In its time at Google, SketchUp has become one of the most popular 3D modeling tools in the world. With over 30 million SketchUp activations in just the last year, we’re awfully proud of our accomplishments. But there’s still so much we want to do, and we think we’ve found a way forward that will benefit everyone—our product, our team and especially our millions of users.
That’s why I’m sharing today that the SketchUp team and technology will be leaving Google to join Trimble. We’ll be better able to focus on our core communities: modelers who have been with us from the beginning, as well as future SketchUppers who have yet to discover our products. Designers, builders and makers of things have always been the heart and soul of SketchUp. With Trimble’s commitment to invest in our growth, we’ll be able to innovate and develop new features better than ever before.
For those of you in the architecture, engineering and construction industries, the knowledge and experience Trimble will add to the SketchUp effort are obvious. Together with our new colleagues at Trimble, we plan to continue making our tools for the building professions as innovative, intuitive and (dare I say) fun to use as we always have.
If you’re one of the many, many people who use SketchUp for something else—from education to woodworking, geo-modeling to movie-making—rest assured that there will be a SketchUp for you, too. Our mission has always been to make 3D modeling tools that anyone can use. The free version of SketchUp is an important part of our world as well, and that isn’t changing in the least.
Thanks to Google, more people than we ever imagined possible have been introduced to SketchUp. Thanks to Trimble, we’ll be able to continue to make SketchUp into the tool that we—and you—have always hoped it would become. With a strong wind at our backs and plenty of sunshine ahead, this voyage just keeps getting more exciting.
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171 comments :
Should I be excited or worried now?
Is the same developer team going to continue?
Is SketchUp going to fragment to the different user groups?
It's not good for those who contributed a lot to Google Sketchup. :(
Those who were worried when @last was acquired by Google had little to worry about- the product got better and better. I hope the same trend will continue
Yet another set of managers to train... Sigh.... I expect a huge + out of this will be a new set of forums and better collaboration between SketchUp and users. Groups suck.
Most of the excellence of SketchUp for the last four years or so have come from the community. Not very much has happened to the core program in terms of modeling features. Now I've never heard of Trimble before. I hope they talk to the community to about what's going on and what their plans are. I'm sure a lot of people are worried, me among them.
Such great news for Sketchup! Glad to see it will now be developed by people working in the industry it is used for!
@Thomas
Yup, core SketchUp team (which is mostly unchanged from the @Last days) is going to stay intact. There are some more details on Trimble's FAQ for the announcement: http://goo.gl/4FQsj
Mark
SketchUp Community Manager
SketchUp has improved a LOT thanks to 3dwarehouse, building maker, googleearth, and Google support, however is not too diferent than @last core version, I was expecting more from Google tho': 64 bit processing, multi-core processing, more plugins for animators, dedicated plugins for woodworkers, and so on.
I hope this change is for the best, and I hope it doesn't affect free sketchup users.
Who knows if it improves as I am expecting, I might consider to go PRO
I'm worried. I'm not as dependent on SketchUp as an architectural designer as I used to be, and I've become involved with some "rival" applications to almost the same extent. But still, nothing quite matches the UI/capability "sweet spot" that SU hit so well.
@PlanetNoize
I fully agree that the 3d warehouse, Google Earth support and the free version of SketchUp are all really great additions. And I'm glad to see the core development team will remain.
我跟大家一樣擔心著SketchUp的發展~
At first glance, as an architect who uses SketchUp, this is a big mistake. SketchUp seems to be moving further away from it's architectural origins. I'm afraid that Trimble will move SketchUp more towards a GIS tool, than a schematic design tool. The other comments are correct in saying that the core really hasn't changed that much from the software's beginnings at @last. When Google acquired SketchUp I was hoping to see more development of the presentation portion of SketchUp and the incorporation of more BIM style intelligence. I'll wait and see what happens, but I really don't see this as a good fit for the SketchUp community as a whole.
I'm a little worried by this. I'm only a casual user but SketchUp is perhaps the best game on my PC :)
Are there any changes in the blogs, RSS feeds or user groups that we should be aware of? I want to stay in touch with SketchUp product developments, etc.
John B,
Trimble does much more than GIS, and SketchUp is going into Engineering and Constuction, which is very sold on using BIMs for vertical construction. I expect you'll actually see much more commitment to your cause by Trimble.
PB
I guess the next thing we will hear about is the "transition" of 3d Warehouse to the folks at Sweets Catalog.
hopefully everything will be better, please do not ruin a good thing!
@Thomas C.
Nope, you can still keep tabs on SketchUp using this blog, the SketchUpdate Newsletter (which you can sign up for on this blog), as well as on our Twitter and Facebook pages.
@John B.
Thanks for sharing a bit about what's important in your workflow. Trimble is dedicated to transforming the way people work, so as Paul said, we feel that this change will help us re-focus on how professionals use SketchUp.
@Paul: I think you're exactly right. Trimble are already deeply involved in the AEC industry, which has always been a big part of SketchUp.
But this doesn't mean SketchUp will be any less useful to folks outside that industry— one of the greatest things about SketchUp is its horizontal "3D for Everyone" appeal. We'll never change that.
john
.
After this, still call it Google SketchUp or Trimble SketchUp and the website http://sketchup.google.com/ is still exist after this?
For those who have been around SketchUp since before Google acquired it, you will remember all the FUD that people spread. I think you will agree that it turned out to be a pretty good thing in the end. I don't know the details but I am quite sure this will be another positive step in the evolution of SketchUp. There is great mission fit. So let's give John and the SketchUp team some credit, and join them in this next part if the journey with the trust and enthusiasm they deserve.
Will Sketchup Pro for Non Profit still be in effect, or is it something that members of the non profit community will now have to look elsewhere for a similar program?
Hoping for the best... but....
I will always support SketchUp!
I am greatly concerned...
I think it is a great move, from what I know today. Trimble is deeply in the AEC field and they let their acquisitions manage themselves.
Will you call the program........."Sketchup", now?
Someone said, should I worry or be happy with this news.
I'm an architect and assiduous user of SketchUp, it is natural for me to worry about a further announcement of not knowing the Trimble.
It would be interesting that the Trimble is shown to millions of users of SketchUp what we'll have real change in the short and medium term.
