Datasheet

19
Chapter 1: Meeting Google SketchUp
Although the following items aren’t part of the SketchUp user interface (all the
stuff I just listed in the previous list), they’re a critical part of modeling in
SketchUp:
✓ A mouse with a scroll wheel: You usually find a left button (the one you
use all the time), a right button (the one that opens the context menus),
and a center scroll wheel that you both roll back and forth and click
down like a button. You should get one if you don’t already have one —
it’ll improve your SketchUp experience more than any single other thing
you could buy.
✓ A keyboard: This sounds silly, but some people have tried to use
SketchUp without one; it’s just not possible. So many of the things you
need to do all the time (like make copies) involve your keyboard, so
you’d better have one handy if you’re planning to use SketchUp.
Hanging out at the menu bar
SketchUp’s menus are a pretty straightforward affair; you won’t find anything
surprising like “Launch Rocket” in any of them, unfortunately. All the same,
here’s what they contain:
✓ File: Includes options for creating, opening, and saving SketchUp files.
It’s also where to go if you want to import or export a file, or make a
printout of your model view.
✓ Edit: Has all the commands that affect the bits of your model that are
selected.
✓ View: This one’s a little tricky. You’d think it would contain all the
options for flying around in 3D space, but it doesn’t — that stuff’s on the
Camera menu. Instead, the View menu includes all the controls you use
to affect the appearance of your model itself: what’s visible, how faces
look, and so on. View also contains settings for turning on and off certain
elements of SketchUp’s user interface.
✓ Camera: Contains controls for viewing your model from different angles.
In SketchUp, your “camera” is your point of view, literally.
✓ Draw: Includes tools for drawing edges and faces in your modeling
window.
✓ Tools: Most of SketchUp’s tools are contained here, except of course for
the ones you use for drawing.
✓ Window: If you’re ever wondering where to find a dialog box you want
to use, this is the place to look; they’re all right here.