What’s up with SketchUp Make?

thanks

Take a look at FormZ Free (and Jr $495). SU Pro user myself but I have FormZ Free installed to evaluate what it has to offer.

But the Warehouse was recently “improved,” making this option harder to use. You put in a search term and it finds a bunch of models, but if you open one to look at it, when you use the back arrow to return to the search results, the Warehouse no longer returns you to your place on the list of found models. In fact, it now stops every 200 models and and suggests you change your search terms. This breaks my heart when it happens right before my models come up! And it takes a long time to refind your place in the results. And the sliders are worthless. They read end of the group almost as soon as you start scrolling down (if the Warehouse can alphabetize Z-A, the sliders should be able to approximate the percentage of models above and below). Fewer models are going to get seen because of these issues (loses your place, sliders don’t work, discourages continued viewing of large results)…

But back to the point: of course you’re right, about downloading earlier versions, but the way the Warehouse works now discourages use of any but SU2018. Doesn’t prevent; discourages.

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Back in the 90s I wanted a house, but didn’t think I could afford it unless I built it myself. I bought a $10 CD of Home Architect Deluxe 3.0 and started playing with it. I found out it was made by Chief Architect and hobbyist version upgrades were available. Their user forum let me know I could import Sketch-Up models into Home Architect to supplement the (to me) less than satisfactory furniture library. Beginning in 2009 I started downloading and modifying models from the Warehouse. In over 20 years of architectural drawings, no one has ever built a building I designed in Home Architect. I am truly a hobbyist and daydreamer.

I use SketchUp to make a few building parts that don’t come easy in Home Architect. I made a barrel-vaulted ceiling for a short hallway. I made a tiny house loft platform that I posted to the warehouse. In trying to find out just how much space it takes to store certain things, the very first model I made was a roll of toilet paper. When nothing in the Warehouse or the HA library really was a good stand-in for the dressing table I’ve had since I was 9, I made a model from scratch, which I like a lot. I put it in the Warehouse, and others seem to like it, too. I’m trying to see how much space I need for my furniture/stuff and how to arrange it prettily. Hobbyist.

But I looked at Free and when I realized my models wouldn’t be on my computer, so I can slide them into Home Architect, I realized that won’t work for me at all. I also think it will lead to a lot of (possibly accidental) repostings of somebody else’s work.

I don’t need 2018 right now. But every so often the Warehouse cleans out older versions of the models. Right now the oldest version I can download is 2014. In a few years when the oldest thing I can download is 2018, I will need it. And I can’t pay $695 for it.

About every third release, I give Chief Architect $100 bucks for the newest version. I could do that with SketchUp Make, too. Nobody ever asked.

Please, Trimble, don’t make the online version or the high-dollar one our only options.

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That was me quoting somebody else FYI. I am hoping they don’t move 3DWH to paid only!

How do SU8 users get things out of the warehouse when the earliest version offered for download is 2014? What am I missing?

You have to save them in version 6, then it works a treat. I did it all afternoon.

Infinite scroll is evil but if you always open new pages with middle click (new tab) you don’t have to leave the listing page.

Amazing! Thanks.

And I am amazed in turn! Thanks! We don’t see what we’re looking for when we don’t expect it to be there.

You can also right click a link ans select Open Link in New Tab but middle mouse button is a lot faster. It may even be my most common way to open links.

Does anyone used BRICSCAD befor?

This is such an interesting thread to have read. I’ve been in hardware product management, software product management, business development, sales all in high-tech. Places like HP, Sun Microsystems, Dell, etc… and this thread resonates with so many tough matters a company and then customers have to deal with.

For the moment I’m going to stay away from the cloud/browser-based topic because I have no Idea what the foundation architecture is being used with Sketchup Free. That it currently doesn’t take extensions is interesting.

Pricing is what really caught my interest and I really think Trimble, and customers would benefit from it converting to a subscription pricing model a la Adobe. At the end of the day it will be more marketable to attract NEW customers and the cash flow provided works well for enhancement development.

Interesting topics.

Best,
Bill

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thanks Sean-WFU! I will check it out.

Upgraded to a new macbook a month ago and tonight was ready to crack open the house plans, originally in Sketchup Make, when I came upon all this. Here because I was going to install Make on the new laptop, but tried out the new web version… and quickly got stuck.

Long story short, Make 17 is what I need and I’ll stay the course for a bit. For the house stuff and for the kiddos to model things to print. The free web version is short on two features that I need, swear I looked for these:

• Plan view/switch to common views (orbit and pan are great, but I need to see down an axis sometimes)
• Export my data/download my data (generic, but also STL files for print)

The last one- export my data- was part of why I was coming back to SU. Had switched to the IKEA house planner mid-stream, as it has a very nice, tight restriction on features for what I need on the house front. Don’t make fun of me till you try it. And of course, need to be able to get my designs out (and kids’ designs out) of the app as STL for printing odd things.

I never paid a cent for Make, so thanks for that, and for continuing to make it available. I’m guessing and even more so- hoping- that the “free” web version is currently an MVP with a roadmap to bring in more of Make’s core features so that it is useful but still friendly (and needed for the long term) entry point to Pro.

OK, more making less forum posting for me. Still a fan, keep up the good stuff.

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Hi Marco, I am not sure you know, but you can still download SketchUp Make!

I used IKEA kitchen planner before…I didnt liked it, it just not as fluent - or wasnt at that time 2015…I also made some hacks to fit a 60 cm wide cabinet (with the 60 dishwasher which did make the difference!!) instead of the 50 - and of course because it was a hack - the software did not support that move…We did doublecheck in store if it would work of course…

Short story long :slight_smile: I also use Make for around the house designs - so convenient!

On the right of the screen click the 3rd icon up called views and you’ll get a whole bunch of standard views.

On the left top click the Folder icon and move down to Download and you’ll see .stl as one of several options.

I’m part of a small interior design and manufacturing company.

We have one computer with SketchUp Pro which is the work horse of the company. We’re in the process of bring more people on and plan for them to use SketchUp Free and combine everything through the one SketchUp Pro computer.

Unfortunatly the new web-based SketchUp Free does not work for us since the file are saved to the Trimble Cloud. Most of our clients require NDAs and thus our files cannot be saved online for securite reasons.

We currently don’t have the funds to get SketchUp Pro (one computer/one year) for all of our employess and thus we now have to make a very hard decision (which will also affect Trimble since many other companies will have to make this same decision). 1) Downgrade to 2017 all across the board to keep using SketchUp Make with SketchUp Pro. 2) Start looking for new affordable desktop design software that easily integrates all components of our company.

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You will be in violation of the license…

So seeing as you won’t pay Trimble for their work by licensing SketchUp Pro for everyone doing commercial work, can I hire you, without paying you, to do some interior design work on the next house I am designing?

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Or, to beat what should be a dead horse - if we were back in the days of using pencils, technical pens, paper and drafting machines - would you expect companies to just let you walk out with supplies to do your work without paying for them?

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