It has been proved that teamwork efforts pay off. This is especially true for SketchUp, one of the best ranked user-friendly computer-aided design (CAD) software, which kicked off 2021 with lots of refreshed and tuned-up features following users’ feedback as is its custom.
Introducing New Looks in SketchUp
CAD software users know how important it is to rely on scale figures to keep them grounded as to the size of their models. SketchUp Pro includes Sumele Aruofor, the senior strategic marketing manager, as the new scale figure in the axis to acknowledge her expertise and passion at work that so positively impacts SketchUp products, brand and culture.
A logo conveys meaning that is deeply linked to the company or product branding. This renewed look of SketchUp was also incorporated into the complete redesign of the logos suite, which illustrates how SketchUp has grown since Trimble acquired it from Google in 2012. Not only can you explore and download the logos from the 3D Warehouse but you are also challenged to have fun and redraw them!
A Quick Overview of the Unrivaled Upgrades
Now you see it, now you don’t! To give users more visibility control over hidden geometry or objects, the Scenes feature has been improved in this release by adding a new checkbox located in the Scenes Panel. Now users can select and save hidden geometry or objects separately on a Scene-by-Scene basis.
Consistency is crucial, and the visibility control functionality has also been extended to the Section Planes, which can now be saved per Scene to ensure that when grouped with objects they behave as such.
This innovation is also present in a feature that makes it possible to easily and accurately edit hidden objects, as shown in this video.
Improving Model Organization
There are nothing but wins in this new SketchUp release. To begin with, users will control all the grips of a selected item by clicking the down arrow while hovering over the item to toggle the midpoints of the edges of the box, the face, or the center.
Speeding up the workflow and saving time when manipulating objects is essential. Users can now benefit from this by right-clicking on an empty space to create a grouped object or component.
LayOut also experienced improvements in its deletion and selection capabilities. With the upgraded Select tool, users won’t make accidental moves but just intentional ones. Selections and moves will be more precise by clicking on the actual object, not on the object’s bounding box as was the case in earlier versions. One last enhancement to LayOut is the ability to set visibility to multiple items by using the Tag Folders functionality.
Sibling Web Modeler Also Comes with a New Twist
All the improvements described above are available in the SketchUp for Web product version. Users already knew how to search for and activate keyboard shortcuts and commands. The Search Tool is a specific update for the web-based product, which enables users to create and customize keyboard shortcuts, which definitely helps to speed up the workflow.
SketchUp for Web includes the 3D Warehouse feature. Undoubtedly, users will greatly appreciate this since it helps keep the design process smooth when searching for and accessing more than 15,000 prebuilt parametric models in the 3D Warehouse by allowing them to be imported without interrupting the workflow.
Not to fall short, the company also presents two innovative product offerings. High-res aerial imagery found in the Add Location feature, which helps users geolocate their models, and PreDesign, a feature available in SketchUp Pro and Studio subscriptions, that based on contextual data, suggests the most suitable designs to help users start getting creative.
The team behind the development of these new functionalities has no doubt worked tirelessly amid the pandemic to accomplish its goal set and to continue delivering a product that remains user-friendly and state-of-the-art. If you are interested in learning more about these new features, you can visit the company’s website and check the SketchUp Release Notes.