Good luck with it.
Does the ltd at the and of your username suggest you are UK based (also you used the word berk!)? If so, so am I.
In case it is of use to you in your decision making, I will throw in my halfpennyworth. I have been using CAD since about 1990. Up until quite recently I used PCs, mainly because they were cheaper. I was introduced to Sketchup in the early 2000s and for many years used it just to help visualize things in 3D or to help explain construction to builders. Mainly, I used Autocad LT and stuck to 2D. For the past few years, I have been using SU/LO for all my construction documents, having been inspired by American architects like Nick Sonder and Michael Brightman who showed it was possible. At about the same time as I started using SU in lieu of AutoCad, I finally took the plunge and splurged on an Apple iMac. I am now on to my second Apple. As with the conversion to SU, I havenât looked back.
In my experience, the combination of Apple hardware and Sketchup software has been seamless. It just works. The only thing you have to be wary of, as I have discovered in the past day or so, is that some non Apple hardware doesnât always play nicely and maybe that sometimes gets unresolved because the Apple user base is tiny compared to PC users.
Another Apple joy is that you are much less likely to have problems with viruses. I would still never risk going without antivirus installed, just in case.
I am sure this will probably bring a flurry of PC supporters out to defend their babies!
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Having used SketchUp and LayOut on both PC and Mac since 2009, I personally prefer the user interface on the PC much more than on the Mac. But each to his own. With the right hardware, especially graphics card, thereâs no problem on the PC.
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Initially I would have to go with the best value for money because although iâve been dabbling with sketch up for a few years now iâve never committed to properly learning how to use it so i would class myself an amature. Due to my business growing im doing more an more drawing as part of my work so there will come a point were no expense is spared but until i can get my skill set worthy of a swankey machine im going to have to be patient.
Yeah simon im uk based, over yorkshire way. been looking for courses on sketch up but they are really pricey donât suppose you know of any reasonably priced tuition
I would still suggest you check locally to see if you can find a shop that will build up a computer for you. Or build it yourself. Itâs not really difficult to do. Either way, youâll get more computer for your money.
Windows Update does not always find the right drivers. You could also try finding a download directly from the Intel website. If 2011 is the date your computer was built, newer versions might exist.
If your computer is a desktop, you might well be able to find a Nvidia-based card that fits in. It might not be the latest and greatest, but, honestly, any cheap Nvidia GeForce card will perform better than an integrated Intel chip.
going into the computer shop today 
No, I havenât come across any tuition as I am self taught. In the early days, I found the various online tutorials very useful. Iâm afraid they have to be dug out with something of an electronic divining rod, but they do exist.
The other thing I found very useful was Brightmanâs book The Sketchup Workflow for Architecture. I set up templates based on his suggestions and they have proved very useful. What I would have found just as useful in the early days was some kind of manual that sits halfway between Sketchupâs own help articles and an advanced book like Brightmanâs, maybe directed specifically at building designers. For example, those of us who offer advice to newbies here are forever having to tell people certain basic things, such as:
- all basic geometry on Layer 0
- all groups and components on other layers
- group things early and often
- donât modify viewports in Layout
- etc.
One of the great joys of using SU is this very forum. If you have a problem, you get an answer quickly and effectively. Some of the regulars I rely on have posted in this very thread. They never seem to tire!
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Ordered the book
Yeah I think its the basics im lacking. I need to study everything just ends up getting messy
donât know how to merge multiple grouped objects into a single group.
Still get into a muddle with grouping on larger drawings.
Need to create a document with company logo and relevant bump to present elevations in layout
and there putting a scale to it 
I never took learning sketch up seriously as I thought it was just a free drawing program, then it turns out its a serious bit of kit and some of the stuff ive seen done is amazing. Ive bought sketch up pro just wish I was a pro 
Depends on what you mean. If you mean nesting (where you have groups within groups), all you have to do is select all the groups and group them. If you mean combining a number of groups into a single one, you could do the same but then go into the top level group, Select All, and explode. Then you will be left with raw geometry inside a single group. But if you do this kind of thing, be careful to make sure all raw geometry still ends up on Layer 0. If it isnât after you explode, do Select All again inside the group and then use Entity Info to move to Layer 0.
For a long time I pretty much disregarded Outliner but itâs a useful tool. It shows you all the Groups and Components in your model and their hierarchy. You can move things around there which is often easier and safer than trying to do it within the drawing itself. You can also use it to navigate to specific groups/components. It also encourages you to name things as the default words Group and Component donât mean much.
The Brightman book will show you exactly how to do that. The other thing you need to get used to doing is creating scenes in Sketchup so that you can then open them in Layout. So a typical elevation scene would be in parallel projection. That means when you select it in LO, you can then select the scale in the Sketchup Model dialog box.
Yes indeed!
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wow, thanks so much for taking the time to explain that very useful . PC is getting an new GEFORCE GTX 1070 Ti ana power supply .cant wait to get it back an try those things out
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Your comment about a âmanual that sits halfway between Sketchup help and Brightmans bookâ chimes with me. I bought his book and also the Nick Sonder book and I came to same conclusion - they are too big a jump for the average DIY designer. An intermediate book doesnât exist and so 18 months ago, I started to write the book - I am a hybrid construction designer/technical author. The typical user profile would definitely be pashbyltd. In perhaps 2 or 3 months time, I was thinking of coming on this forum (perhaps in a different part of the forum) asking for volunteers to review a pre-publish draft - sorry itâs not ready yet !
If anyone wants more info, please ask. Iâm UK-based so initially the printed version will be UK units and the ebook will be US units.
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I would definatly be up for that, sounds like an amazing learning opertunity
Computer back and exporting to layout 
Hi
Thanks for your reply. Iâll get in touch in a couple of months and have a chat about sending you a draft copy
cheers
Marc
M:07963184578
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Is it possible to import type faces into layout. My letterheads have been done in -
âThe typeface used Gotham in bold.
I believe a similar web safe typeface is Monserrat or somethingâ
Also want it in this blue. Ive used the snipping tool on my letter head to import this text below my logo
Please donât double post.
Ok sorry
Sort of. If you can download a font to your computer, it should show up in LO. So itâs not something that is LO based so much as system based.
There is nothing wrong with doing what you have, which is simply to import the logo and text as an image complete. As you are unlikely to want to edit it much, that should be fine. I would put it on a layer that repeats on every page. And being LO, it will reliably reproduce in the same place on every page in the same place.
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