Why don’t you elaborate on the problems you are having with Layout – maybe even share a file.
You never know – some of us might have some experience that could help make Layout less of a dumpster fire of issues for you…
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It’s about your tone, not about what you say.
FFS grow up. It’s a tool. Should we get in a pissing match over who has used the software longer and more professionally? Some of us have been using the software since the at last days…
Share some of your real world workflow issues, present cases that need improvement. Engage in a constructive manner and work with others to find solutions…
Or continue on as your are.
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You’re all still trying to educate the OP instead of ignoring and I’m still trying to say the same thing isnstead of ignoring.
There is a way to deactivate the disappearence pf viewport contents. It will sacrifice the speed gain, but it can be turned off in preferences.
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I don’t see this, so not sure what you are referring to. Can you post a screen shot or a video? Or share the model and LayOut file?
I don’t see this. I will see it pause while it re-renders pages if I update a graphic, PDF, or model that I have inserted - but not with text.
Do you get bugsplat? Do you send them in with your email? The SKP team that does read here is responsive to diagnosing issues when they know about them and when they can track them.
Which graphics engine are you using?
Maybe for you it is time. But with only the above information no one can help you.
Any online forum is a challenging format to hold a constructive conversation in, there is so much room for misinterpretation of humor and tone. I have no desire to deconstruct the conversation up till this point but I’ll take one shot at starting over.
@garzonetto it’s a shame you are having such trouble with Layout. While you certainly are not alone, there have been other reports of some people experiencing crashes with 24, however there are many more like myself that are supporting a full time professional workflow in SketchUp Layout 24 and finding it reasonably stable and improved. Certainly I feel there have been marked improvements in Layout over the last 4 years. The introduction of SketchUp viewport controls from within layout, style, effects, and tag control has made a welcome efficient change in my workflow.
We all have different workstations with different OS, graphic cards and other nuances of technology, one persons experience may not mirror another’s and I don’t doubt your experience. I think the essence of the matter is if you are looking to vent your frustration and commiserate with others (understandable) or if you are actually looking for help to improve your experience. If you have any specific questions about setup or usage of Layout there are many here who would be willing to help troubleshot and brainstorm about finding solutions for you.
The simple answer to your initial post for me is that I do not find Layout 24 unstable. It’s not perfect but it’s been working adequately since I installed it.
Almost everyone on this forum is here to help and focused on solutions.
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Thanks for trying to start over. I was legitimately curious if overall, in day-to-day use if anyone was experiencing increasing freezes,crashes, bugs, or strange issues with increasing frequency. I didn’t need help figuring out a modeling issue. I didn’t need instruction on how a tool does or doesn’t work. I wasn’t looking for a model fix. The last thing I remember forgetting was a keyboard shortcut for the new Artisan plugin- so this forum isn’t for me or my issues. There are always user/machine quirks that happen in every program. If any arise, I usually now the workaround or issue. Thus my lack of need for being active on this forum. A few responders have been so helpful as to confirm what I believe is such an increase- and not just with the new graphic engine implementations in the 2024 releases (that did speed things up), but accumulatively. Therefore, there is no .skp or .layout file to share. There is no confusion on nesting tags in tags, layering documents, inferencing, or any specific modeling issue. After many years of using Layout, I am considering if I need to start putting in a new 10,000 hours into another ecosystem in which to be proficient. It is a legitimate question and concern. I realize now I must put in the title, and I temper all my concerns and issues with equal parts praise with everything that SkethUp does well. Also, only criticize users and newbs, never the program. Lesson learned.
Someone is flagging helpful posts where I answer beginners’ questions- screenposts, explanations, so I will have no liked posts. I get it. Its a clique. I wasn’t invited. unfortunately, you can’t delete your account. I appreciate @Le_Corb , @AK_SAM , and @JQL for confirming what I knew to be true. My models have gotten more complex over the years- especially in that last few where they aren’t all simple architectural plans. LayOut is made to mimic- and not necessarily surpass- what has been done by draftsmen for decades. It derives its power from referencing SU models. I won’t post again. I won’t try to help. There are enough dogs in this pack.
I appreciate seeing all the plug-in devs who’s works have helped me over the years on this forum. I’m glad they are part of the SketchUp family. I am glad people will point out specific steps for solving beginners’ questions when they get stuck. I’m sure people have been helped in this way. But I also notice rants and criticism of menial details, policing for “hacked” installs, condescension, impatience, and snobbery. It is my fault for not previously reading 18 months of posts before joining a community. You always want to know your neighbors. Bad ones live in good neighborhoods. Lesson learned.
