not meant as the answer for Pro users but as the sucessor of Make or for users who do not want to shell out 700.- bucks for extended functionality if needed from time to time or for a limited time only.
I do prefer local applications too 
2 Likes
I’m seeing lots of different positions here, most of them with decent arguments (even ones I disagree with!). I’m NOT going to give my opinion here, except to say:
I would not be surprised if Trimble’s long(er) term plans are to develop my.sketchup to the point that it is useful for the vast majority of case for which Make is currently appropriate. When that happens, they then start charging a small amount for Make and reduce the price of Pro.
I’m not saying this is what I expect to happen, only that it won’t surprise me if it does.
If you keep your machine which you have now ‘up and running’ you would still have that ability, just like I have some old records now. I do think, however, that it is inevitable that all software will follow the path the music industry has followed, and my.sketchup is just the start. Like most companies, spreading the revenues is giving them much more certainty and more stabil income, so a monthly based licencing system is very likely to come.
When they started the yearly maintenance system, for me , it was clear that I would wind up with another subscription based software.
I kept my SU 2015, SU 2016 icons next to SU 2017 on my dock and about two months ago, my iMac was damaged ( broken glass, everywhere ) I was more concerned about the prior installations of my favorite software then I was of the iMac…
I have all installer back to version 6 backed up 
. However, if Make is discontinued some day and Pro licenses expires after a year or so opening up models made then in the future may be difficult. I guess the solution is to save all work down to the version of the last Make in case it is ever discontinued.
1 Like
If Trimble could offer Sketchup in a “modular” fashion, similar to what pdfforge does with its “PDF Architect” product, users could add only the extra functionality they really want, at a reasonable price. I suspect there are a lot of others like me using Make who would happily pay a reasonable amount for a few “advanced” features, but will never fork over $700 or more for the full Pro edition. That extra revenue could help offset any development costs to make Sketchup modular, I would think.
1 Like
While we are on the back of that generic demon called cost, I’d like to begrudgingly put in my 2 cents worth, free of charge. I am a retired privateer, non commercial user of Pro. Even for my simplistic use, I find it has those extra subtleties that I don’t have to fart around looking for workarounds that Make make cumbersome (no pun intended). Consequently I have no objection to paying for the license, however, lately I’m getting annoyed at the number of simple plugins being charged for. I do not begrudge the developers for getting some compensation for their efforts but after shelling out for the pro license all these little extras eventually mount up to a significant overhead.
Maybe Trimble should put more effort into including a lot more of what plugins cover for free in the Pro version only and maybe compensate developers for their ideas. That way Pro has all the functionality we all desire and leave Make for the simple projects and hobbyists and buy those must have plugins on an as required basis.
1 Like
You can still buy standalone versions of Office (not 365) but Microsoft doesn’t push them like they push 365.
I wouldn’t want SketchUp to come with more pre-installed extensions since SketchUp is much about simplicity. Adding more stuff would increase the learning curve. Also it would be difficult to select extensions that are to everyones liking. However I wouldn’t mind if the Pro license involved getting maybe 30 credits or so to buy extension of your choice from the Extension Warehouse.
6 Likes
I think there aren’t any architectual offices which do not use SU somehow. When informing for a Pro license, the first question is always ‘On how many computers can we install it?’ Most of the time, their own websites are filled with copyright-marks and statements that all their content may not be used. The thing is, if you are using it commercially, you must use the Pro version, and if you consider yourself as an proffesional in your line of work, hiding behind arguments like ‘We would pay if it costs less’ does pop up the counter question :
“Would you pay more if it does what you want” ?
SU is modular, you can add your own extensions and pricing is, in my region, somewhat of a 2~3 days of revenue. For larger firms, there are network versions so you could spread the use over more employees.
2 Likes
3D for everyone !
1 Like
Just to be clear Mike, I never use Make commercially - I’m just a retired software guy who enjoys geeking out with his toys! Anyway, fair point about extensions making SU (“sort of”) modular, although I always thought of modularity in terms of core functionality, and extensions as the “gee, wouldn’t it be cool if it also did so-and-so” solution. And as extensive and robust as the supply of extensions may be, the users are still dependent on someone deciding to create the feature they’re interested in. In my case, I’d love to try creating a dynamic component, but as far as I know no one has duplicated the Pro interface for that as an extension (that doesn’t require Pro to run it). Also, with extensions there’s a certain amount of, shall we say “variety”, in interface design, documentation, etc. No disrespect intended - those folks do a commendable job considering most of them offer the fruits of their labor as free downloads - but it’s a consideration.
