Sketch up

It took me a little while to figure it out, but then all I had ever really used before was 'visio'. So not having much experience in any kind of cad programs probably saved me from having to un-learn stuff, LOL
 
Like Brent, I had used Visio for many years to do 2D drawings and was very comfortable - even having to draw something three or more times for different views. When I first tried to start with SketchUp, I felt totally brain-dead! I went through the tutorials and made some progress, but Visio was still quicker for me. Then, I got some pointers from Dave Richards and a whole new world opened up for me.
 
i started out with sketchup, and the learning curve was between 89.6 and 104.5 degrees. then i started watching the tutorials, and drawing simple things, like squares, rectangles, and such. then went on to making simple components for more complex things, like tables. then the real fun began when i found i could rotate the item drawn six ways from sunday! i used to be a pencil and paper kind of guy, but now that i've got a handle on sketchup, i only use pencil and paper for doing quick figures.
 
Slick fun program. Just need to learn the way different key commands What a difference from illustrator.

Jim, let me know if I can help.

As for the keyboard commands, you might want to download the Quick Reference Card. It'll show you the defaults. You can also set up your own keyboard shortcuts if you wish. There are some caveats with that so let me know if you want to do that.
 
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