It seems haphazard to make Layout a separate program. It needs to be merged with the sketchup.
Also I tried to change the measurement from meters to feets in layout but it is not changing it. Why preferences are under the File??? I changed it under document Setup to feet but it is not changing it when I used measurements
No it doesn’t.
Where did you make this change? What did you change? Show at least a screen shot.
What difference does it make which menu Preferences are in? In LayOut on Windows Preferences is at the bottom of the Edit menu, not File.
That’s not where you change the units for dimensions. That’s done in Dimension Style. If you’ve already placed dimensions in the document you’ll need to select them before changing the units in Dimension Style. For adding more dimensions you’ll need to select the Dimension tool before setting the units.
What template did you start with when you started your project? If it’s a metric paper size template the units will be in meters. If it’s an imperial sized paper the units will be Architectural which is feet and inches.
You should go through the tutorials at learn.sketchup.com
Thank you the dimension thing worked.
Why do you say that they need to be a separate programs when over 90% of the things are a duplicate. It is a pure waste!
They are designed to do two different tasks. Combining them into a single application would create a lot of bloat for one thing.
Where did you come up with that number? It’s not correct.
Please start here:
https://learn.sketchup.com/courses/layout-essentials
And because you seem to think they are duplicates, you should also re-fresh your SKP knowledge:
https://learn.sketchup.com/courses/sketchup-fundamentals-part-1
Fake number!
I saw a Youtube Short where a guy was showing dimensions in both old skool imperial feet and inches AND metric - both on the same drawing. So, i guess it must be possible. Perhaps you can assign the calibration type via Dimension Style on a “case by case” basis?
You can use different units for different dimensions in the same LayOut document or use different display precision. You can also use different styles for different dimensions if that’s appropriate. Lots of options available.
If it was a SketchUp file, not a Layout file, it could be from using the Dual Dimension extension.
Here’s an example of both imperial and metric on the same page in LayOut.
All of the dimensions are anchored to the model in the viewport so they would update if the model is modified.Although it’s not totally automatic it isn’t particularly difficult
Thanks Dave. It’s a thing that i really can’t see myself doing but it was coincidental that I saw a Youtube short on exactly that matter.
I am in Australia so mercifully we use the metric system with the minimum unit being either mm for building components or metres for site plans etc.
It turns out that the only countries where imperial remains the national unit of measure are: US, Myanmar and Liberia.
Hi aceyourplace,
A familiar topic discussed back in 2018 
Link = Layout - why don't they combine Layout and Sketchup into a single program
Well… there is Revit. Its a wonderful program that combines everything and not very well.
I use to think that it was silly to have two separate applications… but as it was mention above by @ DaveR it speeds up both application by eliminating aspect a person may not need.
Who knows what percentage only use SU and never use LO. I bet its a a lot.
Of course you don’t need to open SU to use LO. But most of the time you will as part of the workflow.
What I finally realized was that… their really just two separate windows. And I should be saving all the time anyhow.
I remember working at a firm that used Revit. And how fun that was when it crashed and you failed to save. Or how wonderful it was to debate with the team who’s backup file would become the new model. And your work on your temp backup was not the one chosen.
There are some dumb things LO does or doesn’t do. But being separate from SU is not one of them. Its for the best.
Absolutely. I adore this “two programs” approach by now. One team member can design in Sketchup, the the other is working on the Layout file. Sometimes we have multiple Layout-Files for one Sketchup file. Sometimes we have multiple Sketchup-Files in one Layout-Files. It’s so wonderfully flexible.
Layout is super-flawed (WHY AREN’T THERE COMPONENTS/SYMBOLS?!?!), but that’s a feature problem. The core idea of the separated programs - one with 3D tools and one with 2D annotation Tools was a stroke of genius or a brilliant coincident-
Let me guess: you come from an Autodesk background? I only ask because I do as well (from WAYYYYY back in 1996-ish) and I don’t know if its because the plotting interface tab name in AutoCAD has been “Layout” since forever OR if its functionality based, but I get it.
When you dig into it though, its a good thing these two pieces are separate. Their intended use is different and when you fragment them in this way it actually does improve efficiency.
I completely disagree. It’s brilliant as a separate program. It stops the bloat and cumbersome interface that plagues programs like Revit. It’s beautiful in simplicity. Like using photoshop + illustrator + indesign. Can you imagine how unwieldy those programs would be if they were all combined.
Layout should just be taken out back and shot to put it out of it’s misery… Sort of like the dynamic components need to be in SketchUp.
It is so poor at handling text, spell check (omg what a joke), crashes frequently, can’t consistently handle raster images, creates bloated pdf output… I could go on and on about how bad the software is by todays standards. The interface isn’t even consistent with SketchUp.
It is the most painful part of my teams workflow, and generates the most complaints by far!
I’m sure this post will ignite some fiery responses from the SketchUp Disciples… But that is how I see it.
And for the love of humanity, change the icon so it doesn’t look so similar to SketchUp. After the change a while back, I know launch the wrong app more often than I like.
LOL Cheers!
That is your opinion, I heartily disagree.
Do you attach details or information on the crashes? I’d be happy to look any of them up to see what’s going on. Message me and I’ll look. It’s how we fix them.
Spellchecking? That’s based on the OS & text engine.
Raster images I’d need more detail on what you’re looking for.
If you don’t like change in icons to similar, don’t look at 3D Warehouse, Extenstion Warehouse, or Style Builder then, too. That’s not my area, but if they don’t matter that much, why the concern. But I’m old school and mostly launch my apps with keyboard shortcuts of bash scripts.
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I’m very grateful for Layout and find it useful and powerful.
To be fair, Layout does not seem to integrate well with the spellcheck options of the system. On Mac it will only allow checking of pre-selected text inside an open for editing text box. It is pretty tedious to run through a large document opening each text box and every label individually to select the text inside and then run spell check. A “check whole document” option like many other programs have which would run through all text in a doc before sending to a client would really save a lot of time and headache. Check document spelling feels kind of basic for what is essentially a text and pictures document program.
