As you may recall, we launched Google SketchUp 7 last November. Today I'm happy to announce our first maintenance release for version 7 with fixes to many of the most commonly reported problems. The list of fixes in our release notes is pretty long, so I asked Tommy from our Support team what he thought would be good to highlight. Here's what he had to say:
- Place models underwater in Google Earth: Google Earth 5.0 launched earlier this month and added ocean floor terrain, which made it possible to place models under the water. But SketchUp didn't have a way to support that...until now. Those of you working on secret plans for underwater hideouts (laser sharks) can now place those models in Google Earth.
- More accurate model placement in Google Earth: Models placed from SketchUp into Google Earth sometimes came in with rotational errors, making it difficult to properly position a model. Likewise, edges that weren't part of a face were being dropped, which made kites, bridge cables, and some windmills look a little odd. We've fixed both of these issues.
- Authorizing Pro is easier: On Windows Vista®, SketchUp Pro folks had to run as an "Administrator" to authorize. You don't have to do that any more.
- On Windows, choose Help > Check for Update
- On a Mac, choose SketchUp > Check Web for Update...
12 comments :
Sorry to sound negative, but I just checked : one of the most annoying bugs on the Mac hasn't been fixed. At least on an iMac 24' alu (2.4 Ghz, RAM 4 Gb, ATI Radeon HD2600 video card) the panning tool can take ages (often several seconds !) to react. This doesn't happen on a MacBook Pro, which has another video card (NVDIA). And panning with a 3DConnexion SpaceNavigator is fortunately not affected. This clearly means that there is a problem in the way Sketchup accesses its panning tool. Couldn't it simply "talk to it as efficiently as the SpaceNavigator does ?
In many years of 3D modelling, I never saw such a behaviour in any other 3D software. And my iMac has always been running Unity3D, Carrara Pro, Vue Infinite, Cheetah3D, Blender and other major 3D apps without a single glitch.
I filed several bug reports, and only got one answer from the Google team : "try disabling hardware acceleration" - which is of course not an option. I also tried to uncheck "fast feedback" : same result.
And since Google don't offer multiplatform licenses (why, btw ?) I can't even use my Mac serial number on a PC.
Conclusion : I'm stuck.
Could you please talk to the person who is responsible for this area ?
Thanks in advance...
I will repeat what Yann said above. I have the same problem, same machine and video card. It happens consistently. I also have SU on my PC (and I also share the complaint about multi-platform.. It just so happens that I am a student and can take advantage of the reduced price, otherwise, not possible.)
I don't know if this is related, but when I do a print preview of a multi-page printout, on return to SU after display of the preview, the model display is completely distorted and sometimes just gone. Zoom extents doesn't show anything. I need to exit the program to recover.
I have tried all the permutations and combinations of video settings but none seem to make a difference.
These are serious problems that affect the ability to work efficiently. Please address them in the next fix.
Howdy Yann Le Bihan and Don,
Many thanks for bringing this orbiting issue and related issues to our attention. We're definitely investigating all of these unexpected behaviors and hope to have them fixed soon.
If you encounter any additional issues, feel free to post them to the SketchUp Issues group. This will allow us to start a dialog with you and also get a better idea of how many people are affected by a particular issue.
Thanks again.
If i have an authorized copy of Sketchup 7, would i have to authorize it again after installing this patch?
Omar
SU Guide Tommy,
Just to be specific, the issue on the iMac is with panning. Orbiting doesn't seem to be a problem. Just select the grab hand, try to drag ... freeze.
I experienced similar issues on a Gateway (Windows Vista) laptop with the Radeon 2600 series card. SketchUp refused to work right on this hardware, similar to what the Mac users describe. Panning and orbiting was unusably slow.
I returned the laptop with the Radeon 2600 card and got a different laptop with a GeForce card...problem solved.
Thank you, Tommy, for your answer. I will follow your advice and post to this group.
@Clive : this is very interesting. Same kind of problems on both platforms, always with the ATI 2600 series.
I read with interest the glitches encountered with the radeon 2600 card by various people.I have an acer with the same card and my problem is that have trouble picking faces on my models,It either will not pick or it highlights the face behind.I have to rotate until I get an angle that will allow me to. Please comment
Yann and Clive:
Same graphics card here and the same problem. I've brought it up with the SU ppl before, but they blame the graphics drivers and say they cant do anything about it. Something with OpenGL compatibility of the drivers and card. Since laptop manufacturers release their own drivers the problem is with them. We had a lot of help from HP who actually made custom drivers for us - made things a lot better but doesn's solve the problem entirely. We don't get the performance we want, but we can at least work now.
I had similar panning/ rotating/moving problems with the previous SU7 on my iMac and ultimately solved them by changing from a cordless mouse to a Logitech laser cable mouse. Hope that helps
My company bought the multi-user pack of Sketch-Up going on two years ago and STILL cannot get more than one user to be able to use it. It doesn't allow more than one registered copy. I used the program for about 3 days and haven't touched it since. I got no help at all trying to get it to work. All they kept saying was "It should work" "did you do this..." I would LOVE to be able to even use it but with any type of instruction I am lost.
Cheryl
I must admit that this zooming tool is somewhat hindering. I run an acer with Windows XP. The issue I am facing is I get into my drawing and as it gets more complex my zoom in and out begins to not function propely. What can I do?
Post a Comment