Smaller SKP files

[michal.p]

Hi!
Originally posted in this thread (but the main topic is different):

Features for 3D Warehouse

Hi! I thought: what if we could add extra images for each model uploaded to 3D Warehouse, like on TurboSquid or other on-line libraries? Currently the only image is generated from SKP model. Some more images could show details of a model without need to enter 3D view (which often renders too long to wait), a rendered scene, raw wireframe or texture maps. Possibilities are endless. Another nice feature (this one was already posted somewhere, I think), would be ability to follow a user or collec…

I think that SketchUp Team could find a way to render SKP files smaller. If you compare any mesh, textured or not, saved in SKP, to the same mesh saved in other app, like Blender, you’ll see that SKP file will always be larger. Like, significantly larger, even a couple times. I think this is because SketchUp always saves colour of every single edge separately and codes it in 8-bit RGB space (correct me if I’m wrong). It’s cool feature but in 99% cases we don’t need it. So my suggestion is to introduce a setting in Model Info like “Save edge colour (YES/NO)”. If set NO, it would reduce file size by all unnecessary edge colours and you won’t able to change it - graphic card will automatically impose black colour. Then only if you want to play with edge colours, which not that many people do (I do it sometimes), you’d have to set YES.