This is a disaster for the non-construction sketchup base. The subtext of the announcement is yes there will be a free version of sketchup. Just don't plan for anything new ever again. Trimble is the Oracle of their industry and the end user is only important in relation to their pocketbook.
Though I've done little than toy with SketchUp, as a once avid Google user I'd say there's a better chance than not for general improvement since Google's whole MO appears less and less to about their living, breathing human users and more about fighting off the (real and imagined) boogie men of competition.
Yes, users are "products" to Google (and Facebook, Twitter, et al) but fickle ones that are able to change our overlords more or less at will.
Everyone Tremmmbbbllesss!
Time will tell.
I think its all about where SketchUp is going now!
Closer to AEC?
We are so confident with Google that this change to Trimbre can seem doubtful. But I trust the good work of my friends John, Allyson, Aidan and all the Sketchup team, and I hope this change will benefit them, this community, and that they will maintain the integration between SketchUp and Google Earth.
What does this mean for the free SketchUp Pro licensing for schools?
If this means they will play nice with Linux, I will welcome the change. It's been strange that google would support an application that is so closed to Open Source, as that is the platform that propelled them when they began. So, we'll see!!
p/s reCaptcha sucks.
Is trimble a Google's venture? I wanted Sketchup to be always a part of Google's products.... :-(
Congratulations to John and the SketchUp Team!
I believe Trimble’s acquisition of SketchUp will prove beneficial to all.
-Geo
Another Google goes the way of Wave....wave goodbye
Good luck to those 'Googlers' that will now be 'Trimbler'!!!
I look forward to the transition and what will become of SketchUp.
Andrew
This announcement seems a bit flat. (ouch! couldn't help it.)
sad very sad... i only trust in Goolge...
Could be the end of Sketchup???
and the 3D cities in Google Earth?
Congrats guys! I'm sure you're excited to see these changes come to fruition!
Will you guys be a bit more vocal about your product plans going forward?
Will you place more emphasis on plugins being a core part of SketchUp?
I am actually quite excited to hear about the new home for SU. With other Google products simply being killed off these days once they are not useful to Google anymore, I credit John and the SU gang with foresight and business savvy in this move.
A stronger focus on AEC and hopefully expansion of geo-based tools can only help the user base. Looking forward to what comes next...
Hope just that 3DWarehouse will work with Google Earth in the future.
I googled for google...
I tremble for trimble...
no really I do.
Biggest Winner=Autodesk....
they should are breathing a little easier now.
Should I cancel my plans to visit boulder for the 3d basecamp now?
64 BIT
it is very nice blog so informative. thank you.
Refurbishment
What a surprise !
Thank you for all the years of fun when with Google.
Thank you for changing my life a couple of times already.
Please maintain a great product for those "who use SketchUp for something else".
Godspeed SketchUp Team !
Hi, I'm an Interior Design student who started using SketchUp last year.
I'm kinda concerned with what will happen to sketchup because it is the only program that we Interior Design people are most familiar of.
I hope that the change doesn't affect most of what we see in the program since we ID students find sketchup really helpful and stress-free compared to other 3D programs.
I wish you all the best :)
I hope this will mean that there will finally be Linux version
Does this effects Google Earth? Whats with the upload process to Google Earth?
Not a lot of Architecture / Interior Design in their product catalogue !
http://ww2.trimble.com/products_az.aspx
crumlinvillage, you should read this to get the whole picture:
http://www.bimsightblog.com/trimbletekla-x-gisbim-mucho-potential/
Google was cool when they were the Skunkworks of the internet, but now they're nothing more then a sheeple magnet interested only in profits and share holders. Remember when we were all behind Google against Microsoft? Well, now they've become Microsoft. I guess it's just inevitable that greed and selfishness destroy those things that were once good. Personally I'm looking for something new to get behind so I can get rid of Google like I did Microsoft so many years ago.
I'm an architect/designer who has been practicing with sketchup extensively for the past 10 years. I also teach the program at university level to young designers but i believe everyone young and old should be able to pick up a pencil and draw something easily. Sketchup's intuitive user interface obviously allows for this. As a result i've always been a big proponent of the Google and Sketchup marriage because both companies basically stood for the same thing. Sketchup under Trimble might become a better program for the design and construction industry but i'm afraid it will lose it's appeal to the masses as a reliable, friendly, educational drawing program. Unfortunately it's a double edged sword. Maybe Google and Trimble should form a partnership to develop Sketchup together rather than selling it off.
Terrible news! You look at Trimble's website and it appears to be the OPPOSITE of everything Sketchup stands for, i.e. uptight, data centric, non intuitive. Wish Sketchup had gone back to being on it's own if they couldn't stay with Google. Better yet wish they had teamed with Apple.
Without support of SketchUeducation I would gave up the product long ago.
I have been using sketchup since it's inception.
Please don't ruin SketchUp and turn it into a lame data-driven engineering tool. The intuitive nature, it's fluid and dynamic nature, and it's accessibility are what make this enjoyable and indispensable to millions of users ESPECIALLY those in the building and construction industries who are weighed down by the cumbersome nature of information modeling.
If anything major were to change regarding SU's interface or user experience it would be to it's detriment.
For those developers from the @Last days, I beg you to please fight the good fight and maintain the seed of what gives SketchUp it's essence. Google knew this, and built upon it. Don't let Trimble destroy something so good.
Mike
Hopefully you will give Sketchup/Layout a chance to prove itself against so-called industry-standard BIM solutions. It is all there.
I'm now worried. It took me a longtime to master this product that K-12 SCHOOLS all over the country used for educational purposes. Now looking at the site some of this maybe gone forever. And I'm sure it won't be free anymore. I'm sure people won't be able to write plugins for it anymore. And then there is the interface. Movie Directors use it. Kitchen designers use it. Appliance manufacturers use it. Woodworkers use it. Landscape Architects use it. Architects use it. Urban planners use it. Interior designers use it. Will this slowly become another $4000 piece of software just to legitimize professional use? What about SketchUcation? Will this company honor the GLOBAL market of users of all ages and walks of life that have already used and enjoyed it? If they continue a free version, will it be so dumbed-down that it is completely be unusable outside of the Pro-version? I guess we will have to see. I just hope the team does not forget the real reason it became this popular anyway. It made.... FREE. Someone told me if you eventually forget where you came from... eventually you can never return. God bless the team. I hope they don't loose their integrity, their vision or (like a an old Boy band gone bad) their fans.
