Update the UI for SU Pro 2020

[d_b]

I would love to see a total overhaul of the Layer system, if the UI is in for significant changes. From the years-long wishlist thread:

@d_b

Since they’re not really layers in the traditional sense anyway, I’d love it much more if they behaved like tags-- i.e. you could assign multiple tags to an object, which you currently can’t do. That would solve the need for nesting things in complicated groups just to have layer organization.

For example say you have a house modeled with all the furniture. Rather than have a chair group which is on the Chairs layer, inside the Bedroom group on a Bedrooms layer, inside the Floor 2 group on a 2nd Floor layer, you just have the chair group tagged with the Chairs, Bedroom, and 2nd Floor labels.

Although I haven’t taken much time to think through how this might be affected by the new Dashed Line layer type. That being said, “layers” aren’t really layers and this also feels like an old, outdated system of organization, even if strictly in name.

Additionally, when it comes to UI, I’m dying for system-wide organization.

@d_b

I’ve had to move between setups a few times in a matter of months and it has made me wish SketchUp had a much more centralized way of managing everything. Ideally, a one-click way to move preferences, styles, workspace, plugins, materials, templates, hotkeys, trays/toolbars, etc. all at once.

(I’m about to move setups again, not looking forward to rebuilding all my preferences for the third time in 12 months…) (And not to mention, switching between Mac and Windows. So many small unique menus!)

As an aside to styles and UI, I think the Style Maker/Materials Editor could use a serious upgrade. I’ve never really understood how they integrated and I have spent a significant amount of my time materials-editing saving and resaving versions where I accidentally had the wrong settings.