SketchUp for Web - An Alternative to Desktop?

@jody - I’ve just opened the free web version - after a while of not using it - and it is blank. 100% blank except for tools. I’ve rebooted, restarted the browser, re-logged in, and cleared my cache. See the attached screenshot - it thinks the geometry is there and being drawn.

To be on topic, this is the issue with web apps. You can’t control the browser. You are stuck with whatever Google, Apple, MS, W3C, or whatever people use and subject to everything that is not good about a browser as an application. “This site requires IE 6.2+ …” or whatever because web app developers are forced to make choices, assume what browsers people are running, and assume that the next release won’t break that one line of code in that library they’ve been using.

I really did go to the web site to see what I could add to the discussion, and did not expect a blank screen. For your tech team, I am running Apple Safari Version 13.1.1 (14609.2.9.1.3), which I believe is the latest version in Mojave (10.14.6). The only extension I am running is Ghostery and your site is trusted.

Have a nice day and stay safe,
Jon

The browser is just another runtime environment and UI toolkit. This same issue is with all other apps that rely on that the operating system and runtime environments and library versions are compatible and no specific issues are introduced by updates (except that the SketchUp desktop installer also controls the installation of dependencies like required .Net versions). In your specific case I suspect it’s an issue with WebGL/OpenGL in that specific browser.

An idea would be to package SketchUp Free/Shop as an Electron desktop app. It would include all what it requires, that makes it a single target for QA, can have all priviledges it needs (avoid blocked resources and CORS issues) and feels like a desktop app.
When users don’t see it as a “web page”, they would judge it by how well it actually works and not by the technology used. By the way, I haven’t heard anyone complaining about Skype for desktop being a bad web app.

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That is actually not a bad idea, since you can control the packaging to a certain extent.

BTW, I’ve been developing web apps since 1993 and coding long before that, and web apps have their place. They really do, but for some things, desktops apps are better. They are merging to be sure, especially with HTML 5, CSS3 and other things, but you are still limited.

Back on topic here, had I not seen SketchUp in the Google days, v6,7,8 as I recall, and been with Make since 2014 on the desktop, I may have been impressed with the web version actually. But this is a head-to-head comparison with a solid desktop application that frankly rocks. And there is no comparison. Will the web version work in a pinch, of course. Redo the model of my house and/or office building in the web version. N-E-V-E-R.

I will, however, be redoing them in Blender. Nuf said.

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Thanks for the heads up… er… headhacker. I’ll pass it along. Have you tried (or do you have) Chrome available to test as well? I find that Safari and Explorer/Edge tend to have some extra bits in them to make them be better for their respective OS and sometimes that breaks pages that are more universal. (I’m not saying everyone should scrap them, but Apple & Microsoft have been known to ‘encourage’ such behavior.)

As @Aerilius mentioned, the browser should just be a wrapper, ultimately it’s using compiled Javascript which is quite robust. To lean further into that point, since JS is core to all Web browsers, the Web app version is going to be even less subject to an OS change (I’m looking at you MacOS, breaking SketchUp every year) and more agile to fix things when they DO break.

I think the web version has the potential to be as powerful as the Desktop, the trick is getting all of the technical dots in a row. Of course, there is a lot of footwork necessary on our end to make that happen, so… I’m not sure when that will all happen.

That is identical to the symptom you would get with an underpowered GPU on the desktop version of SketchUp, when Use fast feedback is turned on. But, that would only affect Windows, and you’re using Safari on Mac. I have no problems with Safari, other than a couple of the key press issues that also affect old versions of Edge.

What is the Ghost extension you are using?

That was one of the best comments I’ve seen on Apple/MS programming and their own browsers. (Which is why I stick to perl/python/node/web stuff - and no more Java sadly).

Tried Chrome - worked fine - thanks! Not sure what the Safari issue is, I may run that down later.

