No there isn’t any mention of architecture on their website, but you can use it in a similar way to sketchup to push and pull a building into shape. They have a few very rudimentary tutorials on using it for interiors. My biggest problem at the moment is that I am so quick at modelling in sketchup, that any other software is going to feel a bit clunky for a while. You can also model with a lot more accuracy and a curve is a curve rather than a series of segments. Dimensioning also just works. I am not saying it is going to be a perfect experience, but something worth testing. I am also looking at taking advantage of cyber week and subscribing to Revit LT for a year and see how I go with that too. My big issue with revit is that it is a windows only program and I am a Mac user. However it looks like Trimble is a little windows centric based on Studio Sketchup only being available on PC.
Yes I will stick around and let you all know if my experience is a positive one. The one thing I like about Shapr3d at the moment is that it is similar to fusion 360 which I like to use for product design. So I might be able to use it for both large and small scale. I definitely don’t like that it doesn’t have the ability for users to make their own plugins though.
Yes. I love the Affinity products. I have been using them for a while now and just upgraded to version 2 last week. I have used them to alter pdfs exported from AutoCAD. before and it does an amazing job. You would have no idea they were amended with anything other than AutoCAD. And yes I love how they don’t have a subscription model and keep the prices affordable.
So that is adding two new lines and the old lines are not changed. That is not extending the lines to where they cross.
In sketchup one would just move the endpoints using inferencing to get clean geometry. Or just add lines, using inferencing, draw a line between the old endpoints, delete that to heal the lines.
Many ways in Sketchup.
In Layout I guess one could draw extension lines, group the whole thing, draw clean geometry on top, and delete the old group
I have been using Shapr3D for design work instead of Sketchup these past months (Interior Design type work).
Its so much easier to model. Snapping is powerful. Drawing in 2D is easy. The tools are very good for modeling as far as I can see. It even converts your 3D model into a 2D CAD or PDF drawing!!
Its fast and works on the Ipad with the pencil and you can use a PC sto continue your project. Amazing!
But it does not have all that an architect or Interior Designer would want - yet. No scenes, no cameras, limited materials. But I use it to develop details and millworks which its perfect for.
They improve it every month and I am lead to believe more material will be added, maybe even we can add our own soon.
Creating 2D drawings is a bit like Layout, but fast. Although not so customisable right now, but I think its another thing on the radar. I have sent CAD to my drafters to add into their drawings - which amazed my collegues becasue if there is one bad thing about Sketchup, importing to CAD is lacking.
I much more enjoy modeling in Shapr3D to Sketchup on IPAD.
Hope this helps.
Yes, you can select a standard scale or enter a scale as you want. There is also a function re-scale a DXF/DWG drawing. You can link DXF/DWG file and keep it updated or import as an unlink drawing, and you can modify it.
You can hide layers, Affinity manage the layers from DXF/DWG…
Steve,
Boy I have been in the exact place you are in right now. I have been using SKUP Pro for years and working around all the problems associated with Layout and the way it handles the modeled information. I completely agree about the accuracy of snaps and dimensions. I can handle 1/4" off, but any further and the type of work I do [as a Registered Architect] just does not work for me.
For what it is worth, here is my current set up. My firm focuses mostly on Hospitality, Retail, and custom Residential. All of these projects get started in SKUP from Existing Conditions to SD. After SD is complete, I transition the Owner’s final approved plan into Revit. I then only continue with SKUP as needed but will never update the model as the project is in full documentation mode in Revit. As most professionals know, Revit is an animal and is very hungry for money, time, and learning curves are out of control.
Recently, I came across a company call Modumate…warning, I know nothing about this company. https://www.modumate.com/
I reviewed some of their videos and carefully looked through their website. What I found on the surface is it weirdly slides between SKUP-LO and Revit. Well maybe ArchiCAD… It allows for collaboration and CAD file export. I don’t know how the line work and links handle updating, but if you are looking for something new to investigate, it might be worth a look. I also looked at Chief Architect for a period of time, but it never felt like it could handle the look and feel for the Hospitality work I do. So much of selling the idea is the look and feel of the software you are in. SKUP does that perfectly for me. I just wish LO would be able to handle more efficient documentation and accuracy.