Having been a SketchUp user for the last seven years I am unsure of what to make of this latest announcement.
I have always hoped that with each released version there would be more in the way of engineering commands as I use the worlds greatest 3D software as a coordination, BIM tool in the services industry as well as Arch Viz through my web site www.i4-DesignSolutions.co.uk but I see little in the way of information on the Trimble site that gives any indication of their intentions.
I welcome anything that allows SketchUp to become more competitive with AutoCAD MEP and be IFC compatible but at its core it must always retain the ease of use and fun factor that has made it the great programme that it is. Bring on version 9, let's see what they have got, just don't make it too expensive!!!
This looks more a Google effort of getting rid of non-core business than a step forward to SketchUp. I hope time will prove me wrong.
If your social media marketing campaign involves Twitter, get the most followers you can. The number of Twitter followers an entity has, is now a serious measuring stick of importance in today's world.
Website Design Company
from the faq:
'Trimble will partner with Google on running and developing the 3D Warehouse. For the foreseeable future, Google will host and operate the 3D Warehouse for Trimble and together the companies will continue to offer the same capabilities, functions and services that are offered today. The ability for users to submit 3D Buildings for potential acceptance and viewing in Google Earth will be maintained.'
http://ww2.trimble.com/3d/Trimble_Customers_FAQ_SketchUp_pre-close_FINAL_20120426.pdf
Google acquired SketchUP for his dream to "digitizing" the entire surface of Earth (with all what means that). But I guess, things were too slow so, a _specialized_ company was hired. A company to USE SketchUP and I see the software going to towns and villages administrations as a useful tool.
The main development will go in integration and features specific to company activities. Maybe they will give away a bone or two to make community to contribute.
Hope I am clear enough, as english is not my native tongue.
Since discovering goggle sketch-up a few years ago we have introduced the software into our GCSE and A level Graphics teaching with great success. Why? - 1. because it is a 3 D modelling tool that is easy to learn and use, 2. it enables students to create and visualise their ideas quickly, 3. it provides great tutorials, communities, blog sites, forums etc to engage students and helps them develop their skills, 4. it allows them to share and use designs through the excellent goggle warehouse. 5. it has loads of plug-ins that meets the needs and interests of all our students, 6 it's interface with goggle earth which enable student the work in a 'real' context (they love this!), and 6. IT IS FREE!!! This is so important - it enables us as educators to use it across the school. Students can use it at home (so important - as it allows them to develop their skills, complete work and of course enjoy using this excellent design software). Since we started using sketch-up and spread the word in our local areas more and more schools are introducing it into their curriculum, not just in design and technology but in Art, Geography, Maths and many other areas.
PLEASE' PLEASE KEEP SKETCH-UP FREE and accessible to the Education community. It will pay off 10 fold in the long run.
Let hope for an exciting future.
Terry P
From looking at Trimble's website, this seems like a huge mistake. Sketchup will be turned into some boring construction industry tool. Their website is also very corporate and boring.
Sketchup should be a standalone fun 3D modelling tool aimed at games. A simpler Blender/3DS/Maya, with the same old Sketchup features that are useful for other industries. Note where it stands on this list - http://alternativeto.net/software/modo. Where are those likes coming from? Construction industry workers? No, from 16-year-old kids who downloaded it to import a model into some game.
"The combined capability will enhance our ability to extend our existing market applications including the cadastral, heavy civil, and building and construction industries"
Wow. Sounds fun... or not.
R.I.P. Sketchup, but it has been dead for years now anyway. It stagnated under Google, and didn't add one useful feature in years.
Could SketchUp end up here?
i would imagine that the process will be very fast.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-cFQOLOtGA&feature=player_embedded#!
I would like to see a free PDF tutorial which covered all of the basics. Sketchup is great tool, but not particularly easy to learn intuitively. Whant@aol.com
Hi everyone,
Just catching up on this thread again— it has grown since I last checked! Seems like the worries you guys are expressing fall into a couple common themes, which I'll address below. Ping the thread again if there's something else you'd particularly paid attention to that I missed, ask it again.
For the folks worried that we'll stop offering SketchUp for free, "The free version of SketchUp is an important part of our world as well, and that isn’t changing in the least."
For the folks worried that we'll only pay attention to the AEC industry, "If you’re one of the many, many people who use SketchUp for something else—from education to woodworking, geo-modeling to movie-making—rest assured that there will be a SketchUp for you, too."
If you're just worried because you don't like Trimble's website, don't judge a book by its cover ;-)
For the folks worried we'll change the name, "SketchUp" seems like a perfectly fine name to me.
For the folks who think this is our big chance to write a 64-bit, mutithreaded Linux client build, see previous answers on our user forums. The core technological principles haven't changed either.
john
.
There are a few forum comments that indicate the free version may become just a viewer, Can anyone confirm this wont be the case?
Did you bother to read Johns post?
google only has disappointed me for years ... now sells them the best product ... Jesus
John, to save searching numerous forums for answers to the 64-bit question, could you please elaborate here.
As a long time Terramodel user all I can say is R.I.P Sketchup.
@pmolsen This comment thread probably isn't the best place to dig into deep technical details, and a quick search for "64-bit SketchUp" will give you all the detail you could want.
The short answer is that 64-bit won't make SketchUp run faster and rendering engine developers (where 64-bit may matter) can already make use of 64-bit if they want to in their SU plugins.
john
.
Google YU Sell things !!
@ John B.
