I used to use the viewer to communicate with clients. I was never comfortable putting the .skp file out there. You can upload the file to tremble connect then generate a link to the file that will be a read only file. They can mess with it using the online version but cannot save it to anywhere. The linked file from your Sketchup session can be easily updated once you set it up its an one button push icon within Sketchup. That might be an alternative for you. Its been a while since any effort has been put into the viewer and I dont think there are any plans for it to keep up. You can also open the file in the online version and send the link from there. Either way it is hosted on Trimble connect.
1 Like
As mentioned, we cannot use Trimble Connect because legally some of our projects cannot move off of our servers. Plus, on the projects that can be uploaded to the cloud, it takes more time to upload, and then reload the model. Most models are huge and take many minutes to load. My usage is not for clients or contractors, it is for in-house managers who just need to look at a model and get a quick measurement. Running on our local network is the only option that works for us. Unfortunately, it looks like the Windows Desktop Viewer will not be upgraded any time soon and will never have the Measure Tool.
You can use the Trimble Connect for Windows app, thoughâŚ
Upon installing, choose .skp to associate with it when you donât have SketchUp.
2 Likes
@MikeWayzovski - thank you! Iâm not sure why someone didnât mention this earlier. I never knew Connect had its own app. I am testing now. I noticed that it takes a while for each model to load the first time and then subsequent times it loads fast. Does that mean itâs trying to upload to the cloud? I tried it offline and it worked, but still took a while to load the model the first time.
This might work for my managers. I still have to see if my really large files will take too long to load. I also have to dig through the licensing to see if it really is free in a corporate environment.
Thank you again.
@MikeWayzovski - I just finished my testing of Trimble Connect setting it to open .skp files directly. Files under 100k will load eventually, but loading takes 10-20 times longer than in SketchUp Pro or SketchUp Viewer. My typical files are over 200k and I could not get any of them to load. Maybe I did not wait long enough. I only waited 5 minutes, but if it takes over 5 minutes, it wonât work for us. I also see that the saved views do not show in Trimble Connect and the graphics are a bit off.
It looks like Trimble Connect will not work for us. We will continue to purchase the full SketchUp Pro license for now, until we find another solution.
Thanks again!