24 replies to this topic

[NBG]

Hi everyone,

I have 2 questions for you, nerds / woodworkers. First, who has tried sketchup on a tablet (ipad or else)? IS it doable? Is the touchscreen usable?

And what about drawing on sketchup with a ... "drawing tablet" (? not sure how to name this stuff to make the difference with an ipad-like device, something like that: http://www.amazon.co...t/dp/B000WEHJHG)?

Is it better? quicker? what do you think?

[PurpLev]

ok, I'm a nerd and a woooworker, so I guess I'll take a pick at this.

SketchUp is not available for the iPad/smartphones and I think that as precise as finger gestures are today they are still not precise enough for precision drawing of any kind CAD included.

That said, I AM using (and have for many many years) a tablet on my computers and I find that it not only easier to do things than a mouse as well as some things that would be impossible to do with a mouse (freehand drawing/selecting for example) it is also much easier on the hands/palms/arms and less tiring.

the only thing that I can see people might not like about it is that there is no scroll wheel - but there ARE alternatives to that.

[Aaron Marshall]

It's maddening enough to use SketchUp on a laptop without an external mouse. My first reaction to using it on a tablet would be "Ouch!"

That said, the geek in me wonders if you could get it running on a tablet somehow. I bet it would be so convoluted that the process and resulting bragging rights would be epic.

[Paul-Marcel]

I think its greatest use on a tablet would be for interactive viewing: rotations, zooms, exploding view, and maybe less emphasis on actual drawing. For example, I could see it being very useful to bring to a client to show your design for a commission. Maybe they'll make a version like that, eventually. Probably call it SketchPad.

[SDWoodworker]

Google making a version of sketchup for iPad? Unlikely. I did just before reading this forum searched tha apps store for a sketchup viewer (third party). No joy. Would be nice though.

[JMadson Custom Wood]

I recently purchased Sight Space for my iPad. It might be a good viewer for buildings but not for smaller cabinets. Has anyone else used this app?

[MikeM]

It would be nice to have a viewer that allows full rotation and zoom and out for handheld/touchscreen device. I pretty much build my self-designed projects straight from the sketch-up model on the computer screen, so I carry a laptop out to the garage whenever I am working.

[Aaron Marshall]

A portable viewer app would indeed be nice. I tend to export to PDFs if I want to take designs out to the shop, but this won't rotate or zoom obviously.

[PurpLev]

FYI, to view a model in 3d you can always save it to 3Dwarehouse and view it with a web browser which lets you rotate and zoom around the model, not as much control as actually using SketchUp but it does provide with some viewing options (clients)

[JMadson Custom Wood]

Hey All,
I have it from a very good source that Google is working on something that will work with the iPad. I don't have any details, but expect it some time in the near future.
Joe

[NBG]

Ok, that's a very good news. I guess if they are working ona a Ipad version, they just HAVE to be working on the android version too.

[John Fitz]

A viewing-only app makes a lot of sense for an iPad, since a tablet is more of an information "consumption" model, as opposed to a "creation" model.

[JMadson Custom Wood]

A viewing-only app makes a lot of sense for an iPad, since a tablet is more of an information "consumption" model, as opposed to a "creation" model.

I have no desire to create on my iPad, my fat fingers would make a big mess. But I would love to be able to navigate through a model with a customer. Maybe change colors or backgrounds.

[Jason]

Looks like we might have an answer right here. Android and apple are covered here.


http://blog.limitles...-now-available/

[Jason]

Kind of expensive though.

[croessler]

Did you know that there is an AutoCad viewer for the iPad? It looks pretty good. It will allow you to do basic edits of a .dwg file as well. Would be nice to see just a viewer from Google for SketchUp.

[Chopcat]

if you export your model from your pc as a google earth compatible model you can then view using cubits from the app store.

great for explaining projects to clients etc, but you can't edit the files.

it is cheap as well.

[stahlee]

I've used SketchUp on my iPad, and it's unusable in the current form. Not a good experience with the touch interface. The interface would need to change a bit to make it usable on any tablet. Photoshop was somewhat easier to use because there is less precision, but illustrator was painful to. I think vector based Illustration is not made for touch interfaces, as is.

[croessler]

How did you get it to run on the iPad?

[Jason]