As the "new guy" coming into a HUGE corporation with a completely different agenda... all I have to say is... your sentiments are nice but the all the writers here are putting you up to the challenge to see if you are able to keep those promises three years from now. Yes, we hear you but your "new place of work" may have a completely different idea. That's is the same type of things Autodesk said when it bought Lightscape LTD. in 1993. Note that this software exists is no more. But 3DS Max was around before the acquisition and is still here...Hmm, and still cost the same too ($3,495). John we appreciate your passion to your original agenda. But we the "little people" here realize that this is America where big companies have historically used, bought out and extorted the little guy... or just made them vanish. It happened to Autodesk, Adobe, Microsoft, Symantec, and many others. By 2015 SketchUp will be either gone off the planet like MacroMedia, and Architrion, Digital computers, Atari, Texas Instruments and Silicon Graphics Computers... or it will be another 3ds Max product that will be only available for corporations with "subscriptions" where all the fun has gone out of it and Trimble will hope that the fan base will just get bored with it and "move on" like some teenagers do. Or maybe they figure,"if the users are serious they will buy the 'New SketchUP' or what ever it's called at a measly $1200 a license.
I'm sorry but you can see the passion we have for probably the most unique software in the world. There is nothing on the planet like this. A truly wonderful software. I hope that I am wrong about all of this but I think the challenge here is to not repeat history again, and again. For the first time you have the power (at least the users here hope you do)to change the software industry forever.. the ability to make Adobe, AutoDesk, Maxon and Newtek gasp... or even go bankrupt! All just by doing the something different! Yes, our challenge to you is to develop the software to keep it fun, still as useful and innovative as it always have been. Keeping up with the users with the resources that only a company like Trimble can supply. Don't let millions of users (even some AutoCAD users) down. Make history again, continue to develop Sketchup and create software so sought after that people would secretly do any thing to use it. Whether it be in the Landscape Design, Industrial Design, Architectural Design, Education, Mapping, GIS, even Animation and Visualization. God bless you and may you have the best success in this industry... Become the Pixar of Disney for the GIS and GPS world. More power to you John.
See some of my work at http://www.linkedin.com/osview/canvas?_ch_page_id=2&_ch_panel_id=3&_ch_app_id=425151220&_applicationId=104096&appParams={%22view%22%3A%22project%22%2C%22qs%22%3A%22project_id%3D3784312%26behance_id_from_frame%3D1122662%22}&_ownerId=0&completeUrlHash=WReA
For what it's worth, we've known John Bacus and the core SketchUp team since before they went to Google (others of you on this thread are in the same boat). Everyone was afraid then about the fate of SketchUp, and say what you will about the features you've hoped for under Google's ownership, I would say that the SketchUp team remained true to their word about continuing to develop a tool that could truly claim to be 3D for Everyone. If you love SketchUp, and you hope for the best outcome, you owe it to the SketchUp team to give them a vote of confidence in their move to Trimble.
Suffice to say that the SketchUp team knows more than any of us about what they and Trimble intend to do with SketchUp. And again, this SketchUp team wouldn't be publicly assuring you that the future is bright if they didn't really believe it. Given their incredibly successful track-record, again, they deserve the benefit of the doubt.
If you are at all related to the AEC industry, this will be a great move for you. We wrote a short post about it on our blog here: http://igloostudiosinc.blogspot.com/. And if you use SketchUp for something else, there's no reason to assume anything but exactly what John is telling you: There will be SketchUp for you too.
All of you fellow SketchUppers on this thread, we look forward to a bright future. The software is as strong as it's community, and I don't think that many applications out there have a better community than we do. We're excited about what lies ahead.
keep sketchup free. don't charge us to use it. please follow this link.
http://savesketchup.blogspot.co.uk/
sketchup is brilliant, 3d modelling for everyone. please help to make sure that if trimble buys it it will not become another of these ridiculously expensive products. join the campaign to save sketchup to collaborate on a new free version for everyone and stop 3d modelling becoming for architects only. we can ensure that this does not lead into a situation where trimble tries to charge us to even look at models that we have worked hard to create. please tell everyone and follow this link
http://savesketchup.blogspot.co.uk/
After a significant parcel of my "brain time" spent to read the comments, I have made a quick "Trimble" search on Google search engine (not yet "Trimble search engine" ha ha) I have fallen on Trimble France site (my country) . . . . How can a place and matters be so unsexy !!
Well! I go to Trimble France news: . . . . Can you believe that: not a word about SketchUp. Sic!
http://global.trimble.com/fr/default.asp?id=64
John Bacus is enthusiastic .
We like you John ++ we understand it is also your duty to be this way. But we can hope good things can happen with a good man like you inside the place;-)
Bungo said...
Most of the excellence of SketchUp for the last four years or so have come from the community.
It is so true !
IMO Google had failed importantly on two points.
A)- failing to integrate the main magnificent offered new tools to SketchUp UI . This way SketchUP had become an uneasy and complicated soft:1) many basic tools are redundant and outdated compared to the ones offered by the ruby masters. and 2)If you don't take yourself hardly aware of the news, it is very difficult to find the extra tool you really need to accomplish your duty.
B)- Failing to make SketchUP operative with big files: we can't avoid to hit a wall with polygon count. That's a sad fact witch draw everybody to consider other 3D solutions.
Does Trimble will be able to keep the Community dynamics alive? It seems to be a hard challenge.
I want to say something to you Trimble: "please don't take me just for a number in a portfolio of stocks, but love me as a friend"
Good luck SketchUP
*s
@ Peter V
Nothing will change in relation to free SketchUp Pro licensing for K-12 schools. :-)
Trimble really needs to hire a marketing company to redo their website and marketing strategy... how people actually but all those products??? I really hope SketchUp does not lose its user friendly interface!
I hope they keep it open for us to create rubies, Sketchup is great because of it customization acceptance. I use my own set of custom tools and they save me not just hours but months per year. Please don't take this away trimble.
That's maybe a great news because I'm sorry to say that but development of SketchUp will be maybe significant now. For me Google did nothing significant (maybe the attribute, yes but it's a quite light for 3 majors releases)
A professional user of SketchUp (since v5) who regrets to pay for the professional version.
Trimble pays reportedly 190 million for a 30million user based program...that is 6.33$ a user!
We should have all chipped in and bought her ourselves.
I feel pretty cheap now!
Well ... we will be expecting SketchUp 9 soon - and it going to have to be very convincing.
I have been working alot on a plugins. I hope for the best - but will proberly have to plan for the worst.
If you look to Trimble's very own web-site, you will note that it is a dry and sterile page that has nothing to do with the use of one's right hemisphere of the brain whatsoever...I'll leave it to you to deduce the implications of this acquisition...
