Carry again a non-pro model of the desktop utility – Characteristic Requests

I’ve been utilizing Sketchup for 15+ years (from the times of Google) non-professionally for numerous interest, woodworking and residential renovation tasks. Up till about six months in the past I used to be utilizing Sketchup Make 2017, nonetheless once I bought a brand new laptop computer and will not obtain the 2017 model, I made a decision to lastly subscribe to the “Go” plan with entry to the online model. Given how a lot I’ve used Sketchup by way of the years and have definitely bought worth from the product personally, I had no hesitation in paying for a subscription to get the additional options over the free model.

After six months or so of utilizing the online model, I’m so dissapointed at how horrible it’s and the way a lot of a backward step it’s by way of usability, flexibility and reliability. It’s sluggish, buggy and actually irritating to make use of particularly with regard to 3d Warehouse and cloud storage.

Among the essential gripes I’ve had embody:

• The app bogs down with even the most straightforward of fashions from 3d Warehouse. My pc is not any slouch – a 2021 M1 Professional MBP with Google Chrome (at all times updated), but it surely routinely locks up for 10+ seconds at a time when there’s a “complicated” mannequin in my venture that I dare attempt to transfer or rotate. I by no means had efficiency points like this with even very complicated fashions on the desktop model 15 years in the past.
• The app will randomly crash the tab when utilizing completely different controls within the sidebar. E.g. simply at the moment I toggled the guides visibility… “Ah snap!”
• I can’t simply go away a mannequin open within the background. If I sleep my machine or don’t return to the tab for just a few hours, once I do I must refresh the app (which takes you again house) to get it going once more.
• The 3d Warehouse “portal” (I assume you’d name it) is subsequent to ineffective. Each time you open it it begins from scratch. Eg. seek for one thing, select a mannequin, open 3d Warehouse once more to strive a distinct mannequin however now my search is gone and I’ve to begin once more. Even the “Enable cookies” message comes up each single time. How does this behaviour go UAT?!

As an internet developer by commerce, IMO Sketchup just isn’t a software that must be sure to the online browser. I do know I may fork out an additional couple hundred bucks a 12 months for the Professional subscription to get entry to the desktop app, nonetheless as a hobbyist I’ve no use for any of the “professional” options so I can not justify that further price. At this fee with how unhealthy the online model is, I’m even struggling to justify renewing my “Go” subscription when the time comes later this 12 months.

So, in any case that, Trimble please convey again Sketchup Make desktop model for paid subscribers. Even when it’s only a rehash of the 2017 model with some minor stability updates… no matter, simply please don’t pressure me to make use of the online model any longer.

A advantage of posting feedback within the discussion board about your expertise with SketchUp, is that a variety of SketchUp group members learn the submit. In your case the feedback overlap just a few groups, however the majority of the feedback are internet associated.

It will be attention-grabbing to see what @Gopal says in response to your factors.

There was no change to Make 2017 so you possibly can have used the installer out of your previous pc.

Perhaps SU17 just isn’t suitable on new mac OS?
He stated that he has bought an apple M1… unsure if that may be the issue.

I believe he actually signifies that you possibly can not obtain 2017. 6 months in the past sounds about proper, for when the obtain was eliminated.

As for 2017 engaged on M1 or newest macOS, I discover that it runs for a short while on M1 or Intel, however does shut sooner or later. The macOS modifications appear to be extra essential than whether or not it’s M1.

Clearly it isn’t clever for Trimble to proceed to supply SketchUp 2017 Make as it’s contemplating that the web safety points it now has on account of finish of help for the older internet browsers it makes use of together with the modifications, particularly to the Mac OS, that trigger issues.

The OP together with others appears to be keen to pay for a dumbed-down desktop model of SketchUp. Perhaps simply make it a desktop model of SketchUp Go and cost the same value.

Now if I can add to the gripes right here, my mine (or at the least considered one of them) is with the export stl operate. Sketchup Free now calls it obtain stl, not export stl. The issue is you can’t obtain a variety, you must obtain the entire file. For us hobbyists who wish to play with 3d printers, Sketchup Free that is simply not workable as a result of many 3d printing objects encompass a number of elements. You need to export particular person elements one after the other.

Sure, agreed, with a dumbed down desktop model. For us hobbyists who’ve develop into hopelessly addicted.

It’s nonetheless an export. Simply semantics.

Maybe they’ll add an choice to SketchUp Free to permit exporting simply the chosen object. Within the meantime you are able to do it with minor gymnastics. Save your SketchUp mannequin first. Then delete all however the element you need to print. Obtain the .stl file after which undo the deletion.

It will be an additional step or two, however you may choose one thing, Copy, menu/New, delete Ty, Paste, Obtain STL. Or, invert choice (command-shift-i on Mac), delete, obtain STL, Undo.

One distinction between export and obtain is that export needed to undergo the Trimble conversion course of, and a while later you had been instructed the file was able to obtain. That you could now instantly obtain an STL is a good enchancment.

I seen after typing that Dave had urged the delete strategy too. One distinction in my steps is that you just wouldn’t need to have saved the file first, so long as you belief Undo!

Sadly, I by no means hold the installers from apps I set up (in all probability a foul behavior), but in addition some fast analysis reveals there may be potential difficulties with working Sketchup 2017 on newer M1 based mostly Macs.

Working model 2017 efficiently apart, help for the previous model is rapidly changing into problematic. For instance, you may solely obtain fashions from 3d Warehouse for model 2020+ which just about makes Sketchup Make fully out of date for my use instances.

I left Macs when os X was launched due to these deliberate obsolescence points.

That was fairly some perception. SketchUp for Mac got here out the 12 months after MacOS X.

I used to be paid as a programmer from Feb 1992 till I joined SketchUp in Jan 2019. Just a few of the instruments I used turned out of date after every main change in macOS. One such software was MacroMind, then Macromedia, then Adobe, Director. Most CD-ROMs I made within the ’90s don’t run on latest macOS variations. Somebody within the Director neighborhood discovered a technique to put MacOS 8 inside a wrapper that even runs natively on M1 Macs. Can be attention-grabbing to see if he may get SketchUp v2 working.

Positive, it’s irritating at occasions coping with Apple’s change of structure each decade or so (Motorola > PowerPC [1991] > Intel [2006] > Apple Silicon [2021]), however every change has seen a monumental enchancment of their product choices. As an finish person, these transitions have been well worth the minor frustrations!

@colin @Gopal Any ideas or contributions from Trimble on this?

Bump. Would love some precise suggestions from the SketchUp group. Any product managers/house owners eager to chime in about this?