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Sketch up free limited templates issue

2K views 35 replies 10 participants last post by  pomfritz 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
So I'm dipping my toes into the sketchup world and am trying to learn the free version. Even invested in a mouse!
 
#2 ·
I find a track ball works better than a mouse for CAD programs. I use Kensingtons Orbit, $29.50 on Amazon. It saves moving the mouse around the counter top and is easier to select precise points.
The Sketchup program is not intuitive so get all the instruction you can find on the internet. It will save you hours and lots of errors. When it first came out I even bought a book on it and I still struggle some times.
 
#3 ·
Sorry pomf' not sure what your question is… Is it about SU (free vs Pro) or the rodent (with or without a tail)?

Or are you just letting everyone know that anyone can handle SU…

For any new project, my first go to tool is a glass of vino, closely followed by SketchUp.
 
#4 ·
Sorry the rest of my message somehow got lost so here is my question

On the current freE version it has limited templates. There is only a simple one with feet and inches and not inches only. I'm not sure how practical this is when making projects that are only measured in inches. I suppose this is to get you to buy a paid plan but I'm just trying to figure out how useful this would be for me and so far It's not. Anyone else using the current free version for planning out cabinets and small stuff. Nah tips for dealing with the measurements?

Thanks!
 
#5 ·
I use the Pro version, however, while there may not be a selection of templates, you should be able to make up a template of your choosing and save that/those. I know V2016 and 2017 free versions would let you do it.
 
#6 · (Edited by Moderator)
Top left, select the "window" tab
From the pull down list, select "Model Info"
From that pull down list, select "units"
to the right you will see format and precision boxes.
Here you can select whatever you want for measurements.

I don't think it matters what template you are in,
I haven't done it in a long time,
but after you have selected the perimeters you want to work in,
go to the file tab and select "save as template" and that is what will come up when you start up.
 
#7 ·
With your additional info I will say that I find I'm much happier with a 2D CAD program for my plan drawing and I only occasionally use Sketchup (free) to get a 3D image of what I'm working on. For the details and dimensions (on various scales) I go with a CAD made for Apple computers called Mac Draft. It is not cheap and it has various levels for users similar to Sketchup but is more straight forward and intuitive to use.
 
#8 ·
.... similar to Sketchup but is more straight forward and intuitive to use.
- LesB
Interesting… the reason why I got into SketchUp all those years ago was because it was spruiked by so many saying it was intuitive and easy to learn… and I found that to be true.

While there may be "better products" out there now, I'm to engrossed/addicted to SketchUp to start from scratch.
 
#9 ·
I use autodesk fusion pro 360, its free, and I find it to be a lot more user friendly. It also offers a lot more powerful drafting tools. As well as the ability to add "skins" to your designs to make it look like wood, or metal, or painted wood, or whatever. It also goes to .000000001 decimals.
 
#10 ·
I use autodesk fusion pro 360, its free, and I find it to be a lot more user friendly. It also offers a lot more powerful drafting tools. As well as the ability to add "skins" to your designs to make it look like wood, or metal, or painted wood, or whatever. It also goes to .000000001 decimals.

- squazo
Not trying to be argumentative, but Sketchup also has materials, and goes to .000001 decimals.
You can't cut closer than that so, it's plenty.

You can also import your own picture of actual material, and make it a texture to use.
Maybe Fusion does that as well, IDK, just saying.

I'm not familiar with Fusion 360, so I'm not saying one is better than the other.

Cheers! (My current project)
Brown Rectangle Wood Wood stain Flooring
 

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#12 ·
I d go with the 2017 - appears to be the last year before they made drastic changes to the free version and has all the template styles. This is what I use and I also design signs as a profession

- r33tc0w
True, unless you run the 32bit Windows OS… then you'll have to go back to 2016…

If you can't find I can maybe help (as it's free version, there should be no copyright issues).
 
#13 · (Edited by Moderator)
I use autodesk fusion pro 360, its free, and I find it to be a lot more user friendly. It also offers a lot more powerful drafting tools. As well as the ability to add "skins" to your designs to make it look like wood, or metal, or painted wood, or whatever. It also goes to .000000001 decimals.

- squazo
Fusion 360 is great. There are some good YouTube tutorials. And is it free for non-commercial use. I never could figure out sketchup. Plus you have to pay for the pro version of sketchup.
 
#14 ·
I haven't tried it lately but the 2018 free version was nearly unusable IMO. Find and download the 2017 version if you want to use Sketchup; however, if you are just now learning it, stop and go learn Fusion 360 instead. SU can be infuriating at times. For one thing, they "improved" their inference algorithms a few years ago that for me anyway make it much more difficult to use. It often doesn't infer the right thing for me. F360 is a much more robust package, especially if you think you may want to use it to design for 3D printing or CNC. I learned SU before I realized that F360 was free for hobbyist use and I found switching difficult because it is just different enough that knowing SU gets in the way. There are some annoyance with SU that nearly every time I use it, I swear that before the next time I need it I am going to learn F360.
 
