Importing a scene NOT a file into layout?

LayOut
1

I have over a 60 MB file with over 20 different scenes each time I try to load a scene into layout it copies the entire file. This can take over 45 minutes (hybrid file) (high quality) to load.
I’d like to take the scene (rather than the entire file) and load it onto my custom template in layout for faster product. I want these scenes to be high quality for printing and reproduction services this is why I have the hybrid and high quality settings.
Any ideas?
Lou

2

Hi @tafuto845,

It sounds like you might be expecting more from a scene than is really there. In SketchUp a Scene is just a handful of rendering settings such as styles, shadows, materials and a camera view, this is lightweight and contains no real geometry. If you want to see a model in SketchUp then the whole thing is going over, including all of the scenes. If you only want the scene as a choice once it’s in LayOut then you could duplicate that file and delete all other scenes, this wouldn’t solve your problem with import time though.

I think a better place to start is to look at why your SketchUp file is so large and if it could be made smaller. If you go to Window > Model Info > Statistics and click “Purge Unused” it’ll clear all extra data from the model which isn’t actually used, this includes inserted components, materials and styles which aren’t applied. Be sure to save after doing the purge and note if the file size has changed.

As this suggestion is only treating the symptom I’ll share a few resources below that are also useful for following the most effective workflow for modeling in SketchUp and then documenting in LayOut. Honestly, one great resource is just seeing how Nick Sonder, a LayOut power user, handles his projects.

We did an interview with Nick to get an idea about how he works here: Nick Sonder Architect - YouTube

That was so successful that we actually went on to do a series of 6 videos about his process linked below:

Also just asking around here and seeing what others are up to can also help out as go further.