Sketchup grief again/still... (2023 Update)

I've yet to get anywhere useful w/ Sketchup; it and I just don't seem to "be able to communicate"... :(

I tried again and somehow munged up the toolbar -- how does one restore the defaults?

Reply to
dpb
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To reset the default toolbar to its original tool set: select Toolbar Options > Add or Remove Buttons > Main Toolbar > Reset Toolbar -or- On the Customize dialog box?s Toolbars tab, select Main Toolbar and click the Reset button.

Reply to
Spalted Walt

I found a book to be more useful than videos.

Reply to
Bill

...

Any one in particular?

Reply to
dpb

First off, what version are you using?

I'm using, 17.x. In this version if you accidentally loose some tool bars you simply right click on the area where the title bar is normally situated and you will see a drop down menu of tool bars available, used and not used. If go to the bottom of that drop down menu you will see the Toolbars, click that and you can edit, restore, or create more tool bars.

Unfortunately Sketchup is no longer being updated for the free version and they want you to use an on line version, it sucks.

IIRC I have an install file for 17 if you would be interested.

Reply to
Leon

On 7/15/2018 9:21 AM, Leon wrote: ...

Thanks, Leon.

I ran into that, too...what is installed as near as can tell is something they call 2017 Sketchup Make v17.2.nnnn (don't recall the nnn)

AFAICT that is running locally; I get a prompt every time open to go to an online version that I've refused.

But, doesn't seem to match up precisely with the doc nor behavior so it appears to me this is/was some intermediary release on the way to the online version maybe...

I've never had any luck whatsoever w/ SU as far as getting anything useful done; I just don't seem to have the knack to use it as it's intended. Drawing a square and cutting a hole or dup'ing it is fine but trying to piece stuff together to make a real object just ends up in pure frustration...

Reply to
dpb

That is what you want, that is as good as it gets unless you spend some money.. ;~( i'm actually using 17.2.555

I don't get that other than the normal splash screen that has always popped up. No extra clicks to get the program up and running.

Soooooo.. ;~) Have you learned to make each separate part of your project into a "component" before drawing other pieces of the project?

Draw a square, push or pull it to make it a box, draw a circle on one side and push the circle and you are done with that part of the puzzle. NOW make all of that into a component before starting to draw another part of the project. It is protected, so to speak, but you can edit it later and if you do edit it later keep in mind that if you make copies of the component they too will reflect edits.

If you do not make each "project piece" into a component before moving on to the other pieces will result in the "part" being unprotected, so to speak. Making a part into a component prevents it from being attached to other lines or parts. Until an object is made into a component it will "stick" to other parts in the drawing.

Think of building in the shop. You do not start gluing pieces of wood together until they are the correct size. Drawing is the same, complete the piece, make it into a component and move on to the next part of the drawing, make into a component, and so on.

Once all pieces are components you can move them around with out them becoming attached to each other.

IMHO this is the number one thing that you should learn to do to make drawing go 1000% less stressful.

To make anything into a component simply hi-light all lines that you want to be a separate piece of the project, and only those lines. The right click the selection and choose Make Component. IIRC you can also simply type the letter G as a shortcut. Then a box will open, you can name the component or simply press enter to accept.

Is that what is making you pull your hair out? :~) It tool me 3 years with separate installs of different versions before I learned to do this. Draw like you would build, finish a part and make it a component before going to the next part of the project.

Reply to
Leon

I believe this was my first one:

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But it's 9 years old now (and can be had cheap). There seem to be many more choices now. Surely it was designed for an older version of the product. But I don't think that would be a big deal. In my experience, it was easier to follow directions that were given in text, rather than to try to pick up instructions by watching someone in a video-where you may not see them right-click, for instance.

Remembering Leon's suggestion to "Make Components" is worth remembering (or you'll be forever frustrated when trying to change a model--at that point it's too late).

Start small, be patient, and you'll be able to learn how to do everything. I used to practice trying to build a 3-d house from scratch everyday, Then I'd add a door, a window, furniture (from the "component store), bushes, sidewalk, etc. One you figure it out, you can build fast. Take a few months off from it, and you won't be as fast.. ha. Good luck!

Bill

Reply to
Bill

Yes, that's one of many "Keys" to learning sketchup. More basic than that however is nothing is very intuitive and trying to skip around doesn't work, you must start small and take small steps. Draw a rectangle with the rectangle tool, size it in the dimension panel. Push it into a box, size it, make it a component, etc, etc.

I'll say. I was really proficient at it but haven't used it in a year or so. I recently tried using it and while rusty, the damn app no longer works correctly. The select tool takes 30 seconds to make a selection. Turns out this problem was common with a WIN 10 update in

2017 (specifically KB4013429) I'm current at ver. 1803 build 17134.165 and apparently the problem still exists, at least for me.

If one would try to learn SU with this problem occurring, they would fail miserably before getting off the ground. The solution in 2017 appeared to be removing the win update, but it would return when WIN did it's automatic update. I haven't figured out the fix, if there is one, yet.

Reply to
Jack

I like both, video and text. Video is great to understand what Sketchup is capable of doing. Hey that is interesting, I did not know it could do that.