#16 · (Edited by Moderator)
I haven t tried it lately but the 2018 free version was nearly unusable IMO.
SketchUp Make 2017 was the last free version of the native application (native meaning one you install and run as a Windows or Mac application, as opposed to a web app that runs in a browser). If you tried a free version in 2018 it was probably SketchUp for Web, which is a web app not a native app. The web app uses different menus and toolbars from the native app, so it's not surprising it was a little jarring if you weren't expecting that. It might have also still had some rough edges. The web app was still pretty young at that time.

You should give it another try if you haven't in a while. We're continually rolling out improvements. We did a big update just a couple of weeks ago that's gotten very positive feedback. We added a powerful command search feature and customizable shortcuts to make it easier to find and use the tools you need. Plus it's still free. Make 2017 is also still free and is downloadable from our web site.
 
#17 ·
You should give it another try if you haven t in a while. We re continually rolling out improvements. We did a big update just a couple of weeks ago that s gotten very positive feedback. We added a powerful command search feature and customizable shortcuts to make it easier to find and use the tools you need. Plus it s still free. Make 2017 is also still free and is downloadable from our web site.
- Tim Lanier
And then the latest announcement… Subscription only?

I'm sure you guys are trying to move users away!
 
#18 ·
SketchUp Pro is moving to a subscription model this fall, not Make or the web app. Those are still available and still free. And SketchUp Pro isn't going away. I manage software development for both products: SketchUp Pro and SketchUp for Web. We're not trying to move people from Pro to Web or vice versa. They each have their own role.

Apparently some users thought the subscription change meant they had to move from Pro to Web. That's not the case. As a way to add value to the Pro subscription we also give you access to a more powerful version of the web app, but this is in addition to the normal SketchUp Pro application, not in place of it.

And yes, we are continually rolling out improvements. My job is to make sure that happens. Last year we did 4 releases of our SketchUp Pro 2019 product that includes new features, bug fixes, and usability improvements, and this year we've continued that pace by releasing SketchUp Pro 2020.0 and 2020.1 despite the fact that we've all been having to work from home since March. The web app has a quicker pace of rolling out our work to customers since distributing a web app is easier than distributing a desktop app.
 
#19 ·
SketchUp Pro is moving to a subscription model this fall, not Make or the web app. Those are still available and still free. And SketchUp Pro isn t going away. I manage software development for both products: SketchUp Pro and SketchUp for Web. We re not trying to move people from Pro to Web or vice versa. They each have their own role.

Apparently some users thought the subscription change meant they had to move from Pro to Web. That s not the case. As a way to add value to the Pro subscription we also give you access to a more powerful version of the web app, but this is in addition to the normal SketchUp Pro application, not in place of it.

And yes, we are continually rolling out improvements. My job is to make sure that happens. Last year we did 4 releases of our SketchUp Pro 2019 product that includes new features, bug fixes, and usability improvements, and this year we ve continued that pace by releasing SketchUp Pro 2020.0 and 2020.1 despite the fact that we ve all been having to work from home since March. The web app has a quicker pace of rolling out our work to customers since distributing a web app is easier than distributing a desktop app.

- Tim Lanier
Can you use privately made (for lack of proper terms) plug-in's with the web version
 
#20 ·
Can you use privately made (for lack of proper terms) plug-in s with the web version
Unfortunately the web version still doesn't support plug-ins (which are also called extensions). You need SketchUp Pro to use plug-ins. We'd like to support plug-ins in the web app but we haven't found a way to safely (from a cybersecurity perspective) run Ruby extensions in our web app.
 
#22 ·
I tried the SketchUp web version but its unusable if you run a network ad blocker like PiHole. I then started learning SketchUp 2017 and was making head way. But all the maker guys I know that have 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC plasma tables, etc are running Fusion 360 so I'm making the switch to that. I don't see much of a difference in either from a learning curve perspective. I just know if I export something from Fusion to have it printed or cut then anyone of those guys can import and do the work for me.
 
#24 ·
So would a template using only inches be a reasonable request for the web version so hobbyists like me can use it to make cabinets? It use to be in the earlier free versions? I can't think of a more deserving hobbyist than myself

- pomfritz
I gave you a step by step in post #5 how to do it. Did it not work for you, or did you not see it?
I draw in inches everyday.
 
#25 ·
I can usually get by pretty well using Sketchup when designing for woodworking. I can't tell you how many times I have had to backup or even just start over when designing for 3D print in SU. I am constantly having a problem with a microscopic gap that confuses the slicer software. I am sure that I am probably doing something odd that makes the problem worse but I am not designing anything that complex. It seems like curves just confuse the heck out it. I finally found a plug-in called Solid Inspector 2 that finds most of the problems and even fixes some of them. When it cannot fix them for you, it can be pretty tedious to close the mesh so you can print it. Not being able to run that plug-in in the web version is a show stopper because SU would definitely be unusable for 3D printing for me. It seems like I even had to install a plugin that will export to stl files. The more I get into 3D printing and CNC the less useful SU becomes. So many of the free designs that are available out there are in an dxf (AutoCad) format that is not supported by the 2017 free version. I did discover that if you go all the way back to Sketchup version 7, it can read a dxf format file, save it as a skp and reopen that in the 2017 version.
 
#26 ·
I'm not up on all the file type lingo, but I drew a project in SU and found an online file converter that converted the skp file into a dxf file that my buddy used to 3d print my drawing with. I have no idea if he had to make any changes afterwards, but I got the 3d printed object.
 
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