Can I do it?

SketchUp Pro
1

People,
I currently have an iMac running Mojave 10.14.2. My processor is a 2.7 GHz Intel Core i5. My graphics card is an Intel Iris Pro type GPU with 1536 MB of VRAM.

I’ve been using SketchUp in various free versions for years. My current version is SketchUp Make version 17.0.18898. I want to convert a carport into a garage and need to create drawings for the building permit. Our local building development authority is set up to accept on-line permitting via submission of PDF drawings. Unfortunately SketchUp Make does not support saving to PDF so I am looking to “bite the bullet” and upgrade to SketchUp Pro.

In reviewing the computer requirements for SketchUp Pro 2018 I see a note that says Intel graphics cards are not recommended for use with Pro 2018. However, my needs are simple, I don’t need/want to create scenes or complex detail renderings, I just want to use LayOut to create a set of construction drawings so I can get a building permit. Based on what I want to do, will my current iMac with its Intel Iris Pro graphics card suffice or will I be forced to get a new iMac with a higher end graphics card?

2

Not sure about those specs, but consider that you can export each page as a jpg (or similar) and then assemble those in another document (word / acrobat) and save as a pdf for submission.

3

You can always print to PDF.

The warnings are mostly targeted to Windows users. On the Mac, the drivers are written by Apple. Intel graphics are slow, but usually work otherwise acceptably on Macs. There is no difference between graphics requirements or performance for the Make and Pro versions of SketchUp. The LayOut application might feel slower than SketchUp on your setup.

4

You can print to scale from Make, can’t you? On a Mac you can select Save as PDF from the print dialogue box. I do that all the time for making PDF drawing sets. I use Acrobat Pro to “staple” the pages together, but there are other tools available.

5

The most recent version is 17.3 for the Make edition of SketchUp, you can download and install, it might take care of some issues. Allthough version 17 is not officially supported anymore since version 18 came with a maintenance release for Mojave. If you experience troubles, installing 17.3 might help…

On a side note, you might be using Make for personal use, and granted that nothing goes wrong, you might get to build what you want, as well, so yes, you can do it!

Not knowing anything about the size or complexity of the project, one should consider the option to consult a professional, I think.

6

Another easy work around on a Mac. Save SU view as jpg. Open the jpg with Mac’s Preview, the path you want is Preview > File > Export as PDF and there you have it…

7

You could check the Open GL specs for your Intel GPU and compare to SketchUp Pro requirements.

I have a dedicated GPU on my laptop, but like many laptops the Intel GPU is forced to do much of the work.

I use SketchUp Pro 2017 and work on a variety of file sizes with reasonable performance for my requirements (including Layout)

8

Thank you all for your inputs. I did try saving my SU file to PDF and then played around a little bit with editing in Preview but it’s a very tedious process and not a whole lot of flexibility, and I don’t really want to buy or download another “bridge” application to get there.

I think I’ll go ahead and bite the bullet to get SU Pro as I believe the inclusion of LayOut will give me the easiest and most flexible way to produce the necessary PDF files for submission to get a building permit. Although I may not get the ultimate performance with my Intel Iris Pro type GPU, from your responses its sounds like it should work okay for my needs.

It used to be possible to do a “try before you buy” with SU Pro but it looks like that option is long gone. Is that true?

John

9

Nope you can still get a 30 day trial of SketchUp Pro Try before purchasing | SketchUp Help

10

Thanks,
Just what I was looking for.