Beginning with SketchUp Pro

Welcome to SketchUp Pro! I am excited to work through this introductory book with you.

In this book, we will examine the tools, workflows, and best practices to get started with using SketchUp Pro. SketchUp Pro is powerful software for anyone interested in 3D modeling and design, 3D printing, and even visualization and rendering! We will start with the basics and slowly work our way through to showcase some advanced professional workflows at the end of the book.

In this chapter, we will take a visual tour through the SketchUp Pro User Interface, looking at the general structure, toolbars, and dialog boxes. Then, we will discuss navigating through a 3D SketchUp model using some standard SketchUp tools but, more importantly, the keyboard and mouse. Finally, we will look at some of the underlying rules that apply to all SketchUp geometry. We will start with a quick discussion about the available SketchUp versions you may have seen online.

The following topics are covered:

• SketchUp Versions
• SketchUp Pro User Interface
• Understanding toolbars and the default tray
• Beginning to navigate through SketchUp
• SketchUp geometry basics and rules

Let’s get started!