Book Image

Getting Started with SketchUp Pro

By : David S. Sellers
Book Image

Getting Started with SketchUp Pro

By: David S. Sellers

Overview of this book

Owing to its ability to create models quickly and with high level of dimensional accuracy, SketchUp Pro has become a popular choice for many industries, including architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, and video game design. If you are seeking to adopt Trimble's exceptional design software, Getting Started with SketchUp Pro serves as an ideal primer to prepare and equip you for its use. This book will help you lay the foundation of a project from scratch, set up appropriate units, and follow a guided path to structure your 3D models. You’ll explore the workflows used for creating designs from sketches, making CAD drawings (DWG), and even updating your existing 3D models. Finally, you’ll work with extensions and 3D Warehouse to find new workflows and models to add to your skill set. By the end of this SketchUp book, you’ll be able to confidently create and share models of your design through CAD drawings and 3D views, and even take them online through the 3D Warehouse
Table of Contents (18 chapters)
1
Part 1 – User Interface and Beginning Modeling!
7
Part 2 – Views, Animations, and Materials
11
Part 3 – Advanced Modeling and Model Organization
12
Chapter 9: Entity Info, Outliner, and Tags Dynamically Organize Your Models
13
Chapter 10: Model Info and Preferences

Using the Components Panel

Components are fundamental to elevating SketchUp Pro from a simple 3D software working with Edges and Faces into a scalable architecture, landscape architecture, interior design, or woodworking tool. Components allow SketchUp models to be protected, imported, edited, and referenced throughout a model.

Components are managed in the Components panel, which can be toggled on in the default tray by going to Window | Default Tray | Components in the Main Menu:

Figure 11.1 – Menu Dropdown for Components Panel

The Components panel is broken into two parts, with active Component information at the top and the Select, Edit, and Statistics tabs at the bottom. Additionally, the black-and-white button at the top right of the panel will display or hide the secondary selection pane, which works the same way as the Select tab:

Figure 11.2 – Display the Secondary Selection Pane Button and Tooltip

The Components...