Why am I not told about SketchUp being a trial version at download?

Seeing as there is no feedback form for SketchUp itself I shall post this feedback here:
I have SketchUp 8, which I have acquired from updating SketchUp for sometime. I decided to update it today, and was taken to the SketchUp Download page from the launcher and saw “SketchUp Pro 2015” and a download link. So I clicked it, expecting to get SketchUp Pro 2015 for free as the download page suggests. Nowhere does it tell me it is a 30-day trial version, or give me any indication I have to pay $590 for SketchUp. So why am I landed with a trial version? Had I been informed that what I was downloading was a trial version and that I actually had to buy SketchUp Pro 2015, I wouldn’t have even bothered (a simple “Trial Version” would have sufficed). Now, can I download any version of SketchUp for free anymore?

Everyone gets to try the full SketchUp 2015 ‘Pro’ version as a ‘trial’ for 30 days.
After that you are asked to pay for a license or an upgrade - if you haven’t already done so.
If you decline that, then simply reverts to the non-commercial-use ‘Make’ version.

Your earlier version[s] of SketchUp can coexist side-by-side with any newer versions you might install.
You just need to make sure that you open a SKP with the desired version, and when saving, if you want to be able to open/edit that SKP in the older version you need to use save_as to an earlier version,…

The problem is rather: “Why are you told after download that it is a trial?
(Or why does it give that impression to users?)

As TIG says, the Make version is gratis for non-commercial use, like the website states before download. There is a temporary trial of Pro, but after that you can continue using the gratis Make version for non-commercial purposes.

If you look at the product page, which is only one click from the front page…

This question has come up many times over the course of the forum and obviously, Trimble has not made it clear. Looking at the page above, it is only clear that you will be downloading a free trial of SketchUp Pro 2015. Nowhere does it state that after the Pro Trial is over SU Make will be available. Considering all the confusion, I would think that Trimble would have picked up on the problem and clarified it. Until they do, the confusion will continue.

If you go to Download SketchUp | Free Trial of 3D Modeling Software

Step 1: asks what usage you expect - Personal, Professional, Education…
Assuming you choose ‘Personal’, you are then redirected to a download ‘Make’ page…
Then you get a page explaining. “Bonus: You can try everything in SketchUp Pro for your first 30 days.”
It also has a link to buy SketchUp Pro…

So how much clearer does it need to be ?

The other two options give different, but also clearly explained. outcomes…

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So why all the questions on this forum going back as far as the 2013 release? Why all the confusion? Are the majority of the questioners missing something? ZI refer back to the first question on this thread. When he went to the download page, he didn’t get the options you just described. Just sayin.

Perhaps things have evolved over the intervening years…

BUT, do you agree that if you were to use the link which I gave, to "…/download’, then it is quiet clear ?
Perhaps other link-paths to a potential download need limiting, somehow ?

How does one stumble upon such an inappropriate link ?
Please explain…

I’m sure Trimble would prefer that all potential users were guided to the correct links, with clear explanations of what a user might expect… :slight_smile:

Why was I not told the coffee I just bought was hot and could scald my family jewels if I chose to drive with it in my lap.
There are only so many warning labels, disclaimers and pages and pages of information that you can attempt to place in clear view.
People need to take some personal responsibility for doing at least a modicum of research. Warning, the writer of this post may have handled nuts, possibly not his/or her own.

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even if i use the link you provided, i still don’t see how it’s suggesting sketchup pro is free
??

It is really in the wording. The download links are not always explicit (name) about which version will be downloaded, but vary on the target audience (depending on where you get the link).

For example Box’s screenshot says “Haven’t tried SketchUp Pro 2015? Download a free trial >>
It suggests that there is a trial version of Pro. It does indeed not say the download gives SketchUp Pro for free, but it also does not give a hint that the download will yield the (non-commercial) SketchUp Make.

I think part of the confusion is intentional. The website clearly avoids the terms “paid” versus “free” but instead tries to elicit the usage purpose and silently give the right download. Once answered with “professional work”, the user is in the trap and gets the professional version that doesn’t allow to continue working with reduced features when expired (as it previously did under Google). On the other side, when answered with “personal projects”, the hobbyist is also urged to try Pro (via the trial), and the installed application starts with big letters “Pro” so that the confusion about the right download is understandable. In 2015 the wordings have been refined, and when reading what the welcome dialog actually says this confusion can’t happen anymore in the installed application.

Coming back to the first post:
Why assume everything you see a download link is free? The download/all page lists so many downloads including SketchUp Make, so why choose the exclusive, ultimate, upper class, Pro download when you are not looking for something that is worth money?

2 Likes

Aerilius -
Great explanation. Perhaps you should save the first three paragraphs and spit them back out when the question comes up again - and I am sure it will.

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I’m now confused also…

After using Make and equivalent non-Pro versions for years, I decided to download a free trial of Pro today. LIke one of the users above, I ended up simply downloading Make and over-writing my existing copy of it, because (presumable) I said I was a home user. I then found the page with all the downloads listed, and downloaded Pro as a trial. When I went toopen it, it said my free trial had expired!! I have never used Pro, and certainly never seen its features within the copy I have been using.

I assume now I can never even try it without buying it?

Any ideas?

Sashina