Hi !
I am an architect, and I work mainly on renovation projects, large and small.
A few months ago, I abandoned my old working method: 2D on Autocad and 3D on sketchup.
I now only work on Sketchup + Layout, with the main extensions:
- skalp (hatch) (which I would obviously like to see integrated into Sketchup).
- curic scene manager
- flextools (doors and windows)
Although I am generally satisfied with this new method, I find that there are still a few points which, in my opinion, deserve to be improved:
1. SECTION LINE COLOR BY TAG
on my plans, I usually use these settings :
- hidden lines (styles)
- color by tag
this way, all the edges are the color of their tag.
That’s very useful in renovation project (existing parts = black / demolition = red / project = blue / etc)
Now, I would like to do the same with the section line color.
I would like the color of the section line to be the color of the layer of the cut object.
2. AXES TO LAYOUT SECTIONS
I would like that in layout, for each sketchup import window, we can check the sections we would like to see appear.
example: on this plane, I want to see the section line of Section A and Section B.
Because today, I have to draw each line on sketchup, and if I move the section in sketchup, I have to realign it in layout, sometimes on 5 different planes.
It’s long, but above all, it’s a source of errors.
I know that there are VBO grids, but in my case, it works randomly, and I find it a bit complicated.
3. LEVELS
In the same way, I would like the “level” function of VBO grids to be integrated into Sketchup and automated with layout, with the possibility of displaying only the levels we choose.
4. EXPORTS
For each project, I have to work with companies and engineers.
In my country (France), almost no one uses only sketchup.
So I have to export for autocad, archicad, revit… It’s long, random, and the result is not satisfactory.
I would find it great to be able to :
- export in 2D dwg all the scenes of my choice, and the layers to be preserved
- export in 3d for archicad or revit.
Today I use Skalp to export, but it’s not ideal.
5. LAYOUT IMPROVEMENT
Layout could be perfect if it didn’t have a few blockages that can make using it a nightmare…
Hybrid display should not make the file so slow.
It should be possible to have pages vertical and horizontal pages in the same files. And various formats (A4, A3…) in the same file.
The dimensions must be improved, it is not fluid at all.
It should also be possible to round the dimensions (to the nearest 5 or 10. example = 89 becomes 90, 154 becomes 155).
It should be possible to have diameter dimensions.
The rotation of objects should be improved in two ways in my opinion:
-
a keyboard shortcut to rotate any object by 90°.
-
a rotation tool like the “rotation with reference” on autocad.
Thank you for taking the time to read me to the end!
Benjamin