There are occasions where I export from SketchUp, 2d floor plans to DWG format for event venues to check sizes for approval. I presume they open my files in AutoCad.
My usual workflow in these instances are that I import my SketchUp floor plans into Layout where dimensions and text are added before exporting into client friendly PDFs or jpegs. There’s now been a request to be able to view the text & dimensions directly in the DWG file.
So I’m seeking help from the community to ask if there is a way to convert or explode SketchUp text & dimensions into outlines so they are viewable in other CAD programs. I’ve been experimenting without success to date.
Any advice and guidance would be most appreciated. Thank you.
I’ve never tried before but I just did a quick test without exploding the text or dimensions (added in LayOut) and it seems to work ok for me? It’s late here so I can’t really go into anything tonight.
Here’s some screenshots of Layout/Draftsight and the DWG export settings I used:
Thanks IanT.
Are you exporting to DWG from Layout? I want to be able to export DWG directly from SketchUp with SketchUp dimensions & text not from Layout.
I then need to drop my DWG into the client’s master venue DWG. I’ll give this a shot though and see if it works for me. Something I hadn’t thought of trying. Been focussed on trying to convert SketchUp’s text into outlines.
I deleted a post as I thought I’d misunderstood but after reading the above decided you must be exporting from LayOut.
Yes, I exported from Layout, you get better text and dimensions that way anyhow. I’m not sure why you would want to export from SketchUp but I hope it helped.
When you export your LayOut file to DWG, the dimensions and other annotations you have added in LayOut are exported, but they are placed on a paper space layout, not in model space. Thus they can be seen in AutoCad by switching to the paperspace view. If inserted in AutoCad into another DWG file they will be lost, or, if viewed in an application that is only capable of showing model space, they are not visible.
For dimensions to be exported into the model space in AutoCad, you will have to place them in SketchUp, not LayOut.
LayOut used to have an option of exporting everything into Model Space, but it was removed in version 2017. It was a useful feature in some workflows.
Note that the example I show in Draftsight, is in fact showing paper space. So from what @Anssi very clearly explains they will not show in the model space tab. (I didn’t check that)
