Datasheet
21
Chapter 1: Meeting Google SketchUp
Taking a peek at the dialog boxes
Most graphics programs have a ton of little controller boxes that float around
your screen, and SketchUp is no exception. After the dialog boxes are open,
you can “dock” them together by moving them close to each other, but most
people I know end up with them all over the place — me included. Dialog
boxes in SketchUp contain controls for all kinds of things; here are the ones
that I think deserve special attention:
✓ Preferences: While the Model Info dialog box (see the next point)
contains settings for the SketchUp file you have open right now, the
Preferences dialog box has controls for how SketchUp behaves no
matter what file you have open. Pay particular attention to the Shortcuts
panel, where you can set up keyboard shortcuts for any tool or com-
mand in the program.
On the Mac, the Preferences dialog box is on the SketchUp menu, which
doesn’t exist in the Windows version of SketchUp.
Some changes to the Preference settings don’t take effect until you open
another file or restart SketchUp altogether, so don’t worry if you can’t
see a difference right away.
Where are all the tools?
The Getting Started toolbar contains a small
subset of the tools that you can use in SketchUp.
The thinking (which I agree with, incidentally)
is that seeing all the tools right away tends
to overwhelm new users, so having a limited
selection helps people.
To get access to more tools (through toolbars,
anyway — you can always access everything
through the menus), you do different things,
depending on which operating system you use:
✓ Windows: Choose View➪Toolbars. The
mother lode! I recommend starting off with
the Large Tool Set to begin with and then
adding toolbars as you need them (and as
you figure out what they do).
✓ Mac: Choose View➪Tool Palettes➪Large
Tool Set. To add even more tools, right-click
the Getting Started toolbar (the one right
above your modeling window) and choose
Customize Toolbar. Now drag whatever
tools you want onto your toolbar and click
the Done button.
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