stmlandplan Posted March 13, 2014 Share Posted March 13, 2014 is there anyway to export a 3D object to SketchUp (say a 3D plant symbol or any 3D object)? Quote Link to comment
barkest Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 (edited) Export from VW as .3ds (check the export textures as either jpg or png). Import 3ds into SU. Import it into a blank/clean SU document. There is an option when importing to merge coplanar faces which you may want to do. The scale can be 'interesting' which is why it is best to put it into a blank doc and rescale the object. The hierarchy can also be a bit odd so some tidy up work with the component in SU will be needed. Overall its not bad depending upon the complexity of the object(s) from VW (I usually include a 1m cube in the export so I can rescale based on it then delete in SU when done) Edited March 14, 2014 by barkest Quote Link to comment
stmlandplan Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 Thanks barkest I'll give it a go. Quote Link to comment
stmlandplan Posted March 14, 2014 Author Share Posted March 14, 2014 Its not working for me or is it..... It seems to export ok (.3ds file size 692bytes) but when I try to import .3ds into a new VW file (either as 3d mesh or groups as 3d polygons) I get what is shown in the second image after rendering. Shouldn't it import back into VW ok? I cant seem to attach the .3ds file but it is there and the VW jpg texture and mask are there too. Quote Link to comment
barkest Posted March 14, 2014 Share Posted March 14, 2014 Not sure what you are trying to do as I thought it was VW to SU. Anyhow if you are going VW --> SU --> VW then you can still do this. You have an added complexity of the transparency mask but its possible in the case of the tree. Attached: VW tree SU tree after export/import from VW (needs the correct scale on the image but I did not have time to fix) VW tree after export/import from SU Unfortunately exporting to .3ds and checking the png option does not bring the transparency across. There are a number of ways around this but I found it easy to edit the material in SU (via PhotoShop) and then just add the mask. Quote Link to comment
samanthab19 Posted October 11, 2017 Share Posted October 11, 2017 I am using an educational version of VW and am trying to export to sketch up. When I go to export there is no 3DS option? Please help! Quote Link to comment
Vectorworks, Inc Employee PVA - Admin Posted October 11, 2017 Vectorworks, Inc Employee Share Posted October 11, 2017 11 hours ago, samanthab19 said: I am using an educational version of VW and am trying to export to sketch up. When I go to export there is no 3DS option? Please help! You should have Export 3DS, but if you are using the Fundamentals workspace it may not be present. If you go to Tools > Workspaces and choose Designer or something other than your current workspace, do you see it? If not, Tools > Workspaces > Edit the Current Workspace should let you add 3DS export back to any workspace you like. The Educational version should indeed included 3DS export. However take a look at the replies here as well related specifically to file interoperability: Quote Link to comment
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