I would be very curious to hear more about your final path forward. I have seen some Shapr3D videos, but my person interest is always production drawings.
Cheers man, and good luck finding your path forward.
Does it have integrated software that allows you to produce a drawing set in a similar fashion to layout? Has it got the professional looking, architectural standard title layouts and shortcuts that would help? Because iI have to profess I feel the exact same way. The modeling is great but producing drawings on layout is yet to happen quickly or easily in my workflow. Whats your knowledge on this part?
Hi, I have been using sketchup for architectural design and visualisation for about the same amount of time ( started in 2007 ). I have come to much the same conclusion as you in regard to Layout, and still to this day swap back to Vectorworks to output documentation… I have spent many hours in that time in these forums making the same layout complaints and even had an invited Zoom meeting with a Trimble USA Sketchup team member last year to demonstrate whats unworkable in Layout. The end results of these complaints in previous forum ( which are totally valid ) is many will agree, and some will say they have no or limited problems with layout. On investigating that in the past, in many cases that might be for a few reasons, they are working on way simpler models, or they are employing many workarounds to output documentation, and I have seen in the past all sorts including cutting and pasting grouped section cuts from sketchup to layout, turning off all layers other than walls to do dimensioning and then turning them back on again after, to using the “Donley Method” to get a simple filled section that has no background that you have to attempt to hide with fog. ( that method doesn’t allow you to dimension BTW as it has edges turned off, so pretty much useless to call documentation ). If Layout was progressed in any meaningful way in the past 17 years, then everyone would not need to keep employing workarounds to compensate for the clear lack of functionality in Layout. How hard is it to allow it to output a filled isolated section cut without showing everything beyond thats irrelevant to the section we are documenting. Anyway, my same old rant, now many will say works for me, and it’ll be for one of the 2 reasons I bet, simple model simple outputs or lots of workarounds to achieve things that Layout cannot intrinsically or intuitively. Unfortunately using layout is the opposite experience to using Sketchup, and Sketchup ( of which i am a big fan ) is of limited use if I cant get documentation out of Layout, without a world of weird and whacky should be unnecessary workarounds ).
Looked around also several times, and tried Shapr3d. It looks promising, but for architecture and interior not more than that at the moment.
The main reason to stay with Sketchup could be the forum, never have seen such a responsive, vivid community than with the Sketchup forum. It saved me (and many others) many many times.
Never used Layout however. Gave it a try (a few times) but I can draw 2d things faster in Sketchup, and polish things up later with other software.
Could one of you please upload one of your Sketchup Files (the .skp file) that are so troublesome in Layout.
I’ve used Sketchup and Layout for years. It does everything I need.
Maybe your work is more complex than mine. I design convenience store layouts. This includes the detailed physical arrangement, fixtures and casework.
Typical Layout will be about 20 11x17 pages, most often at 3/8" scale.
I will have 50 to 100 scenes saved and some linked data files (Excel)
Screenshots from a recent file 46,657 KB
Same here. I’m looking at Vectorworks. Trimble has made it clear they have no interest in the professional market other than what is being offered - take or leave it.
I made the sizeable investment and commitment to switch over to Vectorworks Architect a year ago. It is much pricier but is a truly powerful all-in-one piece of software
I am more than impressed - actually blown away by what it can do and still feel I have not scratched the surface yet on many of the available features. Considerable learning curves involved depending how deep you want to dive but plenty of excellent on-line info & video tutorials are provided.
Like other aging Mac users of my age, I have been using Powercadd for all my 2d work - in my case for 30+ years. Agree with others that Layout remains amateur level - nowhere close to what I think it should be capable of doing by now. Maybe Layout performs better with Windows but it really not usable for me on my Mac computers. Not completely true - LO is OK for very small & simple hobby-level projects. I have never been happy with its ability to handle a whole building with any level of detail and always ended up exporting SU files and annotating everything in PCadd. I now find the 2d drafting tools within Vectorworks are even better than PowerCadd’s & that is really saying a lot.
