SketchUp Pro 2013 step by step

Google SketchUp Pro 2013 step by step

By João Gaspar

1st Edition

GetPro Books

São Paulo

2013

Gaspar, João

SketchUp Pro 2013 step by step

ISBN 978-85-61453-19-0

http://www.thesketchupbook.com

Phone (+ 55 11) 3814 8145

Copyright ©2013 GetPro Books

No part of this book may be reproduced without the author′s permission in any way whatsoever – photocopy, photography, or electronic or digital storage and data transmission – in accordance with the Brazilian Federal Act No. 9610 of February 19th, 1998.

No warranties, expressed or implied, are made in this book. Thus, neither the Author nor the Publisher may be held responsible for any problem or damage that may be directly or indirectly caused or assumed to be caused by this book.

All product and company names cited herein are proprietary to their respective owners, having no commercial links with the Publisher.

To Mr. Gaspar, Ms. Maria, Malu, Gabriel, Marina and all my family

To Alexandre and all those who are a part of or have been a part of Rede AEC Pro

To all my friends

These are the people who worked hard to bring SketchUp Pro 2013 step by step to the world. Thank you all!

text and coordination

João Gaspar

cover

Alexandre Villares and Leonardo Reitano

final revision

João Gaspar and Alexandre Villares

translation

Kevin Thompson

layout

Camila Ghendov and Leonardo Reitano

contribution

William Belo

Julio Britto

Artur Cordeiro

Bruno Cunha

Camila Ghendov

João Carlos Kuhn

Natália Lorenzo

Caio Mamede

Ari Miaciro

Vitor Nagoya

Tobias de São Pedro

Diego Quattrone

Carolina Scatolini

Fernando Setoguchi

Mariana Suzuki

Lia Takata

Fábio Tutibachi

e-pub Version

Leonardo Reitano

Introduction

Created to provide an experience closer to drawing and modeling with real objects, SketchUp has won over a host of loyal users year after year.

SketchUp stands out for its speed and ease when creating volumetric objects and studies.

The unique presentation quality that strays from the standards normally used and the ability to exchange information between various programs in the CAD industry are also important distinctions.

The program also brings other innovations such as integration with Google Earth and the availability of various free libraries, through the 3D Warehouse.

The book, SketchUp Pro step by step, aims to provide a high quality learning experience. All the described procedures are illustrated; at the end of each chapter is a summary of the main topics addressed and exercises to be downloaded at http://www.thesketchupbook.com. The site also has a discussion forum for the book and program with participation of the Author.

Important

This book was written from the 2013 version of SketchUp Pro for PC. On the Macintosh platform, some tools and menus may be presented somewhat differently, and these differences are mentioned in this book.

How to use the material available on the site

GetPro Books created a site exclusively for this book with a forum for communication between readers, in addition to files that should be downloaded to supplement the suggested activities at the end of each chapter. To take advantage of the material available on the site:

1. Go to www.thesketchupbook.com.

2. Complete the form with your name and email.

3. After registration, click SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES to download the files.

4. Click FORUM to access the discussion forum.

5. The suggested exercises for each chapter are available in .zip format. A .zip file exists for each chapter of the book, and you can download them by clicking directly on each link.

6. It′s recommended, but not mandatory, that you create a folder for storing all your files. Don′t forget to decompress the .zip files using WinZip or a Windows extraction tool before beginning work. If using a Mac, use a program like Stuffit Expander to extract the exercises.

If an instruction above contradicts what is published on our site at the time the book is purchased, please contact us by email at [email protected], so we can inform you on how to access the material on the site.

Where to get help

Below is a list with some recommended sites and other publications that can help to improve your knowledge of the program:

1. For more information on using SketchUp, visit sketchup.google.com/support.

2. To download ready-made-use objects on SketchUp, visit sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse.

3. To see video tutorials, in addition to work done using SketchUp, access www.youtube.com and type SketchUp in the search box.

SketchUp was created for those wanting to produce 3D objects in a fast, easy, and intuitive way. The program comes with a totally unusual interface, in which the creation, manipulation, and editing of elements is done in a way that is different from any other software. Given its unique characteristics, it doesn′t fall into the category of CAD software (like Vectorworks, ArchiCAD, or Revit, for example), or in that of traditional 3D software (3D Studio, Maya, Cinema 4D, and others); and that is what makes it such a special program.