Deleted/reposted for grammar..
Yet another reason to be weary of investing to much into using Google Products. You never know when they will dump a 'project' or 'dump' it to someone else.
Trimble has made all it's money on a legacy gps hardware and software.
If you love Sketchup this is very very bad for users.
Trimble acquires StruCad last december and have got rid of it as it was the only competition to their other 3d package Telka.
I don't see them doing anything different with sketch-up unfortunately
I have had the good fortune to work with Trimble in a R&D relationship in the past. If anything, I think the community will be pleasantly surprised at how committed and engaged the Trimble people are. I think this is great news for SketchUp and for the community.
Google please take Sketchup back from trimble. I don't know why you did this? We loved Sketchup and wanted it to be a part of Google forever :-(
I consider myself a SketchUp "core user". I have been a SketchUp pro user since @last introduced version 1.3. Before then I used AutoCAD since R13 and Architectural Desktop and since then I have tried 3dMax, Rhinoceros, Revit, SolidWorks, and ChiefArchitect to name a few but I have found that nothing really rivals the intuitive nature of SketchUp. I use SketchUp in my design+building company for architectural design, modeling complex construction concepts, planning fine woodworking details, and more recently for modeling industrial air purification equipment and machine prototyping. I feel that I have truly touched all of the bases of what SketchUp software can do and cannot. Recently I upped my subscriptions to both SketchUp and AutoCAD...SketchUp v8 cost me $500 while AutoCAD 2013 Mechanical ran $5000. SketchUp is just as fast and easy to use as ever with only a few well thought out new tools while ACAD is more complicated than ever, clumsier, and has changed several of their tools for the worse.
I say all this because I love using SketchUp and I absolutely hate using AutoCAD. Unfortunately ACAD is the industry standard in all CAD fields architecture and engineering. My hope is that the goal for SketchUp is to unseat AutoCAD so I don't have to buy and use it anymore. I was nervously happy when Google acquired SketchUp feeling they had the financial and marketing clout to finally destroy AutoCAD's rein. I was relieved to see they gave the software away... a genius move to offer the software for free so people could essentially 'train for free at home'. Then the move to model the earth in SketchUp and link to Google Earth. Another genius move. Many other great additional features were added and all the while Google kept the interface simple and well thought. Now I nervously await to see what Trimble can do with the software.
Maybe Trimble can offer simplified dynamic control, a more active layout tool, a higher quality post render engine, a more diversified warehouse selection, hidden line export, solid collision detection, TRUE ARCS&CIRCLES, more integrated imports/exports, better component handling... just to scratch the surface. BIM is great as long as you don't do it like AutoDesk... I like my SketchUp fast, I don't want to fill out a form every time I create and modify a block/component. Lastly, while my design roots are in architectural design, I think it would be a mistake to focus the software on architecture when the mechanical engineering and industrial design field are far more in need of the SketchUp software --- consider that all the component elements such as appliances, furniture, and automobiles required to model a building are generally created by ME's and ID's. If you want to make better software for architecture, you need to first beat out Autodesk, SolidWorks, UniGraphics, and Catia in the fields that generate BIM component objects. Good luck.
can i ask if now the trimble is the new owner of sketch up and not google? when i learn this news i was nervous beacuse a new team will handle this fantastic 3d modeling program that is really easy to use and learn, i feel unhappy cause for my understanding trimble is now the new owner of sketchup, my impression is maybe trimble can add new features but it may bring it to worse well this is just my impression sorry for that anyway i also expected that the new team that will handle this program will make sketchup more easier especially in documentation, well i have no more to say because i am shock...not too much :D hmm, but my question is is trimble the new owner or they are just investing to improved sketchup? hope your could answer me...
I have a question regarding Sketchup Pro and the Educational licensing.
What is Trimble's position for educational institutions that have a license to use the pro version of the software (through Google). Will they continue to provide that license free of charge, or will the schools need to downgrade to the free version, or look elsewhere for a similar product?
What's going on with the SketchUp blog?.....I have not seen a new entry for almost a month.
I know it's now Trimble but come, you all gone AWOL!? Not a good sign of what the SketchUp team make of The changes!!!!
I am still waiting to run SketchUp natively in Ubuntu or Linux Distro.. I hope the migration to Trimble will look after many people from Linux that had been long requesting for SketchUp that can be run natively from Linux... Hadi from Malaysia
I hope the best features stay intact,
it might be great if Trimble can turn
SketchUp into a Building Info Modeler
but then the name 'Sketch' might not apply? What ever happens, Earth & SU are great and surely they will be around in some form for years to come...
Wait...What? Is SketchUp buying a Kindle? It would be nice if I could have a SketchUp app for my iPad, but I don't think the Kindle Fire would be a good tablet.
No more free meals at the Google Cafe! How will you manage without the free grub?
What's happening to the forums? Will they stay with Google?
SketchUpの今後が心配ですが、SketchUpチームを信頼し、今後の活動に期待したいと思います。
I am gonna to download and try this.
Yogesh Gamer
64 bit is a must in the near future. Far overdue already. I'm intrigued by what Form Z and Rhino are doing. SU's UI advantage is diminishing, and its far behind in many other areas: complex curves, nurbs, texture mapping, dynamic shapes, etc. Google has run it into the ground and sold it just in time to realize a profit. Tremble may be able to rescue SU as a professional tool. I look forward to seeing how this develops.
so will I still be able to geomodel and have my models on Google earth/ Or will it be trimble earth now?
I still think that Sketchup is more friendly to use to build interiors than any other software like it. I have a great motto that could be a new catch phrase "With SketchUp being so open ended, with scores of plugins, numerous rendering packages available for it, material and component estimating and take-offs, integration into multiple professional CAD, drawing and productivity packages making the software as simple or as powerful as the user desires... when constructing a building concept or interior ' why REV-it when you can Sketch-Up?' " :)
I use google sketchup 8 to design bodykits and designs for cars.
this is just a personal hobby, but it gets my designs out there, and hopefully some of them will one day be made for real onto cars. its a way of pushing the boundaries and being unique.
my designs can be outrageous and unusual but that is my own blueprint-my identity in the design world.
