any photo - either from your digital camera, or do an online search for your desired material and look for a photo that resembles what you want it to look like, in this example, I've googled 'birdseye maple':

I copied the one that I liked (I dragged it to my desktop, but you could also right(ctrl for mac)-click and do "save as") to my desktop. and then opened Sketchup.

In Sketchup I made a simple box for this example, and opened the paint palette window (paint bucket tool). I then selected my wood folder (or any other folder you might want to place your material into for organization purposes) and selected color->new Texture:

A window will open asking you for the source image/photo for this new material:

simply browse and select the material photo you've downloaded to your desktop.

Sketchup will ask you to confirm/modify the size of the new texture - you could leave this as is, or modify it and resize it as you see fit (experience will tell you what and how you'd want to modify this) and also prompt you for the name of the material - in this case, I'll call it Birdseye Maple … seems so fit.

you can now select a face, and use the new material to paint it with:

As Simple As That.

PS you can also reposition the texture after you've applied it to a face/geometry, and resize it per face.

Click to expand...

PurpLev said:

Going to the Lumberyard - Virtually

so you wanted to use specific materials in your Sketchup project? exotic/local lumber? metals? leather? other?

I saw this subject raised in one of DaveR's latest blogs, and it's a fairly simple thing to do in Sketchup. You can use any material you so desire in sketchup, but first, we need to 'make' that material.

Creating new Materials in Sketchup (Using live materials as source)

1. get your material 'source' - this can be any photo - either from your digital camera, or do an online search for your desired material and look for a photo that resembles what you want it to look like, in this example, I've googled 'birdseye maple':

I copied the one that I liked (I dragged it to my desktop, but you could also right(ctrl for mac)-click and do "save as") to my desktop. and then opened Sketchup.

In Sketchup I made a simple box for this example, and opened the paint palette window (paint bucket tool). I then selected my wood folder (or any other folder you might want to place your material into for organization purposes) and selected color->new Texture:

A window will open asking you for the source image/photo for this new material:

simply browse and select the material photo you've downloaded to your desktop.

Sketchup will ask you to confirm/modify the size of the new texture - you could leave this as is, or modify it and resize it as you see fit (experience will tell you what and how you'd want to modify this) and also prompt you for the name of the material - in this case, I'll call it Birdseye Maple … seems so fit.

you can now select a face, and use the new material to paint it with:

As Simple As That.

PS you can also reposition the texture after you've applied it to a face/geometry, and resize it per face.

Click to expand...