TerryMcK Posted April 24, 2014 Report Share Posted April 24, 2014 I'm been a user of Sketchup for years and I've been testing the Pro version of Sketchup 14 for the 8 hour evaluation period and have found it very good. The additional features of Sketchup Layout are fantastic if you are a professional user and have to get working drawings out to clients. I'm not a professional engineer anymore, having left that profession using AutoCad many years ago, so don't need the feature. The 3D modelling extras in the Pro version are useful but not essential in a woodworking design environment. For instance if you want to project a radius all the way around a surface (producing a representation of a roundover like the lid on this box) you can do it quite easily using Intersect Faces command. You then have to erase all the extraneous lines produced manually. The Solid Tools command does all of this for you but it costs $$$ for the privilege. I, as a weekend warrior garage woodworker, am happy to do this by hand so it's no big deal. New to this version is a template especially for woodworkers either in inches or millimetres. This was previously called Product Design Woodworking in V13 but has now become a template in its own right. They have also made vast improvements to the Extension Warehouse. One I always install is called Layer Manager by D.Bur. This is a superb tool if you are familiar with the concept of layers. When the eval period is over the program stops working. This is unlike previous versions which automatically revert to the SketchupMake version. However all is not lost if you download Make and un-install the Pro version. Then when you install the Make version it detects that you have had a version of Pro on before. It asks you if you want to buy a license. If not it then allows you to use the Make version free of charge as usual. The good thing is that any preference changes you made or Extension Warehouse apps you have installed whilst using Pro are still there. After you install Make there are a few limitations: Layout, Reporting, Solid Tools and Advanced Camera Tools are not present. There are a few other minor commands that are missing When you save a drawing it defaults to Sketchup 14 format. You can save in older formats if you like. If you are opening a file saved with an older version it gives you a warning that "you will not be able to load the file in a previous version of Sketchup if you save it in Sketchup 14". This message has been around in all previous versions. Just make sure if you are sharing a file with a friend that you save it in the same version that they have. But other than that Sketchup Make Version 14 is a superb addition to your PC or Mac if you want to visualize it before cutting wood. As ever Trimble are making vast improvements both under the hood and cosmetically to this fine application but I really do hope they keep a free version for non professionals in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jfitz Posted April 24, 2014 Report Share Posted April 24, 2014 For instance if you want to project a radius all the way around a surface (producing a representation of a roundover like the lid on this box) you can do it quite easily using Intersect Faces command. You then have to erase all the extraneous lines produced manually Isn't that what the "follow me" tool is supposed to do? I've never really used it other than one following one of the online tutorials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Thurman-Keup Posted April 25, 2014 Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 Isn't that what the "follow me" tool is supposed to do? I've never really used it other than one following one of the online tutorials. Yes, that's one thing the follow me tool can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted April 25, 2014 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2014 Yes indeed using the Follow Me tool to duplicate a profile along a path can also be used. There are several ways to achieve the same results in Sketchup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chopnhack Posted May 1, 2014 Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 I generally hide the lines if they take away visually from the model, just select and hide :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhl.verona Posted May 1, 2014 Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 Thanks Terry for the review. I haven't updated my version in a while - since I use Linux, I have to run the thing in a virtual box. Actually I've been using BiroCAD quire a lot recently (it's great, no need for a print out, but it does have a problem cancelling lines). I'll have to do some catching up - nd give that Layout Manager a look too. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerryMcK Posted May 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 Thanks John. I tested Sketchup 13 running in Wine using Fedora and that seemed to work ok if a little slow. Mind you the PC I was running it on only had a Pentium 4 processor in it with a pretty primitive graphics card. It just shows that linux runs on very low spec machines with ease and flies on modern hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhl.verona Posted May 1, 2014 Report Share Posted May 1, 2014 Quite some time back I tried using but there were a few nasty "gotch's", such as throwing a screaming fit if you try to create a component, random scaling when printing, and the total failure to export an image. All three of which pretty well rendered the program useless. Perhaps things have improved since then? John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted May 2, 2014 Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 I've been using Sketchup 7 & 8 under wine on Linux Mint 12 with good success. Sometimes get screen corruption, but shifting the view will clear it up.Not sure how the very latest Sketchup release will do ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveT Posted May 2, 2014 Report Share Posted May 2, 2014 I've got Sketchup 8 running on Ubuntu 12.10 but couldn't get 14 to install. Only problem I have with 8 is printing (big black square). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted May 3, 2014 Report Share Posted May 3, 2014 I must admit I never tried to print from 8, but 7 worked fine. I generally just use sketchup to digitally model and experiment with design ideas. I don't use it to make printable plans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milo Posted May 23, 2014 Report Share Posted May 23, 2014 I tried doing an update from Sketchup itself. It said "Unable to find latest version information. My version is 8.0. Was this the last versions Google released? Is 14 the new company? Do a WANT to change to the new companies version of Sketchup? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Thurman-Keup Posted May 24, 2014 Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 I can't remember if there were any significant new features between 8.0 and 2014. The extensions warehouse is kinda nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wtnhighlander Posted May 24, 2014 Report Share Posted May 24, 2014 If you happen to be running Sketchup on Linux via the WINE environment, be careful when upgrading. Sketchup 7 worked quite well for me, but 8 was a major hassel to get working. Haven't tried the latest release yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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