Hey all - I used to have the desktop version of Sketchup, but now I have the Web version and find it very frustrating and hard to use. I want to print out my model with text and dimensions, which is a task in itself, being that all the text moves around and I have to adjust the size of the model and location of the text to make it look right in the print preview. But it seems that the only option I have to print is to pdf, and the print preview for that is all screwed up. The text is doubled or gone completely, the model is cut off, and nothing is right. I have tried to find help on Youtube, but it seems that most of the videos were made at least 4 or 5 years ago, and do not deal with Sketchup for Web. I spend most of my time trying to find the tools that I need and am about ready to chuck the whole thing. Any help would be appreciated.
Which version of SketchUp are you actually using? Your profile says “SketchUp Pro (subscription)” which indicates a desktop version and it also says “SketchUp for Web”.
Can you share an example SketchUp file so we can see what you are working with? A correct profile and you model file will help us help you.
Sorry, I’m a little confused myself. I have Sketchup for Web, annual plan. I have had no formal education on CAD, I have been fumbling around in it for years, so I am sure I am doing things incorrectly. I am not familiar with the most efficient way to save my models in this version, and since they are not saved on my computer, I have no idea how to show you my model. Could you walk me through the process?
You can download the .skp file to your computer by clicking on the pancake menu button (three horizontal lines) in the upper left corner. Then Download>.SKP.
After that you should be able to drag and drop the file into a reply here. If the file is too large you might need to upload it to DropBox or Google Drive and share the link.
Hope I did that right.
When the model has no text, it prints ok. With the addition of text, it goes wonky. Am I only able to print to pdf?
I had Sketchup when it first came on the market, on a cd, and I found that version a lot easier to use than this web version. I just do not find this version to be as intuitive. Or maybe that’s just me.
Shende back view with color and labels 2-15-22 (1).skp (924 KB)
Probably the best option here is to download a PNG image file and print that. This is what I get when I do that.
If you have to do much of this sort of thing you would be much better off with SketchUp Pro and LayOut. You have much more control over the appearance of the model and text. I did this in a few minutes.
And the export to PDF looks like this:
Hey Dave, thanks, downloading a PNG works. Tell me more about Sketchup pro and LayOut. This is exactly the kind of thing we do, so anything that would make it easier would be great. I see that Pro costs more, and is LayOut in addition? Also, it looks like Pro has a desktop version. Does this mean I can save files to my computer? I am finding storage system on the Web version very confusing. Sorry to ask so many questions, but as I said, this is not my main area of expertise, and since I don’t work on this program every day, when I do use it, the learning curve is steep.
Terry
Answering out of order.
No. SketchUp Pro includes LayOut and it includes SketchUp Shop which could be handy.
Yes. Generally it’s best to save to your local internal hard drive. There is also access to Trimble Connect for cloud storage and more.
Like pretty much everything you do get better and it’s easier with practice.
SketchUp Pro has more capabilities that Shop and has the ability to use a variety of extensions and plugins which can do everything from automating some types of geometry creation to adding ways to get data out of your model. There are a variety of options for generating reports and other stuff that you don’t get with Shop.
LayOut is probably best thought of for documentation. It’s a paper space thing so you can create whatever you need in the way of pages to document your SketchUp file. There are a couple of unique features about it. First there is a dynamic link from your SketchUp model to the document. So you can make edits to the SketchUp model and LayOut will update the views of it to show those changes. Suppose you decided to revise the hinge to be welded on both sides with no holes or you make the leaf on the pipe side with an offset so you don’t need the elevation block. Make those changes in your model, save, and then update the reference in LayOut. Any place those things would show, the change will be visible. You can add all the notes and annotations, title blocks, page borders, whatever you need. You can have multiple views of your model on a single page with scaled views, isometric or perspective.
Here are a couple of examples. In each case every view of the project is a viewport tied to a scene in SketchUp.
This one is intended to print on Arch E paper with some 1:1 patterns to be lifted for templates.
Ok, now I know that I can save the files to my hard drive by downloading as PNG files. Good to know. Sketchup Pro sounds like it could be better for my use. My concern is that once I have it, I will not be able to take advantage of the elements it contains. How much different is it from Shop? You mentioned that putting callouts would be easier - how? Is there a Sketchup Pro for Dummies somewhere? Layout also looks good, but again, where can I learn the basics and I mean the very basics?
That’s done in LayOut. Here’s an example showing adding labels for part names and then component descriptions which in this case include dimensions that are automatically added in SketchUp via an extension. If the dimension of a component changes, the description can be quickly updated and the label will automatically update.
I’d start with the tutorials at learn.sketchup.com and go from there.
Ok, this looks good.
Dave, I went to learn.sketchup.com, and one of the things I find frustrating with my version is the desktop setup. In the first tutorial on the website, I see the toolbar that I am familiar with from the old version of Sketchup. I really dislike the new toolbar setup, and especially the toolbar on the right in the version I have. I spend a lot of time clicking through them to find the right thing. Is there a way to get the other toolbar layout?
Switch to the desktop version. The web versions are just different and there’s no way to change their appearance.
Got it. Shop only has the web version, and to get the desktop version, I have to go with Pro, correct? And with Pro I can use things like Fredo to draw on curved surfaces?
Got it. Shop only has the web version, and to get the desktop version, I have to go with Pro, correct? And with Pro I can use things like Fredo to draw on curved surfaces?
Correct. And yes, you can use the many wonderful extensions from Fredo6 with Pro.
Dave, thanks for all the help. You are a rockstar. It looks like our subscription is coming up on April 1. I guess we will be going with Pro at that time.
Thanks again.
Terry