It’s a good idea to click on the big question mark in the lower left corner of the screen and launch the “Welcome Tour”. The relevant questions are “Does the web version work”? “How different is it from the previous versions”? and “What’s the best way to learn how to use it”?Īt first glance, “SketchUp Free” seems to be missing a lot, compared to the desktop version, but almost everything is there if you can figure out where it lives. It might not be the business model I would choose, but it isn’t my business. What a private enterprise decides to do with their products, particularly what they give away for free is not for me (or any other SketchUp user) to decide. I’ve been asked what I think of this, what I think members of my audience should do and are my enhanced PDF books about using SketchUp relevant to the new online versions? While I use the software and write extensively about SketchUp I have no financial ties to the company. Recently the good folks at SketchUp made some changes to their product lineup and business model. When I learned how to create 3D models with SketchUp most of what I do professionally is better - faster, more accurate and more versatile in terms of output that can be shared digitally and in print. I go way back to manual drafting and AutoCAD. I’m a fan of the usefulness and versatility of the software, and in spite of recent changes I still am. One thing that affects me is I don’t like change, but change is one of the few constants in life, so like it or not I adapt.įor the last ten years or so I’ve been teaching classes in SketchUp and publishing instructional books about using SketchUp efficiently. I depend on software to create and edit and I also teach folks how to use SketchUp 3D modeling software. Software updates and changes to business models by software companies are something we should all be used to, but for a lot of us (including me) news of something different fills us with dread. The web-based version of SketchUp “SketchUp Free” is at the top of this image, the desktop version is at the bottom.

Sketchup 2017 quick reference card