How are people using SketchUp imports in VW 2010?

[Philip Wheelock]

I can see where modeling existing conditions/surrounding buildings in Sketchup and importing same to VW would be useful for rendering and presentations, but I can't figure out how a Sketchup model could be converted into something to build on in VW since the entities seem to be 3D polygons without intelligent info that walls and roofs in VW have. I suppose tracing floor plans on separate layers?

Is there something I'm missing in terms of using the actual imported Sketchup model?

Thanks.

[Bob Holtzmann]

Yes, the Sketchup import command should convert the vertical surfaces to Vw walls. It works for me.

[Philip Wheelock]

Thanks, Bob. I checked Sketchup in some depth yesterday. What I have found so far is that VW 2010 successfully imports Sketchup files with the "automatic" option and turns objects into walls, floors and roofs as long as the Sketchup objects are single planes (no thickness). The "3D polygon" option, importing as .3ds and .dwg seem useful only for tracing purposes.

I hope to be proved wrong, but, from what I can tell, the more detailed Sketchup models with wall, floor, roof and trim thicknesses, which are necessary for effective presentations, essentially have to be redrawn in VW.

[Philip Wheelock]

I'm guessing that the number of comments on this thread suggests that Sketchup hasn't been incorporated in very many workflows at this time. Google seems to be taking the program in its own direction rather than making it more useful as a front end to more established CAD programs.

Out of my experimentation with Sketchup, my wish list item for VW is an OpenGL sketch mode that replicates the rendering look of Sketchup and an optional horizon line/shaded plane at Z=0'.

[Bob Holtzmann]

I've found a great use for Sketchup in modeling existing buildings from the Photo Match feature. This is where the perspective view matches the photo, so that 3D modeling is simplified by tracing the photo. And even more, the photo can be textured to the model.

PanzerCad's Camera Match for Vectorworks is somewhat similar, but is only for providing a background rendering for a finished model. That's because the graphic work is done in a Viewport Annotation layer -- a 2D drawing environment.

It would be great if either NNA or PanzerCad can bring 3D photo tracing into Vw.