I’ve been thinking about this lately because there are some things in SketchUp that are very easy to model once, but become tedious when you have to repeat them across a project or keep revising them.
For those of you who use SketchUp regularly for architectural work, what modelling task still feels more repetitive or time-consuming than it should?
Things like railings, trims, skirting, gutters, coping, repeated components, profiles along paths, façade elements, etc.
I’m especially curious about the part of the workflow that causes the frustration — is it creating the geometry in the first place, dealing with corners and slopes, making changes later, spacing repeated elements, or something else entirely?
Would be interesting to hear what people struggle with most.
Actaually there are almost no repetitive tasks after 15+ years using the program, I have created components, profiles and assemblies for almost everything.
That’s exactly what I’m curious about too. I think the interesting part is finding out which repetitive tasks actually interrupt people’s workflow often enough that automation would make a real difference, rather than just adding another tool.
I’m hoping people will share specific examples here — especially the parts that become frustrating when designs change and everything has to be adjusted again.
That’s interesting, and I think that’s a big part of it too. After years of using SketchUp you naturally build up your own library and system for things you repeat often.
I’m curious though — for someone who hasn’t built that system yet, which of those made the biggest difference for you: reusable profiles, components, or complete assemblies?
Is the discussion limited to Sketchup or is Layout included? If it is layout then it is its painful limitation in text editing.. I actually gave up and did it all in powerpoint.
Absolutely, LayOut counts too. I’m interested in the wider SketchUp workflow, not just modelling itself.
And the fact that you ended up moving the work to PowerPoint says quite a lot. What was the biggest issue for you with text editing in LayOut — formatting and styling, editing larger amounts of text, or just the overall workflow?
All of the above but also I was working with dual language documents (English - Vietnamese / Chinese) where translation would be very late in the process, done by general office staff and prone to last minute edits on the way to the meeting (literally in a taxi).
Powerpoint allows URL links both within the document and external, text boxes have superior and accurate (predictable) formatting options, support multicolumn, drop shadows, animations etc. It was just faster, more capable and more universal for presentations than Layout.
I know many architects think Indesign was there only option, but like Layout, that is a specialist trap and PPT could execute 95% of Indesign, faster, cheaper and more universally accessible.
PS, I am no fanboy of Microsoft, quite the opposite !
That makes sense. The handoff point is especially interesting — once other people need to make last-minute edits, simplicity and predictability probably matter more than having a specialised workflow.
I think that’s a useful reminder that a tool can be technically capable and still lose out if everyday edits feel slower than they should.
hey, so, generally, such vague threads are open by people who then move on to advertising their brand new product. and after a few answers, they go with “oh wow, have you heard of XYZ, this new AI tool ? is it something that would be useful to you ?”
a quick search tells me that in your case it’s…
E-Lines Viz — a proprietary AI system that helps you go from idea to client-ready visuals up to 10x faster… without needing a powerful GPU. (copied from the facebook page)
am I on target ? your last post talking about the need of simplicity and predictability hist right on target amarite ?
if so, could you just get to the point then ? and we’ll move this thread to the Extensions area.
Fair question, but no — that’s not what this thread is about.
I’m not using this discussion to promote E-Lines Viz, AI, or any other product. I asked because I’m genuinely interested in repetitive SketchUp workflows and where people still lose time, especially from an architectural point of view.
So when I mentioned simplicity and predictability, I meant exactly that as a workflow principle, not as a lead-in to an ad.
If at some point I do want to discuss or test a product, I’d rather do that openly in the appropriate Extensions section than disguise it inside a general discussion.
From my side, one example would be railings. They’re usually simple enough to model initially, but once you start dealing with repeated posts or balusters, corners, slopes, spacing changes, and later design revisions, the workflow can become surprisingly repetitive.
I usually manage that with components, groups and whatever extension fits the task, but revisions are often where the extra work starts to add up.
That kind of thing is what made me curious about what other SketchUp users still find unnecessarily repetitive in their own workflows.
Ironically, he never mentioned his product. You found it and advertised it for him. I thought he was simply doing some market research and collecting ideas from users.
You’re pretty much right. I’m genuinely interested in understanding where SketchUp users still run into repetitive or awkward workflows and hearing how different people deal with them.
Of course, those conversations can influence how I think about tools and workflows generally, but there isn’t a product pitch hidden at the end of the thread. If I ever want to introduce or test something I’m building, I’d rather be open about it and do that in the appropriate section.
For railings, the annoying part for me is usually what happens after the first run is modelled — changing the overall path or height, then having to re-space posts/balusters, keep the top and intermediate rails aligned, deal with corners and end posts, and then repeat the whole adjustment again when the design changes. Sloping sections make it even more noticeable because the posts may need to stay vertical while the rails follow the slope.
Stairs are similar. A small change to floor-to-floor height, number of risers, landing position or stair width can ripple through the whole thing, and then the railing has to be coordinated again as well.
That’s the sort of repetition I mean — not that the individual pieces are difficult to model, but that keeping the whole system coordinated through revisions can become a PITA.
I haven’t named extensions because the point of the discussion isn’t really to compile a list of plugins — there are already plenty of those.
But since you’re asking specifically, I’ve used different tools over time, including 1001bit Tools, MAJ Rail and others depending on the task.
What interests me is that the existence of an extension doesn’t automatically mean the workflow problem has disappeared. A tool may handle the initial creation very well, but there can still be friction when the design changes — re-spacing posts or balusters, dealing with corners and slopes, changing heights or paths, keeping related elements coordinated, or simply going through more steps than feels necessary.
And if there’s already an extension that handles those kinds of revisions particularly well, I’d genuinely like to know about it. That’s part of why I started the discussion. I’m just as interested in learning what people think already works exceptionally well as I am in hearing about what still doesn’t. I’m not trying to prove that a gap exists.
As for why I’m asking for people’s opinions, I use SketchUp professionally and I’m curious whether the things I sometimes find frustrating are peculiar to my own workflow or are shared by other users. I’m also interested in how people who have been using SketchUp for years have solved these problems for themselves. Sometimes the useful insight isn’t simply “which extension do you use?”, but what makes that workflow effective — or where it still gets in the way.
Yes, I’m interested in tools and in better ways of working, so naturally what I learn from discussions like this will influence how I think about workflows in general. But there isn’t a product reveal waiting at the end of this thread. If I ever have something specific that I want people to look at, test or give feedback on, I’d rather say so openly and put it in the appropriate section.
So I’m happy to name extensions, and equally happy to discover ones I haven’t used. The question I’m really interested in is still the same: with all the tools and workflows already available, what parts of people’s actual SketchUp workflow still feel unnecessarily repetitive — if any?
That’s fair. Maybe you could list your top 5 or 10 things that you find frustrating or repetitive and folks will then pile on and respond with solutions or anecdotes of their own.
Right now I feel like you are fishing. And @ateliernab isn’t wrong - we see a lot of these types of open ended threads from brand new accounts that turn into spam or product placement or offers for illegal licenses, etc. There is a general bait and switch that happens as the thread gains traction. Yes, I’m suspicious because we flag and clean out a lot of it.
So sorry for my questions.
But since you use it professionally - maybe tell us about the type of work your do (residential, commercial?) share some shots of your drawings or screen and list out these frustrations that you have and let’s see where this goes.
I thought he was simply doing some market research and collecting ideas from users.