Hopefully sketchup will remain a brilliant tool cos i use it for fun, but my mates enjoy seeing what designs i have created and offer me new ideas.
like i say, and i think some people will agree with me, its a hobby for some of us and its a community where we can come together and unite as modellers from around the globe.
i dont care who takes over, so long as the software gets better and has the same 3d warehouse features then im in heaven still. sketchup was a god send to me.
Pheonix
sdfg I am HIGHLY skeptical when a company that can AFFORD to buy sketchup from googles actually does it - google is the RIGHT home for sketchup just think about the philosophy that it was built on and a good number of incredible enhancements to sketchup since its very early days (which I remember). Google maps, google earth, 3d warehouse, online tutorials, great support built on the idea "modeling for everyone"... Now this company I never heard of buys it so they cannot POSSIBLY give a dam about the philosohpy of "modeling for everyone" and I have a strong hunch there will major changes that DESTROY the idea of modeling for everyone - their trying to privatize it to markup the price and then charge more for their other related tools that most people will probably not use (not right away and not for a hefty price tag). The way sketchup works is key to its appeal to the masses- i wonder how much Trimble is going to screw that up.. is it going to change its interface so people have to learn all over how to work with it (and they will charge for that and make it exclusive probably) what a crock and waste of effort.
Google - take it back!
Hoy es un dia triste... me preparo para el funeral de sketchup.No creo que este maravilloso programa siga siendo gratuito o que tenga tantas librerias, para los que nos dedicamos al cine, fue un gran compañero en estos diez años... RIP skechtup.
Google te ha abandonado a tu suerte... para mi la empresa Google ha perdido parte de mi confianza.
Que se dejen de inventar cosas y
mantenga sus compromisos Today is a sad day ... I prepare for the funeral of sketchup.No think that this wonderful program to remain free or have so many libraries, for which we are dedicated to the movies, was a great partner in ten years ... R.I.P skechtup.
Google has abandoned you to your fate ... for my company Google has lost some of my confidence. Which are left to invent things and keep your commitments
Who is in charge at Google fire that person now. What a joke. This alone should have sent stock in Google tumbling but investors are not as smart as you would think. Sketchup was the future of the internet. Big mistake. When the internet becomes 3d Google will wish they hadn't sold their engine. I for one am pulling my money out. See ya Google.
I am intrigued by this new development in Sketchup history... i have been a user for a while now & it has become a core tool for my architecture business.
I have also used the tool as a teaching support for groups of young people in social reinsertion programs.
In both contexts it has been so valuable for several reasons: (not in order of priority)
1 - ease of initial learning
2 - cost, whether free for the students, or a reasonable price for a very small architecture outfit in the Pro version.
3 - ease of capture of google earth terrain
4 -the wonderfully rich plugins available from an extremely talented & dedicated community.
Like so many of others that I have read on various blogs & forums, we all seem to share worries on these (& other) core principals of what makes sketchup so special.
I have been 3d modelling since about 1988 (yes, on a mac with no hard-drive) when i used the then revolutionary modelshop software from paracomp (later bought by macromedia) which was a precursor to sketchup in so many ways: A no frills, easy to learn, intuitive & value for money product... & we all know what happened when it got bought by macromedia... RIP.
I, like so many million other users out there rely on Sketchup to remain accessible to ordinary folks who do not want & cannot afford Autodesk et al. & their huge unwieldy products which are surely useful for corporate architecture/engineering... but akin to killing a fly with a bazooka when it comes to small & medium size bespoke buildings... We don't need, or want full BIM, just reliable easy software to quickly sketch-up & work up projects that we can communicate to clients who do not understand working drawings !
A bonus would be easy extraction of 2d drawings for contractors, but only if that does NOT involve a huge price hike & loss of ease of use ! BTW the current Layout is sooooo like pedalling in molasses that it is next to hopeless (yes, I have tried to give it the benefit of the doubt, but I just can't get it to be smooth enough, so short of taking up smoking again, I gave up...)
So ? The real question is, does Trimble care about us small users, or are they only interested in their corporate clients to the extent that they will let sketchup share the same fate as modelshop ?
Let's hope the core team of developers really will be allowed to keep some freedom & not be marshalled into the big-boy rigid world of BIM bam boom & large price-tag licence programs... good luck guys, 'cos i think you'll need it to keep the faith !
This is terrible news. A little note for those who haven't dealt with Trimble: my dealings with Trimble (all from Engineering/Construction fields) have not been positive. We have had mixed results with their (very expensive) solutions (problems with software and hardware). Usually, when we end up having a problem, their solution is for us to upgrade to a new model... which are RAPIDLY rising in cost I can't see this going any other way than lukewarm at the very best. There will be some pain. RIP Sketchup.
Not a good news for those who for years are working and contributing with Google SketchUP - The unique 3D programm that brought the philosophy of "Bringing 3D modeling to everyone"...
Surely this change if not well-coordinated, will lost thousands of users around the world.
Wait, does this mean that Google is just going, "Hey Trimble, have our product because we don't care about it."? Not working on it at all? This is terrible.
This is really hard to believe considering Google's investment into the crowd sourcing synergy that is Google Earth, SketchUp, Building Maker, 3D Warehouse. This will be interesting to follow. I find it hard not be pessimistic :( Michael Jones are you listening?
This freaking sucks!!!
O que me preocupa é: vamos continuar a ter os benefícios de links diretos do google via Sketchup? Exemplo: link interno de download do Armazém 3d??
Uhoh, I wonder if they will then turn around and resell it to Autodesk who will then cripple it and force people to buy expensive software instead....
I like this blogs.. It's very nice and informative blog…. Thanks for sharing with us. Kincaid
I found the blog truly informative. Sketch Up is indeed one of the best 3D modelling tools.
Flowers For Wedding
haha the download is still called googlesketchupwen.exe.
Woodworkers and makers worldwide depend on SketchUp. Will this move towards GIS/BIM/AEC and other "professional" acronyms stifle where SketchUp has flourished for so many?
While I don't have a personal experience with SketchUp, I would like to know its benefits in comparison to other modelling softwares like CATIA V5. I understand that CATIA is heavily used in mechanical engineering, but what advantage does your software offers?
