SketchUp Template and Toolbar Layout

Carol, you asked to see my template. Maybe others would be interested, too. Here's what it looks like when I first start SketchUp.


All the windows on the right are found in the Window menu. I keep my drawing window slightly narrower than my screen so those windows can reside outside the drawing space. Clicking on the title bars for those windows makes them roll up so they are all accessible. I've never found a case where I wanted my drawing space to be as wide as the screen so this works well for me.

And here are most of the settings I made for my custom default template.


Don't get hung up on all the extra toolbars. A bunch of them are for plugins. I made two custom toolbars which reside on the left side. They contain the main drawing and modification tools that get used most of the time. You'll notice that I've omitted the Orbit and Pan tools. There's no need for screen real estate being consumed by buttons I never use. Since Orbit and Pan are accessed via the CMB, there's no need for them. I do have the Zoom tool there. I don't zoom with it but I do use it to access the field of view setting. I also omitted the Dimension, Label and 3D Text. I don't use dimensions or labels in SU and rarely need 3D Text which can be accessed from the Tools menu when I do want it.

Very helpful! Thanks, Dave

Wow Dave, that's quite the setup. Couple of interesting things in there I hadn't found.. thanks for the quick look.

Ted, I hope it is helpful.

Ryan, what did you find?

The big one is I hadn't really looked at the "Model Info" settings before - adjusting those setting could help a lot in some cases!

Turning off the sky in the styles is .. interesting, can't decide if I like that more or less, having the reference might be helpful when I get lost.

I'm still parsing your toolbars, but I think I'll hold off on making too many changes there yet, basically I think the sane way to proceed is to add/remove things as I learn how to use them I did find the move from sketchup 8 (pro) to 2015 (make) a little disconcerting since all of the tool bars and icons changed.

Clearly a larger screen would also help - I'm currently working on the laptop, the computer at work would be nicer in that regard but its linux so no real help there.

That is a lot of things.

Remember the solid blue axis points up.

I never really thought the icons changed all that much but then the change occurred with SU2013 so I've been looking at them for quite awhile. Maybe I've forgotten.

You can always modify your toolbars if you need to which you couldn't do with SU8.

Yes, a larger screen is better. My primary screen is a 27 in. monitor. Funny thing, though. When I first got it I felt like I was in the front row at the movie theater. Now it doesn't seem that big.

Dave Richards said:

Yes, a larger screen is better. My primary screen is a 27 in. monitor. Funny thing, though. When I first got it I felt like I was in the front row at the movie theater. Now it doesn't seem that big.

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I use two screens. I have them arranged vertically. Top screen is my working screen, lower screen is for everything else. Materials, Styles, Entity Info, Model Info, and Soften Edges are always open and visible but I still have nearly 100% working area on the main screen.

I'm still back on SU8. If the current version (SU 2013?) allows me to put toolbars on a different screen, I'll upgrade.

David, I also use two screens. My second is a 21" Cintiq. When working in SketchUp, I frequently have reference files open on the second display. Since it is also a tablet, it comes in handy for image editing.

You missed a few versions. We're on SU2015 now since the beginning of November. Since they changed the toolbar manager, in SU2013, you can place toolbars on a second screen if you wish.

I can't imagine my monitors stacked one above the other. Seems like it would require a lot of head movement. I have the Cintiq mounted on an articulated arm so I can pull it over in front of me or down into my lap when I draw on it. I don't like using the stylus with SketchUp, though. I know of some folks who do, though.

Well, sounds like it might be time to upgrade to 2015, then! If I could use the entire monitor, sans a few lines for the window's title bar, that'd be ideal.

My chiropractor made me do it. I work on a laptop + monitor combo. The keyboard has to be on the desk, so the laptop monitor has to be down there too. I was getting neck pain from looking down all day. So I moved my second monitor from the standard "right next to #1 monitor" position and put it on an 8" tall base. So monitor #2 is above and a few inches behind monitor #1 (laptop screen). The center of monitor #2 is right at my eye level, so I can maintain good posture.

I think it actually requires less head movement than a left/right monitor setup. And the movement it requires is up/down, which keeps all your muscles and bones in symmetrical alignment. I was so messed up with my old setup that my neck's range of motion was so tight I could barely check my blind spot while driving. Now if I could only figure out a way to get the keyboard moved left and away from me so its position is symmetrical to the mouse position, all my pains would go away.

