I suggested to the guys at work that they could download the free SketchUp Viewer, so they can see better the job we are working in.
At present I have been exporting the job as a DWG and they have been viewing that.
The question they have is, in the Default Tray they only have Shadows and Display Settings. There is no Tags (Layers)
If you to into the Window > Default Tray menu, there is no choice for Tags.
Is there a way of switching Tags on that we have missed?
I just installed it to check and I see no Tag options.
They can use the web version to view your models.
In fact you could set up a trimble connect project that they could all access.
Thanks for the reply @Box .
They can view the SketchUp file ok. There is no problem with that and it’s a lot smoother than viewing the DWG file. They would just like the option of turning some of the Tags off.
Don’t know how to set up a trimble connect project. I just email them the file.
Had a meeting at work yesterday. We ended up showing the project I’m working on. We used AutoCad Viewer to view them in DWG format.
The management team really loved the work I had put into doing them but when I suggested that they could download the SketchUp Viewer one of the management team said “It’s no good for us as we can’t turn Tags on/off” and I had to agree with him. It is useless for us.
It’s a shame that such a fundamental function is not available for the desktop viewer.
It also makes my SketchUp file of 4.7mb into a 31mb DWG file.
As @Box has suggested, they could use the web version but this is for business use and SketchUp states that you can’t use the web version for this. (Or can I??)
Can anyone on the SketchUp Devs team comment on if they could look into adding this function to the desktop viewer.
I’m not the right person to talk about what the possibilities are for adding features to the viewer application. Maybe @Mark could say something.
Meanwhile, is hiding some number of tags live in front of clients a common way work? Or asking the client to turn off whichever tags they feel like turning off?
For the cases where you want the client to view the model in different states, like if you want them to see the building with the roof hidden, you can use scenes, and those do remember what tags were visible.
Absolutely. Especially if you want to “reveal” anything behind something, or break down elements.
This is true. But sometimes that isnt anticipated and always prepared, so it’s nice to be able to adjust tag visibility on the fly for a more agile experience with the client for unexpected requests.
I meant, hiding a random set of tags. For views that you know you’re going to want to hide some things to reveal what is behind them, you can use scenes.
Setting up scenes means you always need to know what the client is going to ask or want to see. Much easier to be able to have some scenes but the ability to add and subtract from those scenes on the go.
One of the SketchUp drawings is the foundation with different services. Like ink pipes, water pipes, air pipes, ladder rack, fixators.
On another drawing the press layout had different tags for different machinery, electrical enclosures, services on the press, walls of the building and so on.
The management team & customer sometimes wants to view different things in different ways. The electrical & mechanical installation guys sometimes want to just view their sections of the job. Third party contractors also want to just see their sections as well. The list is very long.
I don’t fancy setting up scenes for all of this.
Have you tried uploading the model to Trimble Connect and sharing it that way?
You can share your model with teammates without SketchUp (they should still create a Trimble ID for more features), and they will have the ability to toggle Tags on and off, as well as take measurements.
This video demonstrates how to do it with Tekla, but the same Trimble Connect workflow applies…
Sharing the files is not an issue. They want to turn Tags on and off.
Does this allow them to turn Tags on and off?
If they create a TID, yes. I shared it with my personal email that does not have a SketchUp Pro subscription, just SketchUp Free - and I could control layers. Be advised Trimble Connect will not respect tag folders.
Hi Kyle,
Is there any possibility that Trimble Connect will at some point respect tags and tag folders? Seems to me that the benefit of using the Trimble Connect viewer is that your client doesn’t actually have the ability to edit or download the model like they would with SketchUp Free.
Hey Dave,
Trimble Connect, as I know it, is not really for clients, more for collaboration. I was suggesting this as an alternative if that client wants Tag control.
So if I as an architect am sending a model to a Structural consultant, they would want the ability to control tags and take measurements. If I was sharing with a client, I would be curating my model with scenes.
The issue with Tags, which become Layers in Trimble Connect - is that Trimble Connect is converting that SketchUp model into a TrimbBIM file in order to view it in the TC Viewer. This is how you can also take Revit and IFC files and view them in the TC viewer. But if I downloaded that SKP file and opened it wih SketchUp, the Tag and folders will still be there.
I have never tried the Trimble Connect, so I can’t comment on it. I will try at work when I get chance. (The management, project managers, 3rd party contractors and customers have pretty much given up on anything SketchUp for viewing, and gone with Autocad Viewer, with is much more user friendly for them, which is a shame)
It just seems to me, and everyone else at my works who was viewed SketchUp Viewer, that it’s strange that such a fundamental function as Tabs is obsolete from the viewer.