Regards from Canadian Pharmacy
I would like to answer the above question by saying that SketchUp is designed mainly for professionals related to architecture, engineering and construction industries. So while CATIA V5 may be heavily used by mechanical engineers, it is not a tool which offers applications in other industries. So it's kind of a Golf Apparel, which cannot be worn for any and all outdoor sports.
In the context of above comment, I would like to add that SketchUp is also used for several other applications, from education to woodworking, geo-modeling to movie-making. Such a vast functionality is not offered by a software like CATIA, which is designed intrinsically for professionals with technical background. So just to give you an example, if you want to design Portable Buildings, then CATIA is your best bet. But if you want to design a movie trailer, then it would be prudent on your part to go with SketchUp.
Since you guys are now making the switch from Google to Trimble, all I can say is good luck. I hope that your new investors are as excited and supporting to your product as the old ones.
Regards from Visiting China
Sketchup must go from being "faces" / surfaces based to instead be "solid" based. It will never ever truly fly if this doesn't happen.
Trimble is a big corporation. There are share holders and board members to please. Sketchup will undoubtedly improve, more features and usability but, to protect the investment, it will concentrate on profitability, and will probably end up like Autocad and Photoshop. The packages are industry leaders, but hugely expensive, and out of the range of most of the current userbase. Upgrades will be frequent to preserve revenue streams, and discounts become less significant for upgrading. The beauty of Sketchup was down to it's cost and open architecture. The 3d warehouse allows great collaboration in the spirit of the web. I see closed architecture, paid-for access to models, and tight control under the new onwnership. This is not negative, or doom and gloom, it's simply good business. It also happens to be very good news from those benefiting from the sale, and the new owners of a crowdsourced project. Sketchup as we know it will cease to exist as it is not a sustainable business model.
Hey all... I thought this might be coming... With this announcement http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2012/06/google_announces_upcoming_3d.html there is less need for SketchUp modeling integrated into Google Earth. That's not saying Google Earth will no longer display user generated models. I'm sure when the new 3D cities are applied, they will look at user generated models for the best results and look. And I'm sure there will still be the option to view your models in Google Earth as a kml file, an possible that new models may still be accepted in the Google Earth layer.
I have used SketchUp mostly for creating the Google ready buildings in Chicago. From this I have been hired out to create Google Earth building for many projects. And have had my GE models used in graphic art, company presentations, security illustration, City planning proposals, and have even been credited for the use of my models in US television series that had aired Nationwide.
I only got this recognition because of they wide user base that uses and search the 3D models in the 3D Warehouse and Google Earth. They were easily able to search, view my models, and contact me for for work the use of my models in their projects. I hope those things will not go away.
I do hope that the tool will continue to be free for the average user and that useful improvement will be made on design tools, integration with other products (ie Google Earth), addons, ease of use, etc...
I Hope the new owner have in place a business plan that will continue to update and upgrade SketchUp with the many user groups in mind and ask for user input when developing new and better features.
I agree that when new 3D cities are applied, they will look at user generated models for the best results. However, I will be more excited if they still retain the ability of viewing your own model in Google Earth. This is important because if a particular building is painted in grout paint, then the responsibility is on user to update the same in Google Earth.
Well based on looking at Trimble's Logo and website design.. I'm very very worried. They look like some horrible corporate industry company that is not cutting edge or up to date with design trends etc. I really hope Sketchup doesn't fall into a black hole like the drop shadow on their logo.
Just watch their "Corporate Video" tells the future of sketchup. Don't forget Designers Use sketchup not just engineers, UI and visually appealing work environments are of utmost importance. All of us don't use Auto-cad for a reason. I'm an 8yr user of Solidworks and there are very strong reasons why I switched to sketchup.
Please please listen to the user base about what NOT to change, and what needs to be changed. Don't ruin sketchup.
Thank you.
Well based on looking at Trimble's Logo and website design.. I'm very very worried. They look like some horrible corporate industry company that is not cutting edge or up to date with design trends etc. I really hope Sketchup doesn't fall into a black hole like the drop shadow on their logo.
Just watch their "Corporate Video" tells the future of sketchup. Don't forget Designers Use sketchup not just engineers, UI and visually appealing work environments are of utmost importance. All of us don't use Auto-cad for a reason. I'm an 8yr user of Solidworks and there are very strong reasons why I switched to sketchup.
Please please listen to the user base about what NOT to change, and what needs to be changed. Don't ruin sketchup.
Thank you.
http://sketchup-ur-space.com/2012/may/renderzvous_with_john_bacus_on_trimbles_acquisition_sketchup.html
great read
A personal comment on the subject:
DebunkTheBIM: Whatever floats your boat… Google Sketchup is no more.
This feels a lot like what happened to Generic CAD when AutoDesk bought them out. Generic CAD was a lot easier to use than AutoCAD, had all the essential features, and was about to replace AutoCAD at 1/10th the price. AutoDesk bought them to get rid of the competition. I've seen this same maneuver also in electronic design, with Cadence buying out OrCAD. It's all about monopoly, and not allowing the free market to provide the best product at the lowest price.
The one thing that gives me hope here is the huge user base for SketchUp. Even if the new owners are motivated only by money, and are secretly planning to limit the development of SketchUp, I don't think they will squash it completely. I and my students and millions of other users would gladly pay $60 for what we have now. Hopefully, that will provide some counterweight when the moneymen decide which program gets which features.
google motto was "be no evil" so sketchup has to leave, what is next ...... only time will let know
The actual software is quite easy to learn, there are a few simple commands on each programme that will let you draw lines and circles. The skill comes of course with drawing in a structured way and making the drawing tidy and clear.. . I think that you can learn it ina couple of days work and moderate computer skills. Easier if you know in your mind what you want to draw - so easier if you are the designer.. . The industry standard package is AutoCAD but that is quite expensive and there are cheaper packages that do the same thing.
I'm not sure what to think of this. I mean, I've never heard of Trimble, and I don't think Google should've done this. Let's just hope SketchUp stays awesome...
Wow, I hope this will be more exciting!
SketchUp ha funcionado muy bien desde que Google lo compro a la empresa Last Software, lo integro con otras aplicaciones y realizó mejoras importantes. Espero que lo nuevos propietarios mantengan el espiritu de Google...
