Common Tasks in Google SketchUp 7

Certain tasks in Google SketchUp 7 can be performed in a variety of ways, but if youre looking for the simplest or quickest way to do things in SketchUp 7, then take a look at this chart: To Do This Task Navigate Orbit with your mouse Zoom with your mouse Pan with your mouse Draw Draw an edge a certain length with the Line tool Snip off an edge at the last place you clicked Lock your current direction with the Line tool Change the number of sides in a circle, arc or polygon Draw a circle or an arc of a certain radius Select with the Select tool Add or subtract from what you've selected Select everything that isn't hidden Select everything inside a selection box Select everything touched by a selection box Select all faces with the same material Move with the Move tool Move a certain distance Force Auto-Fold (tell SketchUp it's okay to fold) Lock yourself in the blue (up and down) direction Copy with the Move and Rotate tools Make a copy with the Move or Rotate tools Make multiple copies in a row Make multiple copies between Here's the Best Way Hold down scroll wheel Roll scroll wheel Hold down Shift and the scroll wheel Type a length and press Enter Press the Esc key Hold down the Shift key while drawing with the tool Type a number, then type s, and press Enter Type a radius and press Enter after you draw a circle Hold down Shift Press Ctrl+A (Command+A on the Mac) Click and drag from left to right Click and drag from right to left Right-click and choose SelectAll with Same Material Type a distance and press Enter after you move Press Alt (Command on the Mac) Press or key

Press Ctrl (Option on the Mac) Make a copy, type a distance, type x, and press Enter Make a copy, type a number, type /, and press Enter

Hide and Smooth with the Eraser tool Hide something Hold down Shift and click with the Eraser Smooth something Ctrl+click with the Eraser (Option+click on the Mac) Hold down Shift+Ctrl and click with the Eraser Unsmooth something (Shift+Option on the Mac) Push/Pull and Offset Make a copy of the face you're Press Ctrl (Option on the Mac) and use the Push/Pull push/pulling tool Repeat the last distance you push/pulled Double-click a face with the Push/Pull tool Repeat the last distance you Offset Double-click a face with the Offset tool Scale with the Scale tool Scale about the center Hold down Ctrl (Option on the Mac) while scaling Scale uniformly (dont distort) Hold down Shift while scaling Scale by a certain factor Type a number and press Enter Make something a certain size Type the size and the units and then press Enter Apply materials with the Paint Bucket tool Hold down Alt (Command on the Mac) and click the Sample a material from a face face with the tool Paint all faces that match the one you Hold down Shift while you click click Create guides Tell the Tape Measure or Protractor tool Press Ctrl (Option on the Mac) and click with the tool to create a guide Walk around your model with the Walk tool Walk through things Hold down Alt (Command on the Mac) Run instead of walk Hold down Ctrl (Option on the Mac) Get taller or shorter instead of walking Hold down Shift Select the Look Around tool, type a height, and press Change your eye height Enter Select the Zoom tool, type a number, type deg, and Change your field of view press Enter

How to Boost Productivity in Google SketchUp 7

Follow these steps for some of the functions in Google SketchUp 7 to improve your work rate, finish your tasks quickly, and move onto your next project. To divide an edge into a number of shorter edges:

1. Right-click an edge with the Select tool. 2. Choose Divide from the context menu that pops up. 3. Type the number of segments youd like and press Enter. To resize your whole model based on one known measurement: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Select the Tape Measure tool. Press Ctrl (Option on a Mac) until you dont see a + next to your cursor. Measure a distance; click once to start measuring, and again to stop. Type a dimension for the distance you just measured and press Enter. Click Yes in the dialog box that pops up.

To set up your own keyboard shortcuts: 1. Choose WindowPreferences (File Preferences on the Mac). 2. Click the Shortcuts panel.

Google SketchUp 7 Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts will make working in Google SketchUp 7 quick and easy. The following table shows you some of SketchUp's most common commands and the keystroke(s) that will get you there sooner: Line L Eraser E Select Spacebar Move M Circle C Arc A Rectangle R Push/Pull P Offset F Rotate Q Scale S Zoom Extents Shift+Z Paint Bucket B

Preparation: The Basics of Designing Your House with SketchUp

Designing your house has never been easier. The folks at Google have made 3D modeling so simple that the average user can download and design, without much effort. Here's what you need to know about designing your house in SketchUp, starting from the beginning. With Google SketchUp, you can design your dream house, redesign your kitchen, or visualize furniture placement in your new apartment. SketchUp is a 3D design software, offered free from Google. It's very user-friendly. And, it's easy to start designing immediately after you download the program. Within a short amount of time, you'll be able to design impressive floor plans and 3D models. In this series, we'll discuss the very basics of designing your house. This series is not intended for the advanced user, as it's more of an introduction for the novice user ready to get started. Before delving into SketchUp's 3D aspect, start with a clear idea of what you want to accomplish in this project. If you're designing a house, think of how you would like that house to look as the final outcome. It's a good idea to look through architectural magazines and websites for inspiration, and to get a feel for the technical aspects of your dream house. It's best to start with the big picture and then fill in the details. Start drawing an outline of your floor plan on paper. Although you can, and will, do this in SketchUp, drawing it on paper will provide you with a point of reference when you start sketching it digitally. If you have graph paper available, draw the outline on it, instead of white or notebook paper. Graph paper is comprised of 1/4" inch boxes that are great when you're drawing to scale. Each 1/4" inch box can represent 1 square foot. Gather measurements of your house. The measurements to consider are the outside and inside dimensions, the thickness of outer and inner walls, and the height of each level. Generally speaking, outer walls are usually thicker than inner walls, and height of each floor is usually over seven feet. If you aren't sure of measurements because you're creating a dream house from scratch, compare your current house-- think of its measurements, and if you'd like your new house to be bigger or smaller. Another great resource is real estate magazines, you can study the average measurements of featured houses. Remember you don't need to be completely precise if you're just designing in SketchUp for visualization, or fun.