I have just embarked on my journey into CAD/3D modeling and design. I am using an iPad Pro. I have downloaded Sketchup from the Apple App Store. For the time being, I am using the free version. With my very first attempt to create a very simple model, I am quite confused:
→ will I be designing my model ON MY iPad using the Sketchup app, or will I be doing so in Sketchup’s cloud?
Thank you.
Ed P
So you don’t have a SketchUp Pro subscription. Please correct your forum profile. That information helps us help you but only if it is correct.
Perhaps you are currently using a free trial of SketchUp for iPad?
As long as you are using the free version you will be working with the browser-based app which will naturally save to Trimble Connect. If you are using a free trial of SketchUp for iPad you’ll be using the app you installed on your iPad. That trial will expire however and you’ll need to decide what you are going to do next.
As for learning to use SketchUp, start here.
If you are going to use your iPad then you will be using the SketchUp ipad app downloaded from the App Store onto your iPad, and you will eventually be paying for it. There is no free iPad app. There is a free web based modeler called SketchUp Free that runs in a browser or “cloud”, it is only available on a computer. It’s not designed to work in the browser on an iPad and may not work correctly with a touch screen and no keyboard. If you are on the iPad, use the iPad app.
If you are using the app designed for iPad, it is a SketchUp program much like the desktop. While working on the model you are working on your iPad, and auto quick saving to the iPad. When you choose to exit the model you will be prompted to save or discard your work. At that point you choose between saving to the Trimble cloud or saving locally on your iPad.
Keep in mind that anything saved locally runs the risk of being lost in the event of iPad damage or deletion of the app.
I save everything locally due to poor or non-existent Internet in my area, however when I am finished with a project or it has reached a milestone in it’s creation process, I upload to the cloud. Either the model itself or a timestamp copy.