tools

Scaling Objects Sketchup Tape Measure Components14

SketchUp’s Tape Measure tool is a handy little thing. It can be used for measuring, creating guide lines, and resizing objects. And when it comes to resizing, you can either resize everything in your model at once, or you can separate out objects you want to resize individually. This is great if you want to size one object […]

SketchUp Paste In Place 4

I was recently doing a small SketchUp consulting project for a friend who’s a landscape architect. She wanted my help with generating topographical surfaces, while she was going to concentrate on finding the right vegetation components. Because we weren’t working with any kind of fancy file-checkout system, we agreed that we’d work on the same model […]

Optimizing SketchUp Performance: Part 2 - Settings

Part 1 of this three-part series focused on the hardware you need to maximize SketchUp performance. In this part, I’ll discuss how to adjust SketchUp settings for the most efficient performance. Here’s what I’ll cover: Edge Styles Shadows OpenGL Outliner   Edge Styles These are the easiest setting to change, and can have a significant impact on performance. […]

SketchUp's Scale Tool - a Simple Snap of the Pin

The very useful Scale tool in SketchUp enables you to adjust object size or proportions. An overview of the Scale tool can be found in SketchUp’s Help Center. The Scale tool is generally pretty straightforward, but sometimes it can drive you crazy. This post will demonstrate a few tips that might help preserve your scaling sanity, and maybe […]

1001bit Tools Final Detail

In Part 1 of this tutorial, I gave a quick overview of how to quickly model a residential house (walls, roof, framing), using the 1001bit Tools extension.  In this post, I’ll show a few more of these tools, to punch holes in the wall and detail out grills. The tools I’ll show here are for openings, panels, and louvers. […]

1001Bit tools

The 1001bit Tools extension has been around for a long time, and should be a household name (in your SketchUp house). Written by a smart guy named Goh Hun Chee, it’s a free script you can install directly from the Extension Warehouse. We’ll have a series of posts in the near future about finding and […]

SketchUp's Quick Reference Card

If you’re just starting out using SketchUp, you ought to print yourself a copy of SketchUp’s Quick Reference Card (QRC) and tack it somewhere above your computer. There are separate QRC versions: one for PC and one for Mac. And even if you’re an old hand at SketchUp, check out the QRC anyway. You’ll probably learn some […]