I have started to use Chief Architect and the program uses 2D Topo lines to do the terrain. I was wondering if I could use the SketchUp 3D terrain location tool and export it as 2D contour lines to be used a DWG file for other programs.
Set the camera to Parallel Projection and Plan (Top) view. File>Export 2D…
Yes you can. It requires an extension called Tig Contour Maker. So all you have to do is unlock your terrain group and run the extensions - setting the contour interval. After that you can do what @DaveR mentioned to export flat plan view to another format of your choosing.
Just an note though…the terrain mesh from Digital Globe (or geo-locate in SketchUp) doesn’t make very nice-looking contours. See comparison image of 4 different sources of terrain and their resulting contours (of Laguna Beach, CA).
By far the best result came from a Height Map. If importing height map data into SU is of interest I can walk you through how to do that.
As long as the process is free then sure. Go ahead and walk me through it.
How to convert a png heightmap to drapeable vector lines I just explained the process in another post. Not sure if it’s relevant to your inquiry but probably a good thing to be aware of.