Josh’s 2019 Sketchup Wish List

By: Josh Webb

As 2018 is somehow already coming to an end that means a new version of SketchUp should be appearing anytime now. I work in SketchUp everyday and although it has endless amounts of extensions and is a very powerful tool I have yet to find some answers to some problems or situations I come across every once in a while. Some of these wish list items for Sketchup 2019 are already created as external extensions but I would like to see them incorporated in SketchUp’s native tool sets. So let’s get to it!

LAYERS 2.0
First thing I’d like to see in SketchUp 2019 is more controls over layers. SketchUp seems a little outdated with the options they have with layers compared to most other design programs. For example it would be awesome if you could create groupings or folders of assets or quickly lock an entire layer/group. This would really help with organization and increase workflow.

QUICK EDGE LOOP SELECTION

I would love a way to quickly select an entire edge loop without having to weld it first. Such as a triple click action on a line that would select all lines connected without selecting any faces. This would be great when working with terrain and large assets. As of right now it’s a matter of selecting each individual line segment and welding them together. This turns into a nightmare when grading large concepts.

OFFSET OBJECTS

Sketchup does have an offset tool right now, but you can only offset a face/line. It would be awesome to be able to offset an entire object. (Example: Offsetting a highway guardrail along a curved road). Right now my work around is shape bender but it requires a few extra steps.

MATERIAL EDITOR 2.0

Having more control over the materials within SketchUp would prevent having to take them into photoshop and would save a bit more time.

EXTENSION FOLDERS

Although the more crowded your SketchUp interface looks with extensions may seem cool and make you look like a SketchUp pro, I would like to see a solution to help clean this up. Adding more and more extensions to the sides, top and bottom of the SketchUp UI shrinks your actually workspace and can just become an eyesore. Some extensions such as FredoTools or ValiArchitects have multiple sub-extensions attached with them and can take up a whole row on your toolbar. I’d love to see sketchup add an option to create folders for extensions that you can categories by developer or tool function (grading, drawing tools, modeling tools, navigation).

We will see what SketchUp comes up with in their 2019 version. The update for 2018 was kind of a let down in my opinion. They did have a lot of great updates for SketchUp Layout but not so much for SketchUp itself. Once the update is released and I’ve had some time to use it I’ll do another writeup talking about if anything I mentioned was or wasn’t incorporated!

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