Thank you @endlessfix.
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You are Welcome.
As I said, I have no interest in re-hashing what anyone else said, or how that made you feel. You have made it clear in this last post that you are not here looking for help in improving your situation, fair enough. There were a few responses echoing your buggy experience, and a few that find the program stable, reliable and useful. It seem like a clear case of confirmation bias to only accept responses that agree your presupposed hypothesis that Layout does not work (dumpster fire?). I don’t know why your Layout crashes so often and mine does not, I guess we will never know.
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My Layout crashes yet I still love it and feel it’s much better than before. I guess there isn’t a standard opinion that fits everything.
If this rant or what caused it, is making you step away from Sketchup and Layout, then that’s fair but I wouldn’t do it. I think you have the wrong idea about Trimble: it’s because Sketchup is such a heavy beast with so many intricate implications in how it works, that it takes guts to change it in a deep way. Graphic engine changes is such a case. Trimble has dared to reform it henc the instability. The speed increases are there, I accept the minor instability.
Update: I’ve been using LO24 again and find that models that I create fresh are not causing instability. I had found that models that I had been working on from an outside source had been crashing LO24, even when saved in SU24.
I’m hoping that this will be the end of my issues with LO latest release.
Like I said above- I’m a great advocate of SU and have invested hugely in it. I see it as by far the best software for the production of construction documents for small to medium size offices and also a must-have general design and collaborative tool for offices of any size.
Programmers work hard to do what they do, and we should all appreciate that. I’m happy to share my criticisms on this forum, and I normally get constructive help, or thoughtful comments or (less usually) criticism. Sometimes my points stand, and other times I find myself humbled. I would urge everyone to keep conversations professional and criticisms- however tough they might be- constructive. I don’t want to sound like a finger-wagger, but I’m just saying.
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I wonder if the developers would be interested in taking a look at the files that have been causing you trouble.@trent ?
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Good suggestion- only thing is, unfortunately, that might end up being a bit tricky for reasons of professional confidentiality…
I mean, if it’s causing issues I’m sure the SKP team would be interested in learning about what is happening.
I’m pretty sure as a software company they deal with NDAs for all sorts of things. You could set one up for your problem projects and maybe delete client specific info.
I’ll keep it in mind.
I just attended a trade show looking at business that do 3D printing, prototyping, machining, mold making, etc, and every one of them was accustomed to NDAs as a part of everyday business.
I had a project in Layout 2022 that was fine at first, and then at some point, there was one scene that when called up in a viewport would crash LO every time. I shared that with support, and they never could figure it out. I was also trying out the Donley method, which they couldn’t really figure out and I’ve dropped it since.
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I would just switch software. You’re like a person who complains about their partner being lazy and yet won’t break up with them. You two aren’t meant to be if this is how you talk about things 
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From one version to another, when Layout no longer exports correctly to DWG or PDF, it has nothing to do with whether or not the user did so correctly.
And that’s why I’m still using SU 2019 and 2020.
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No it’s not just you mate! I’ve updated from the '21 version to '24 and what I’m experiencing is by far the least stable version I’ve experienced since V3 in the @last days!
Many times I open files in SketchUp, it crashes once or twice before opening solid, though once open it does then seem stable - mind you, those first few crashes (no bugsplat) give me the willies that my file has become corrupted.
Where I do find instabilities is when working through shortcuts for tools, eg: Move tool, works at times, mostly though it doesn’t, or the tool shows as an arrow but functions as move! My life in both SketchUp & LayOut (with it’s broken inferencing) seems now overloaded with the use of the UNDO function.
I too, want to raise my voice and scream! But particularly given no option to save files backwardly compatible so they can be opened and edited in a more stable version.
I am also saddened by SU/LO’s slow release of updates, and while I personally see (saw) Layout as a brilliant design / page tool, it’s speed of update is incredibly slow! In comparison to other tools in my arsenal, Layout is akin to lichen growing on a rock, you may not see much change in 20years!
Wise words! I too find it somewhat amazing that the gripes I’ve had with Layout’s new inferencing and it’s time addition to workflow, was hinted at my being simply unfamiliar with this change! Its not my experience with this tool - its just the clumsiness of this new workflow, and the sheer time implications with its use!