As a basic modeler, the web version does its job. But I really miss Quads, Rounded Corners, and those extended type of capabilities that add the finishing touches. I’m not saying to enable those extensions, but rather IMHO they should be part of the main package, because SU should be able to integrate the functionality deeper than those excellent extensions. For example, Apple has a long history of allowing developers to extend an OS, and then after seeing what people want and use and now need, building it into a future releases, usually with better functionality. Developers then move onto cooler things.

To be clear, there is functionality that is extension provided, that has become an integral part of using SketchUp (Fredo, ThomThom - you know who they are and others). If that was built into Web/Shop versions, it would really make the decision process a lot easier. They should be a no-brainer in Pro as well.

Thanks,
Jon

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Ghostery Lite 1.1.0 - *.sketchup.com is trusted. Thanks!

I am FIRMLY in the camp of “bring Extensions to Web” and don’t know if I’ve met someone against it, for whatever thats worth. I feel like there is some prioritization necessary between improving Web performance vs implementing new features. I feel like I want SketchUp to scream in the web version before we add Extensions which has the power to bring the even the Desktop version to it’s knees.

There definitely needs to be a way to sandbox extensions, maybe have a context switching option that lets you easily jump from “SubD” type operations to UV Mapping or something else. (Yah, SketchUp needs UV Mapping too!!)

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I tried that extension, even with the default settings Sketchup was ok.

If you enable the Develop menu in preferences, advanced, you could disable extensions for a moment, to rule out any of those being an issue.

Hi Colin, disabling extensions did not help, neither did opening an existing model newly built in the web version saved from Chrome earlier. Here’s a screenshot of the error messages, it looks like an WebGL problem.

Let me know if you need more details.

well. My windows does a major update once or twice a year. sometimes things bork yes…

Chrome and Firefox update almost monthly… and things are constantly changing, being updated or if you are on Firefox, removed…

so… I’d say my OS is a LOT more long term stable than my web browser is!

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I’m on a mac. :sob:

Web version would be helpful for me in case it would support ipad and apple pencil. There are cases when you need to model something quickly and don’t have computer in hand.

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We’ve been thinking along those lines a lot lately.

SketchUp Web is already a “Principled Web App” which means you can install it to your Desktop and have it act a bit more like a native application (no browser window decoration). That is how we distribute SketchUp for Schools on the Microsoft app store. And WASM performance has increased to a point where the modeler can (in theory) be just as responsive in browser as when running natively.

On top of that, we are currently investigating an offline mode for the app. And with the way web APIs are going, someday you might be able to open/save models on your own hard drive, use touch/stylus input, etc.

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In my opinion, update frequency != environment stability. Browser engines are also standardized and parts of the web standard do not get removed willy-nilly. Firefox has been working a lot recently to update its chrome but geko (the part SketchUp Web actually depends on) is pretty rock solid.

Modern software development practices tend to mandate more frequent releases + more automated testing and OS updates (especially in the Linux world where updates are painless) reflect that more and more.

However, I will concede that SketchUp Web/Shop/School’s dependence on cloud services like Trimble Connect + Trimble ID + Warehouse, Google Drive + Auth, or Microsoft OnDrive + Azure AD does make the experience a bit rocky sometimes, especially on an unstable internet connection. We are constantly working to address that and I hope we can make you happy with the experience eventually.

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The current web app does work quite well on iPad Pro with Apple Pencil, if you use the Chrome app.

My internet connection is, like very many rural internet users, painfully slow or even non-existent in these Covid times. I would prefer the installed program, especially the Pro version that I was once able to afford.
You may have a great program but the variability of the browser and unreliable internet makes it just a dream for many.

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What I think is missing is the way to change used materials back to default (back and front) like we can do in the desktop versions, through ‘Entity Info’ window.
Say you painted some faces or explode a painted group or component and want its faces to be default again. You now need to create a “default” dummy face → sample it and use that to paint the faces in question. Unlike in the desktop version.
(Also to @Mark,)
Include default front and back in the ‘In Home’ materials collection in the (free) web version.

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I think for the weekend woodworker, SketchUp Free is a good tool. It needs an automated way to make a cut list. With the subscription based SketchUp Shop, a cut list program is a big missing feature.

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