Text to explain something that you want to do. Now that I know what I want Sketchup to do, the book will explain how to do it.

IMHO software is easier to learn if you know what it will do to begin with vs. having to learn, trial by error, what it will do.

Reply to
Leon

NO kidding!

The solution in 2017

I know that you can and or could have Windows wait for permission from you to perform updates, you could look at the updates that were going to be applied and uncheck the ones that would be a problem, that is how I prevented Windows from updating my Win 7 to Win 10.

Have you checked with Sketchup?

Reply to
Leon

Reply to
Bill

My second book on SketchUp was the one below. IIRC, I liked it's style better. But is says "for Intermediate and Advanced users". You can preview it at Amazon. You can probably preview other books too, to find something to your liking. I found my first book, the one in my earlier post, a little "dry". There must be something better.

Google SketchUp Cookbook: Practical Recipes and Essential Techniques

(Don't forget to) Have fun! : ) Bill

Reply to
Bill

Thanks, Bill...I don't think "fun" is in the cards... :)

I still think in terms of the old drafting board and CAD programs that mimicked hand drawings that used for so many years and can't seem to get past the paradigm shift. For what I'm wanting to do, if it would run on the 64-bit OS, I'd just go back to it but I also don't want to spend the time at the moment to reinstall the virtual system and all...proverbial catch-22! :) (And I do really, really understand in the end I need to get to where can use SU at least with a minimal degree of proficiency)

Reply to
dpb

Win10 is the first win I allowed updates at all. They make it hard, if not impossible not to update the thing. Problem was I wasn't using Sketchup when the aforementioned update apparently screwed it up, and not sure I can go back that far to remove updates, at least the list of prior updates only shows 2018 on my system. I've had a problem with Thunderbird loading slowly, probably the same issue from the same update. Others have had the same issue there as well. As it is, Sketchup is pretty much worthless to me until I get this fixed. It could be system specific, as in my graphics card, or chips, who knows?

Are you running WIN10 or 7 now? This is the first problem I've had since it was released.

No. I'm guessing they are only interested in paying customers now. All I did (yesterday) was a DAGS that turned up the issue was/is common with that specific win update. I tried a reinstall w/o removal of SU and it asked if I wanted to repair errors or remove it. I did the repair errors, and that didn't do a thing, nor did changing win compatibility to Win 7 and win 8.

Reply to
Jack

That's not good.

That's a big problem with SU. You think you know enough about CAD that you can sort of figure stuff out. Quicky, frustration builds and you quit. This is why lots of us took several try's to get going with SU. It is NOT intuitive. You must first, assume it will do everything you want (it mostly likely will) and then SLOW DOWN, and learn some very basic things, don't get ahead of yourself.

Once you get past the first few basic aspects, it becomes pretty easy. Learn how to make a 2x4x8. Make it a component. This is easy, but requires using the rectangle tool, the push tool, the selection tool, and the dimension box. You also need to know what perspective you are looking at (there is iso, front top left right and back)

Use Youtube videos to learn a step at a time, there are a million of them. Some just what you need, others not so much.

For what I'm wanting to do, if it would run on

Once you get the minimal degree of proficiency, the maximum is just around the corner. But, it's tough getting started.

Oh, make sure your select tool doesn't take more than a split second to make a selection. Mine now take at least 30 seconds so you can't use SU if this is happening.

Reply to
Jack

Did another Google search and found the fix for the select tool.

Window/preferences/Open GL/Hardware acceleration --- off

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That fixed it. Hooray for Google and YouTube, and TakNeekwala who took the time to post the fix.

Reply to
Jack

Great! FWIW there have a series of updates that have been screwing with my computer in the last few weeks. Further updates have corrected the problems.

Reply to
Leon

Nailed it! I have used probably 5~6 different CAD programs including AutoCAD. Sketchup is totally different than all the rest.

I drew every line in the beginning. ;!)

Agreed, for me, suddenly everything just clicked. But you HAVE to create components or you will get nowhere.

Reply to
Leon

Well, I just came to report... :)

I believe that _just maybe_ I've finally began to get a little ways off the ground...I deleted what I spent most (at least what I could stand before getting so frustrated would go do something else) of previous two days doing and managed then to recreate the basic outlines of a floor plan with entry in about 5 minutes (most of which was trying to remember which of the stinkin' icons means which tool...). Now to see if I can insert the immovable interior walls onto that which create the boundaries for the proposed renovations...

An almost totally trivial result so far, but it does begin to show me how need to try to put stuff together when one _doesn't_ draw every line as would w/ the pencil.

Thanks for the pointers...I think this is about the fourth or fifth time we've had the conversation, maybe this time some will "stick"! :)

That doesn't seem an issue; I am sticking to Win7 as long as possible, however...

I will ask one more Q? on the toolbars, however -- if one adds an additional toolbar, it appears that they all have many of the same tools in different toolbars -- but I don't see a way to pare those down to eliminate the redundant or to just add a particular tool? That somehow doesn't seem the way it ought to work...I must be missing something here, too...

Reply to
dpb

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