What you′ll read in this chapter

1.1 Setup, new document, open, save, and close

1.2 Dealing with toolbars – Windows version

1.3 Dealing with toolbars – Mac version

1.4 Units, location, template

1.5 Basic viewing

1.6 Types of selection

1.7 Basic drawing

1.8 Draw with measurements

1.9 How to create and alter basic volumes

1.10 How to delete objects

1.1 Setup, new document, open, save, and close

When you open SketchUp for the first time, a window will appear. In it, you′ll make some adjustments to the program that will be used from that moment.

how to run SketchUp for the first time

1. After installation, SketchUp should have placed a program icon on your desktop. Double-click on it.

2. Click on Learn (a) if you want to learn more about SketchUp; click on Add License (b) to enter your license number; click on Choose Template (c) to choose a template to be used as a reference for creating new documents.

3. After clicking Choose Template (item 2c) click again to choose one of the options (use the click wheel to see all):

a. Simple Template – Feet and Inches: Displays the basic settings for styles and colors, with units in feet and inches;

b. Simple Template – Meters: Displays the basic settings of styles and colors, with units in meters;

c. Architectural Design – Feet and inches: Configured for architecture, in feet and inches;

d. Architectural Design – Millimeters: Configured for architecture, in millimeters;

e. Google Earth Modeling – Feet and Inches: Adjusted for use with Google Earth, in feet and inches;

f. Google Earth Modeling – Meters: Adjusted for use with Google Earth, in meters;

g. Engineering – Feet: Configured for engineering, units in feet;

h. Engineering – Meters: Configured for engineering, units in meters;

i. Product Design and Woodworking – Inches: Adjusted for woodworking and product design, in inches;

j. Product Design and Woodworking – Millimeters: Adjusted for woodworking and product design, in millimeters;

k. Plan View – Feet and Inches: Simple configuration for plan view, in feet and inches;

l. Plan View – Meters: Simple configuration for plan view, in meters.

m. Beginning Template – Feet and Inches: Template to be used with official SketchUp training material, in feet and inches;

n. Beginning Template – Meters: Template to be used with official SketchUp training material, in meters.

4. Click on Start using SketchUp and the program will start, using the selection made on the previous item.

to create a new document

1. Choose File/New (Ctrl+N).

2. SketchUp will open a new drawing area. Your configurations (units, location, palette, etc.) are based on the selected template file, which can be found in Window/Preferences/Template.

to open a document

1. Choose File/Open (Ctrl+O), and select the document to be opened.

NOTE SketchUp for Windows does not allow opening more than one document during the same session of the program. If you want to open two or more documents (to copy and paste objects between them, for example) you need to open other sessions of SketchUp, clicking twice on the program icon (just as if starting the program again). On a Macintosh, SketchUp allows using more than one document during the same session. To toggle between files on a Mac, just use the Window menu.

to save a document

1. Choose File/Save (Ctrl+S).

2. If it is the first time the document will be saved, SketchUp will ask for a name and location on the computer.

3. If it′s not the first time, the document will be saved under the same name with which it was created and in the same place.

4. To save a document with another name and/or place it in another location on the computer, choose File/Save As....

to close a document and end the program

1. Choose File/Exit (Ctrl+Q). If the document has not been saved, SketchUp will ask if you want to save it. The program will never close your document without saving (unless that is your intention).

1.2 Dealing with Toolbars – Windows version

SketchUp does have a lot of tools that are organized in toolbars. As the software became more flexible along the years because of the popularity of the add-ons (extra tools you can download to increase SketchUp skills), the interface usually can get a little bit clunky, with a lot of toolbars floating on your screen. Next, you′ll learn how to manage SketchUp toolbars to keep your drawing window organized.

to open a toolbar

1. Choose View/Toolbars....

2. Activate the toolbar you want by clicking in the related check box. The toolbar will be shown instantly. Click once again in the box to deactivate it.

3. Once you´re done, click on Close.

creating a new toolbar

1. Choose View/Toolbars.....

2. Click on New....

3. Enter a name for your toolbar (a) and click OK (b).

4. To populate your toolbar, simply click and drag the tools you want from other toolbars. Now you know you can do the same thing to reorganize existing toolbars, if you want.

5. Click on Close when finished.

toolbar options

1. If you have made some changes in a toolbar and now want it to be just like it was on the start, select it (a) and choose Reset (b). A dialog will appear asking if you really want to reset the toolbar. Choose Yes (c).