2 Likes
Dan - I like your craftsman concept - I have little use for layout, and when I have tried it on the free upgrade, it was difficult for me to be as productive as with SU. I think the Craftsman version would come without layout functionality, perhaps for half the price of the full version. I don’t think limiting the use of plug ins are the way to go.
If Trimble had the free make version for hobbyists, and all of its limited functionality geared towards them, the half price version for the small business, and the full on with all bells and whistles for the pro architects & large firms I think they would see an increase in sales,
I am not a fan of subscriptions either - I would rather purchase an older stand alone version, than be hung with paying continually for functionality I don’t use.
And as to admitting defeat - the reason for the free version is to make a person experience it long enough to get the hang of it so they will want to upgrade to the full version. That is a failing point on other free software that goes belly up after 30 days - I have ended up deleting them off my system because I was unable to find enough time to learn them sufficiently well in that period of time, considering all the other things going on in my life, to determine if I wanted to purchase them or not. Thus they lost a potential sale.
And, yes, the pro version is a bargain compared to Auto cad et al.
G
5 Likes
Just a note that Trimble already sells Pro under a discounted license called an “Educational” license. (And actually have a free “Teacher” license.) So, they are well able to charge whatever they need to (or wish to) for a license. Reading the EULA there are separate clauses and sections that create slightly differing terms and conditions for these various licenses.
So, with regard to BDTCD’s post above, they can and are already delivering discounted licenses. (The Home Depot comparison is bombastic and invalid. The actual situation is that the professional contractors and carpenters are the ones receiving the discounts because of the yearly volumes that they buy. Furthermore, one yearly software license purchase is not equivalent to frequent restock of bulk raw materials like lumber and hardware. It’s “apples and tiddlywinks” [ie, “not even the both a fruit.”])
I don’t know if I ever said that specifically, but I had previously expressed the wish that SketchUp Pro could be purchased separately from LayOut and StyleBuilder. I’ve never used StyleBuilder, and probably never will. And as long as LayOut lacks a “live” Ruby API for scripting and extensions, as well as not having a CAD-like/Visio-like attribute system, it will remain just something I don’t use much.
I’m in the same boat. But mainly because I feel that the yearly cycle is too short to develop some of the larger overhauls that SketchUp needs.
It was sarcasm at it’s worst.
4 Likes
I like to concept of Layout - a program to turn SU models into construction documents, but I agree, the execution of the concept needs work. You mention the live rubi APi and the cad visio - I am not familiar with those terms since I am not a power user. Could you explain them and how they could work in layout?
Thanks.
G
Not in this thread, it would be way off-topic. (See this post in topic: Ruby API on Layout.)
2 Likes
Like X 2!
I also get the feeling I’m purchasing functionality I don’t need. I don’t use LayOut or StyleBuilder. Actually with the extension I developed Make would provide ALL the functional I need.
a version for half of the price with the functionality you don’t see value in removed … looks like cherry picking for me. With the 3D modeling functionality beeing obviously the key asset of SU, removing seldom used special functionality doesn’t rectify a discount of 50%… at least to me.
1 Like
you allways purchase functionality with allmost every non-trivial product you buy… check the user manual of your television/car/smartphone for proofing this.
1 Like
I was thinking Make or less functionality for a reduced price. (not necessarily 50%)
But I totally get it. As long as there is a free Make version any other paid version will reduce the number of Pro sales and probably decrease overall revenue.
I have bought lots of software with features I’ll never use. That’s part of life. My only reason for starting this topic really was because of the issue with the free Make version being used for commercial use.
Most other software has a free version with such limited functionality that any serious user will want the Pro version.
SketchUp is different in that respect. I spoke with a SU rep last week about this. He said SketchUp has been free for so long that it’s hard to switch from that.
I own and design on a pro license but tell my clients to download the Make version so I can email them the drawings and they can view it. So hopefully SU does not take away the ability for designers to share drawings with clients. They can take away the functionality of the extensions as long as the drawing can be viewed with scene tabs by the clients.