PlaceMaker v4 Beta is available to test

Extensions
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Hi everyone, I’d like to invite you to try the completely rebuilt PlaceMaker v4 Beta for SketchUp!

  • PlaceMaker v4 is available to try for free
  • Download the v4 SketchUp beta extension below
  • You can also now use PlaceMaker v4 on the web!
  • Sign up to the beta for free and get 1000 test credits for FREE (for a limited time)!
  • Please let us know what you think…and especially let us know if anything doesn’t work as expected

Click here to download the v4 beta. Install using the Extension Manager.

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What’s New in PlaceMaker v4?

Check out some of the new features:

  • PlaceMaker now runs on the web! So you can use it with any app without a plugin!
  • New Preview of Google Earth imports
  • New Preview Terrain before importing
  • Google Earth import no longer requires an API key (also now available for EU users!)
  • New Data Source: Google Terrain
  • New Data Source: Nearmap Point Cloud
  • Nearmap historical imagery available upon request for your specific area of interest
  • Optionally use your own API keys for Nearmap imagery or Google 3D Earth to save PlaceMaker credits
  • AI Features (aka SmartSite) from Ecopia is now delivered in a matter of days with a much lower cost.
  • Access your recent imports from the new History tab from any device.
  • When accessed from the web, past imports are also available in GLB and geoJSON formats for easy import into most 3D and GIS apps.
  • Enhanced license management and license sharing features for teams.

Here are some of our SketchUp-specific improvements for v4:

  • Import previews now utilize a new Cesium-based viewport for faster performance
  • You no longer need to create and select ‘target’ surfaces before importing. Instead, the web-based viewport is used to select your import area of interest AND geolocate your model.
  • New tool to set a persistent ‘target terrain’ in your model that you can use to merge your future imports with.
  • Terrain merging is now (generally) non-destructive.
  • Imported entities will be conformed to the terrain but remain as separate objects. The exception is merging imagery which still results in the terrain mesh being painted with the imagery tiles.
  • Imports are processed in the cloud but the geometry is generated and optimized inside SketchUp. This creates a much more stable experience where you are very unlikely to see crashes or lose imported data.
  • Since your imports are now saved to the cloud, you can re-import for free inside SketchUp or on the web if SketchUp happens to crash or you forget to save.
  • We are now using an improved geo-coder service for quick and easy search navigation to any address in the world

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Please give the beta a spin and let us know what you think :slight_smile:

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Hi,

I’m running into a persistent connection issue with the PlaceMaker v4 web app (app-placemakerdata-com, replace dashes with dots).

The SketchUp extension (v4.1.0) itself loads fine. But whenever I try to reach that web app, I get ERR_CONNECTION_TIMED_OUT – and this happens in two different contexts:

  1. Through the SketchUp extension’s sign-in (OAuth) flow
  2. Directly from the placemakerdata.com website, when clicking “Launch App” to open the web app

So it seems unrelated to SketchUp or the extension itself – the web app’s server seems to be unreachable altogether.

I’ve also tested on two completely different networks (home connection and mobile 5G), with the exact same timeout both times, so it doesn’t appear to be a local network/firewall issue on my end either.

Could you confirm if there’s a known outage or issue with that service?

Thanks in advance,
Joachim

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Our apologies, we are experiencing an unplanned outage right now but it should be back up and running very soon

The issue appears to be a technical problem with our server provider, outside of our control.

Very sorry for the inconvenience - this has been very frustrating for us as well.