Bill Fane

The bad news is that every new SketchUp user encounters certain problems, usually in the first couple hours of using the software. You can call these problems growing pains. The good news is that, because these SketchUp problems are common, you can anticipate a lot of the bad stuff you’ll go through. This article offers you SketchUp tips and tricks to help you work around those issues.

As you set off on your modeling adventure, you’re can be prepared with ten SketchUp quick wins — techniques or extended workflows that upgrade the 3D superpowers you’ve been reading about in this book.You’ll find that these SketchUp tips and tricks are pretty quick to pick up. Moreover, many of these techniques are designed to speed the core mechanics of your 3D modeling.

SketchUp’s 3D Warehouseis a huge online collection of 3D models that is searchable and, most important, free for everyone to use. To access the 3D Warehouse, all you need is an Internet connection. If you have a SketchUp model that you want to share with the world, share with just a few people or store on SketchUp’s servers for safekeeping, the 3D Warehouse is where you put it.

Many modification techniques and AutoCAD commands that you use in 2D drafting can be applied to 3D modeling. In addition, a specialized set of 3D editing commands is available in AutoCAD. All these AutoCAD commands are in the Modify panel on the Home tab when the 3D Modeling workspace is current. Selecting subobjects in AutoCAD Three-dimensional objects themselves are complex objects that can be made up of several hundred, or perhaps even thousands, of objects.

AutoCAD has been around since the 1980s. Needless to say, there are quite a few AutoCAD version floating around. To take full advantage of AutoCAD in your work environment, be aware of the DWG file format — the format in which AutoCAD saves drawings. Here are some DWG facts to keep in mind: In many cases, an older release of AutoCAD can’t open a DWG file that’s been saved by a newer AutoCAD release.

In AutoCAD, setting limits correctly lets you display the drawing grid over your working area, among other things. The following table lists the dimensions for different paper sizes at different drawing scales.

AutoCAD can create, open, edit, and save a number of other file formats, including several other brands of CAD software. On the Application menu, look at the options under Open and under Import, and then click the Files of Type drop-down list to see the list of supported formats.AutoCAD 2017 added the capability of editing PDF files.

The days of sending drawings are largely gone and, just as AutoCAD provides new tools for modern design, the web gives you options for sharing your drawings. Now remember, the web is changing so quickly that it’s almost impossible to spell out exactly how everything works and what’s best for you when it comes to sharing your AutoCAD files.