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SketchUp

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SketchUp
Original author(s)@Last Software
Developer(s)Trimble Navigation[1]
Initial releaseAugust 2000 (2000-aug)
Stable release
13.0.4812 (Win) 13.0.4811 (Mac) / August 14, 2013; 11 years ago (2013-08-14)[2]
Operating systemWindows 2000
Windows XP
Windows Vista
Windows 7
OS X (10.7 and onwards)[3]
Available inEnglish, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional)
Type3D computer graphics
License
Websitewww.sketchup.com

SketchUp, marketed officially as Trimble SketchUp, is a 3D modeling program for applications such as architectural, interior design, civil and mechanical engineering, film, and video game design. A freeware version, Sketchup Make, and a paid version with additional functionality, Sketchup Pro, are available.

The company was owned independently from 2000 to 2006, then by Google, and from 2012 by Trimble Navigation,[4] a mapping, surveying, and navigation equipment company.[5]

The program claims to be easy to use.[6] There is an online repository of free-of-charge model assemblies (e.g., windows, doors, automobiles, etc.), 3D Warehouse, to which users may contribute models. The program includes drawing layout functionality, allows surface rendering in variable "styles", supports third-party "plug-in" programs hosted on a site called Extension Warehouse to provide other capabilities (e.g., near photo-realistic rendering), and enables placement of its models within Google Earth.

History

@Last Software

SketchUp was developed by startup company @Last Software of Boulder, Colorado, co-founded in 1999 by Brad Schell and Joe Esch.[7]

SketchUp debuted in August 2000 as a general-purpose 3D content creation tool, and was envisioned as a software program "that would allow design professionals to draw the way they want by emulating the feel and freedom of working with pen and paper in a simple and elegant interface, that would be fun to use and easy to learn, and that would be used by designers to play with their designs in a way that is not possible with traditional design software. It also has user friendly buttons to make it easier to use."[8]

The program won a Community Choice Award at its first tradeshow in 2000.[9]

Trimble

On May 21, 2013, Trimble announced the release of SketchUp Pro 2013 — along with a new site, Extension Warehouse, hosting plugins and extensions for Sketchup.[10]

Licensing

All versions of SketchUp are proprietary. SketchUp Make (formerly SketchUp for Home and Personal Use), for non-commercial use, is free of charge.[11]

SketchUp Pro provides additional features for professional use and costs $590.00. Users purchase the program for $495.00 plus a $95.00 fee, and thereafter optionally pay a $95 annual "License Maintenance Fee" for continuing support and upgrades.[12] There is special pricing for students and educational users.[13]

SketchUp Pro licenses are per platform; a license for SketchUp Pro for Windows is not valid for SketchUp Pro for Macintosh.[14]

Patents

A model of a car made in SketchUp

SketchUp holds a U.S. patent 6,628,279, awarded in September 2003, on its "Push/Pull" technology.

Google SketchUp

Many different 3D and 2D exporters are available in SketchUp for uses such as rendering. This model was made in SketchUp and rendered with Kerkythea.

On April 27, 2006, Google announced Google SketchUp, a free downloadable version of SketchUp, without some functionality of SketchUp Pro, but including integrated tools for uploading content to Google Earth and to the Google 3D Warehouse. A toolbox enables a viewer to "walk around" and see things from different viewpoints, and supports labels for models, a look-around tool, and an "any polygon" shape tool.

The free version of Google Sketchup can export 3D to .dae and Google Earth's .kmz file format. The Pro version extends exporting support to include the .3ds, .dwg, .dxf, .fbx, .obj, .xsi, and .wrl file formats.

Google SketchUp can also save elevations or renderings of the model, called "screenshots", as .bmp, .png, .jpg, .tif, with the Pro version also supporting .pdf, .eps, .epx, .dwg, and .dxf.

Neither is available in a native format for Linux, or Mac OS earlier than 10.5.[15] Sketchup v.8 use under Wine has been rated "Gold".[16]

GPS location information is always stored in the KMZ file.[17] The building designs themselves are saved in SKP.

SketchUp Make

File:Kingdom Tower in sketchup.png
This skyscraper was designed using Sketchup Make (2013). The picture shows the under-construction Kingdom Tower and google imagery used for it.

Sketchup Make, introduced in May 2013, is a free-of-charge version for home, personal, and educational use.[18]

SketchUp and Ruby

SketchUp 4 and later support software extensions written in the Ruby programming language, which add specialized functionality. Such extensions may be made available to others on the SketchUp Ruby Forum.[19] SketchUp has a Ruby console, an environment which allows experimentation with Ruby.[20] The free version of SketchUp also supports Ruby scripts, with workarounds for its import and export limitations.

See also

References

  1. ^ Trimble Navigation to buy Google's SketchUp
  2. ^ Release Notes
  3. ^ "SketchUp Hardware and software requirements". Trimble. October 2, 2013. Retrieved 2010-09-07.
  4. ^ Bacus, John. "A new home for SketchUp". Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  5. ^ "Linking Positioning to Productivity". Trimble Navigation Limited. Retrieved 16 June 2012.
  6. ^ "What makes SketchUp great". Google SketchUp website. Google. March 25, 2010. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  7. ^ "@Last gets 'Googled'". It.tmcnet.com. March 15, 2006. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  8. ^ "Sketchup to IMVU Exporter - beta". IMVU.com. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  9. ^ "DigitalMediaNet Announces DigitalCAD Community Choice Award Winners". Digitalcad.com. November 16, 2000. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  10. ^ "What's New In SketchUp Pro 2013?". SoftwareParadise.co.uk. Retrieved 21 May 2013.
  11. ^ "Trimble SketchUp Make License". Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  12. ^ "Upgrade, Maintenance, and Support program details". Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  13. ^ "Licences for Education". Trimble. Retrieved June 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  14. ^ "Cross-platform license". Retrieved July 27, 2013.
  15. ^ http://sketchup.google.com/download/ 2012-05-23
  16. ^ http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=version&iId=21290 2012-05-23
  17. ^ "Can I export my SketchUp models to other programs or formats?". Google SketchUp Help. Google. February 19, 2010. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  18. ^ http://www.sketchup.com/products/sketchup-make
  19. ^ "Google SketchUp Developers". Google Groups. Google. Retrieved May 22, 2010.
  20. ^ SketchUp Ruby Documentation Page 1.
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