Sketchup Make Export Files For (own) home Extension

I’d be grateful for any help that can be offered (and apologies if this is a repeat of similar queries).

I’ve been happily (and somewhat naively) getting to grips with Sketchup Make putting together accurate 2D plans and elevations for a ground floor and loft extension project at my property. Having dawdled I am now outside of my free fully functioning first month.

It now appears clear that I need access to either Layout or a functioning 2D exporter to create files which I can then manipulate and scale in a non Sketchup desktop publisher programme in order to create the final scaled plans for my project.

The export options on Make provide me with low quality images or incomplete images with blue lines, I’ve also, in desperation tried ‘screen shotting’ which has resulted in low resolution images which are awkward/inaccurate to scale and which I don’t think will cut it for the (UK) Planning Application I have to make.

I’m not adverse to putting my hand in my pocket to pick up the right piece of software if necessary but my time spent on Sketchup has been intended to save money and the idea of the circa 600 quid to acquire Pro which I’ll then have little further use for is not all that tempting.

Have I spent all this time creating plans in Sketchup which I won’t now be able to use (without a painfully significant pricetag) or is there another option through alternative software to export and manipulate my 2D plans?

Many thanks for your help.

Tom.

If you are using a page layout or illustration application to compose your drawing sheets, I would recommend that you export your “drawings” from SketchUp in 2D vector PDF format. Most illustration or page layout applications can open or insert PDF files.

You can achieve this from SketchUp Make :

  • Install a PDF printer driver (there are a zillion available from the Web, some free, some expensive) and set up a sufficiently large page size
  • Print to scale from SketchUp (standard view, parallel projection) using the “Use High-accuracy HLR” print quality option (“Vector printing” on the Mac)
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Anssi, can’t tell you how thankful I am. Have downloaded a thing called CutePDF writer and having boxed the plans in an A3 ratio outline I have a scalable, useable file.

Many many thanks.

Tom.

More info regarding your interest in printing to scale…
https://sites.google.com/site/sketchupsage/master/geo/print-to-scale