SketchUp Make Heads Up

[Dave Richards]

I happened to see a question on that other woodworking forum from someone who opened SketchUp 2017 Make recently and got a message regarding potential security issues. It seems likely that some folks here might see the same thing so I thought I'd address it.

Trimble has after nearly 5 years removed the link for SketchUp 2017 Make from their website. Their official statement is here. For those who are still using this version, you will need to make a decision about what to do concerning the security issue. It's kind of the same thing with any old software that can access the internet or can be accessed from the internet. I don't think I'd panic about this message but it's good to be aware of it.

For those who are thinking they'd like to start using SketchUp 2017 Make, I will say there are unofficial sources for the installer. I'm not going to share those links, however, because I don't know what nasty stuff might get downloaded with it and I don't want to be blamed if someone has problems due to a virus or other mean and nasty stuff being included.

The browser-based versions of SketchUp are very usable and while they don't yet have the ability to use extensions, they are quite capable.

 

[Darren Wright]

I’d guess that the fact it still opens some web links, such as for the warehouse, there may be ads that can inject bad stuff. I know they don’t allow 2017 versions from the warehouse anymore. I still use it for drawing up stuff to 3d print though.

 

[Dave Richards]

Yeah. That's an issue. And at the time SU2017 was released, Internet Explorer was used for much of the internet connection stuff but Internet Explorer hasn't been getting security updates for quite a while.

As for the 3D Warehouse, they are no longer converting SketchUp files to V2019 or earlier. If you need components from the 3D Warehouse you can do so through your browser. Download the Collada version and import the included .dae file into SketchUp.

For your own use like 3D printing stuff or designing your own shop projects, this probably won't matter. Timing isn't wonderful for me because of the Fine Woodworking Fundamentals course releasing tomorrow but c'est la vie.

 

[Brent Dowell]

Ooof. I'd totally use the browser based one, but there are some extensions I use a lot, like Solid Inspector, Bool Tools, Cleanup, Fredo6 roundcorner, etc....

Oh well.

 

[Dave Richards]

Solid Inspector is included in SketchUp Go (formerly Shop) as are the Solid Tools, although not the same as Bool Tools 2. The extensions by Fredo6 are definitely useful, though.