I have been using Sketchup since start-up days in Boulder Colorado & love it for what it is - a fun & intuitive modelling platform. I will keep it for what it does best but having now invested rather heavily (time & money-wise) into the world of true professional parametric software there will be no going back.
I will likely keep SU running for a few more years as I really do enjoy it for what it does best. I can easily import SU components into VW and remain curious to see SU improvements and what new features may be introduced. But for real architectural projects I am pleased so far going forward with Vectorworks as my all-in-one level-up platform.
Thanks for the info and your experience. I’ve built multi-million dollar immersive media environments with SU and Layout, but it’s just become too hard… from making a raster layout document then converting everything to a hybrid/vector and waiting hours for it to rerender page by page, or DWG output spending hours to make it useable for others, sigh… And like you, I’ve been using it since version 4 I think.
For me, the power of Vectorworks is that it provides for pro-level parametric components, ‘smart’ drawing tools & built-in rendering abilities. I am really tired of work-arounds in Sketchup, keeping track of extensions and punching holes in walls (ha ha) Maybe it is my design approach, but I find myself spending too much time tweaking and eventually remodelling everything in SU as the design gets more and more refined. VW can carry your project from concept to presentation to construction docs in a single file - you can change a generic wall type into a custom multi-layered assembly with the click of a button and revise the wall type with all walls of that type automatically updated (for example). A few minutes vs hours of SU fussy adjustments. No separate programs for notes, schedules, spreadsheets
You can push-pull model in Vectorworks but it does require a mind-shift from how SU works (VW more powerful but doesn’t have the same intuitive way of ‘reaching’ through 3d space to select corners or faces) Within Vectorworks, windows, doors, wall types, beams can all be edited just by changing the parameter settings in a dialogue box. This makes for much cleaner tweaking (with self healing wall openings) & more efficient design exploration. VW offers split screen views (if / when desired), built-in lighting effects and photorealistic rendering, scripting abilities (!), ‘Smart’ dimensioning, grids, datums and the whole BIM capability (if / when desired) for take-offs, automatic schedules, sheet formatting, section/detail labeling, etc. Things only possible with plug-ins are built right into VW plus much much more.
I have waited (many years now) for PowerCadd to run on current Mac hardware (joint venture with Form Z still in the works apparently - yawn). I had to use AutoCad in a firm I worked for years ago have been back on Mac in my own design studio for 20+ years. I tried Chief Architect a few years ago but found it very ‘un-maclike’ and dropped it. VW ticks all the boxes for me - more money up from but way more efficient process once you get up-to-speed.
Well worth a trial run IMO
I think Nick Sonder (and others) would disagree with you 
Maybe it’s a Mac thing 
You’re right - he is not a Mac user * !
But seriously, I have previously enjoyed watching many of Nick Sonder’s videos & work-arounds. He does make beautiful drawings - no question about that.
As I said, I am not a SU novice - just eager to take things to the next level and tap into a complete set of (much) more powerful tools.
- at least when I last looked
I think you, Nick Sonder (and others) will agree that the following SU (clipping) behavior does not predispose it to more serious uses. As you can see, the object is small, simple and lies close to Origin. And serious projects are big and complex. Not to mention the other shortcomings of the program.
Short answer = yes
go to 24:00 on this video
Yup, me too. I’ve been using PowerCADD since PowerDraw 2.0 in 1989.
Not sure I would say strictly hobby, but simple yes. I’ve been happy producing simple kitchen/bath renovations, garage additions, quick Sk drawings on larger projects with LO. If it’s just a matter slapping a viewport on a page and adding a few dimensions and notes, it works great.
Ok, that would be a tough sell to me, but given you know DO know what PowerCADD can do, I won’t question you position to say so, and, yes, that really is saying a lot.