{sigh}

The website requires an email address to download the software and the installer requires a reboot... looks like I'll have to actually READ their EULA and privacy statements before I decide if moving toolbars to monitor #1 is worth the headache of an upgrade..... The modern world is horrible sometimes....

I suppose you're right about the up/down versus side to side thing. Since I keep all of my SketchUp windows and tools on one screen, that isn't a problem. It's only when I have some reference like a PDF file to look at that I need to look at the other display.

As for the EULA, if you're concerned about that, the only real major thing that changed from SU8 is that the free version is not for commercial use. Basically, if you use SketchUp to make money, you should be using the pro version. Seems reasonable to me.

Oh, monitor layout is definitely personal preference. I don't like having to move other windows around or show/hide them in order to see my work. And my monitor's a 16:9 so I don't have the real-estate to keep them separate.

Sorry to take the thread off-course, but I do software for a living, so their choices peeve me. If they're offering a free download, there's no reason to capture email addresses and job information. Costco doesn't ask me for my phone number when I take a free sample. Restaurants don't make me give them an email address when I buy food. So I either give Trimble a fake email address/job or give them real information and trust that they don't re-sell it or "share" it with their "revenue partners".

Secondly, there's no reason a piece of software like this should be replacing files or installing services that require a reboot. None.

Ergo, I'm suspicious that they're doing something funky, so I need to read and understand the EULA and Privacy Statements so I'm sure I'm not agreeing to be some sort of marketing guinea pig. As it stands, even if the documents look clear, I'm now forced to audit the software once it's installed and properly firewall any communication it may be doing that I don't explicitly authorize. It's a hassle. It's fine that the EULA restricts use to non-commercial purposes; saying that I agree to tracking Sketchup usage information or un-related computer usage (web browsing, installed software, etc) is not.

David Agnew said:

Oh, monitor layout is definitely personal preference. I don't like having to move other windows around or show/hide them in order to see my work. And my monitor's a 16:9 so I don't have the real-estate to keep them separate.

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Personal preference it is. Like I said before, I've never found a case where my drawing window is too narrow for what I'm drawing and the space I leave on the right is perfect for those windows so they don't cover the drawing space.

David Agnew said:

Sorry to take the thread off-course, but I do software for a living, so their choices peeve me. If they're offering a free download, there's no reason to capture email addresses and job information. Costco doesn't ask me for my phone number when I take a free sample. Restaurants don't make me give them an email address when I buy food. So I either give Trimble a fake email address/job or give them real information and trust that they don't re-sell it or "share" it with their "revenue partners".

Click to expand...

They had my e-mail address for years. I've been using SketchUp for about 12 years. They've had my e-mail address since the beginning. They've never sold or shared e-mail address before.

David Agnew said:

Secondly, there's no reason a piece of software like this should be replacing files or installing services that require a reboot. None.

Click to expand...

I have no idea where this comes from. They aren't replacing any files when you install a new version. In fact you can install SU2015 and leave SU8 where it is. They are handled as separate programs. The only reason you'd have to reboot SketchUp to make anything work is if you manually dump plugin files into the Plugins folder manually. With SU8M1, if you install plugins using Install Extension or with SU2013 and later using the Extension Warehouse or if you use the SCF PluginStore plugins are automatically installed correctly in the right place and loaded so no reboot is needed for them, either.

David Agnew said:

Ergo, I'm suspicious that they're doing something funky, so I need to read and understand the EULA and Privacy Statements so I'm sure I'm not agreeing to be some sort of marketing guinea pig. As it stands, even if the documents look clear, I'm now forced to audit the software once it's installed and properly firewall any communication it may be doing that I don't explicitly authorize. It's a hassle. It's fine that the EULA restricts use to non-commercial purposes; saying that I agree to tracking Sketchup usage information or un-related computer usage (web browsing, installed software, etc) is not.

Click to expand...

You should read it indeed. I'm comfortable with what they are doing and with what little information they collect. It sounds like you didn't find the SU8 EULA problematic. Maybe take the safe route and stick with that instead.