Always trying to be optimistic ....... to wait!
Quote Mark Harrison:
"Thanks for sharing a bit about what's important in your workflow. Trimble is dedicated to transforming the way people work, so as Paul said, we feel that this change will help us re-focus on how professionals use SketchUp."
-Transforming? Re-focus? This is a bad start, i'm really getting worried here.
I really hope i won't have to start learning a different piece of software. I love Sketchup exactly how it is. Do not mess up Sketchup PLEASE!
Improvements are fine, but please don't consider of re-designing it.
The link http://3d.trimble.com/ is broken when you read "...the SketchUp team and technology will be leaving Google to join Trimble.."
Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst.
The thing that was/is confusing about this whole deal is that Trimble is known as a GPS equipment company. I'm really kind of confused about how this acquisition fits with that. Is there any info out there addressing this?
@Dave
+1 on the Generic CAD comment. I learned to CAD using GCADD and still mourn its demise as well as its Windows based successor Visual CADD (swallowed up and shelved by Turbo CADD). I love the intuitive nature of Sketchup as much as I loved GCADD's left hand command, right hand draw interface.
I teach CAD drafting for theatre design undergrads. We have just dropped Vectorworks as overkill and adopted Sketchup as basic CAD learning tool for freshmen. I hope the simple UI and intuitive draw, push/pull experience will not get lost.
SIC TRANSIT GLORIA MUNDI!
SU user since version 3.
It looks as if nobody cares about the international users: SU it's not about US only, you know!
And yes, easy modeling is what we expect!
I'm in pain!
RM, Architect
I see this like the path from film to digital in many ways, with it´s benefit and dark corners...
everyone need income.
the community has been enjoying the free tool for a long time, and many have took it as granted.
it's great that the team still continue to provide free version.
I'm very scared that this marvellous programme lost out to the lesser Revit only because of "marketing" at architectural schools?
Being an architect who regularly do concepts with both SketchUp and Revit, I'm convinced that the great features only found in SketchUp will now be lost without the "big" Google backer. The whole industry will be poorer for it
And i just can't dowload Sketchup 8 after 1000s tries...
It simply doesn't work.
I have used Sketch Up with Trimbles point survey information. The process of exporting to an AutoCad file was aided by our surveyor. Integrating the point survey information of an existing sanctuary (with no record documents) aided the visualization materials needed to inform the design process and inform the building committee.
I see this tighter pairing of information and the intuitive ease of use that sketch up brings as a major plus.
I have always felt that sketch up was undervalued as a serious design tool. the association with Trimble will give more credibility to the product and those that use it.
After visiting the Trimble website I think I can only conclude Google Sketchup is very DEAD in the way most of us know and use it. Trimble seems a very tech engineering oriented company with zero consumer/hobby orientation.
I estimate you'll actually see much more dedication to your cause by Tremble.
Construction Companies
Excellent article. Thanks for sharing a sketch-up information of home. Trimble is devoted to changing the way individuals perform, it's modify the SketchUp. It's grateful to see it will now be used to designed by individuals operating in the market. Trimble will move SketchUp more towards a GIS device, than a schematic style device. Trimble does much more than GIS, and SketchUp is going into technological innovation and Constuction, which is very marketed on using BIMs for verticle development. Industry Analysis Report
Great news. Please add sketchup in iOS or Android. We've been waiting for the longest time. Thanks
This is a great set of guidelines for proper logo design. There are so many traps that people fall into when trying to design a logo. With social media in play, I think variants are a must these days.
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This was originally posted to SketchUp forum. I did not realize that Trimble employees rarely visit that site. That is the explanation of my last comment. I wonder why you bothered to even program the layer function. Right now it is useless. AH, figgered it out. The original purpose was to populate Google earth. It was never intended anything more that simple Blocks to be created. Wellll Sports Fans it is being used for higher purposes than that. It is time you re-evaluated Google's messed up idea and for Trimble to bring SU in line with other programs it is competing against. Either delete layers or make them truly functional.Before you decide to blow me off as a kook: I have over 60,000 hrs CAD design time. 16 semesters as CAD adjunct college instructor, experience in CADAM, 8 versions of AutoCad , TurboCad, DesignCad, Anvil 5000, 10 versions of UniGraphics, ProE, DarftSight and have dabbled in 4 or 5 more. I have also been an electronic model checker and database manager.
You have a kernel of a fine program you need to nourish it and pay attention to your customers. With some refined code, you will have a program worth bragging about. Rather than your current responses to inquiries, which often go way past merely rude.
Such great news for Sketchup! Glad to see it will now be developed by people working in the industry it is used for!
blog sur la voyance en ligne
I used sketchup for seven years. Then Trimble took over and started to mess things up. First trouble came when I upgraded to the version 2013. What I got was a stripped beginners version and none of my plugins, extensions, materials, components etc was automaticly migrated to the new upgrade like was the case up to that time.
I had built this program up through the years to my needs and invested much in it. No information was to be found on how to tackle this new aproach. Helpdesk told me to manually migrate the plugins folder, materials etc. Which I did, and everything crashed and was totally messed up. Many of the plugins and rendering applications where not compatible anymore and I had to spend about a week to get things togeather.
Then came V 2014 and all whent to hell and back again although I repeated the previous process.
Now they had changed the trasition process totally without warning and invented totally new hoops to jump throug. I spent three days in anguish, email correspondance, redownloading most extensions from all over the place, loosing some forever, all this with consequent loss and expences, and all they could say was sorry, we assumed you knew.
Their slogan being “sketchup for everyone” seems a bit of an oxymoron in this context. I finally said to myself…ah eff it...and decided to move to autodesk. They did not take long to ruin their program an scaring their customers away assuming every user was an computer wiz, programmer or even a pschycic.
My god how I resent these people.
Nice effort by google but 3d max is the best
"...decided to move to autodesk..."
Yeah, let me know how that works out for you.
Jon: Good thing you jumped. The EULA for 13 and 14 sucks. If you make a penny using them you are in violation of the EULA and need to shuck out the 500 for pro. I don't know it Trimble is going to pursue the cheaters but I intend to find out.
To begin with, SketchUp can help these professionals enhance our careers by changing the way we interact with our clients and very useful as engineering tool.
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