Kristine

@warrenwest, I would love to be able to justify an upgrade to CA though as an occasional user it's simply not realistic for me. I use HD Architectural 10 (super old!) and can produce good results (IMHO) with renders using 'Final View with Shadows'. I assume this is available in Pro? Attached example.

Thanks for all the advice. Have made some progress with 'architectural blocks' (at least now I can see the icon in some instances) though I still can not group my dining setting for some reason - the icon just doesn't become visible when I group select my table and chairs? Have had success grouping cabinets (inclusive of accessories) though. Here is the dining setting I'm attempting to block for possible use in future plans. Any ideas why I can't do it? I had no issues blocking the green cabinet complete with all the accessories inside. As an aside, I know getting lighting right takes time and skill though is there a way to generate a more natural daylight feel? Final views always seem quite dark and shadow laden, as if they are taken at night with all the lights on, not during the day. I generally have to import them into Photoshop to lighten them up. I have toggled lighting and shadows on/off, added lights, deducted lights. Seems to make little difference in terms of naturality. Cheers.

Ah sorry, I just assumed the newer versions would be inclusive of all previous features.

Yes Susan. Just do a library search for 'Bicycle'. A 3D one came up for me - I assume you should have one too. The path is: Exteriors/Vehicles/Recreation Vehicles/Bicycle. Cheers.

Thanks Jo. Got the SketchUp texture thing worked out. Thanks for confirming cabinet feet do need to be added manually - thought that must be the case. I did read up on grouping objects though still can not see/find the 'make architectural block' icon anywhere? I have also created a few dining sets (complete with place settings) I'd really like to 'block' and save, though again, can not work out how to achieve it. I agree Mick that the textures are quite poor quality (blurry/too low res) and appear very fake. I was actually checking out some free texture sites (including the two you mentioned!) before you posted your response. I do a bit of graphic design work (for myself) so am across this kind of thing. Regarding textures; there is no way to manually re-position them, is there? Or is this available in more recent versions? It's just that no matter how I scale/rotate certain textures (particularly obviously 'not seamless' ones) they seem to tile at a certain point, usually mid-way through an object, which makes the join very obvious.

Great results Jo_Ann. Thanks so much for sharing. Okay, stupid question, where did you find the texture? Is it saved as an exportable image somewhere in SketchUp? Also, I noticed you have added feet to your cabinet. I have been unable to do this (except for manually). Am I missing something or is this simply the case with my version of HD? Robyn, I have been playing around with creating custom cabinets and have learned you can do some cool stuff. Only thing is, I don't think I can groups objects in my version of HD. I've watched the video though can't find the 'Architectural Block' symbol anywhere and whenever I simply select and try to save multiple items to the library it just adds them individually, not as a collective. Might be time for an upgrade to HD Pro.

Oh, what an idiot. I can't believe I didn't try deleting it. I simply assumed it was fixed. Thank you!

Sorry to add further to the discussion before there has even been a response, though I just realised I'm also unable to alter the position of handles (height from top). I'm assuming these issues are related to the '(D)' symbol in the dialogue box which I'm pretty sure indicates 'default'? If so, why can't I over-ride it? I edited the cabinet settings in the over-all defaults and it seems I can allocate a specific default though I can't make changes on a per cabinet basis. Is this simply a limitation of the program?

I've tried everything to make a lower cabinet backsplash visible though no matter what boxes I have checked whenever I enter a value in the 'Backsplash Height' field it is automatically discarded and re-set to '0'. I have the cabinet against a wall and the 'Always Present' box ticked. To be honest, I don't even really need the backsplash though just want to know what I'm doing wrong here. Thanks.

Thanks for the help. I'm still a bit confused as to why the items look perfect in SketchUp and not in Home Designer though guess I'll just have to forget them and concentrate on creating cabinets instead or importing different symbols.

I use Home Designer (10) predominately for interior design/decoration so models (furniture and accessories) are really important to me. I recently found a fantastic bank of models in the 3D Warehouse perfectly suited to my personal style (modern country). I was so excited to have the ability to use these rather unique 3D symbols to better portray my visions for certain spaces. Problem is; I find many of them don't render correctly after importation Generally, the textures get all muddled up and sometimes certain faces even appear to be flattened. This is frustrating not only because it's just plain deflating though also because it's time consuming - having to download and import each model to check how it renders. After asking questions in the SketchUp forum and playing around with the problem models myself in SketchUp, I believe it may be a rendering issue with Home Designer itself? I'm just wondering if anyone might be so kind as to take a second to import one of the 'problem models' to check how it renders for them. Here is a link to the general collection: https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/user.html?id=1237224400926261222446661 And here are some of the models I've personally experiences issues with: https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=d2a2ea8d719702347bcb070cc655f13a https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=b77aa824fcdb6efd4b3c42e318f3affc https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=a9bcee005226c6bb4b3c42e318f3affc https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=37a78dcb2ca7ec394b3c42e318f3affc https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/model.html?id=43a754fc75f03be414038d588fd1342f I guess I'm just curious as to whether it's a universal problem and also if it's something that can be easily resolved with some SketchUp tweaking or by simply upgrading my version of Home Designer. Ideally I would LOVE the ability to simply download, import and use these symbols just as they appear in the 3D Warehouse. Thank you so much. Kristine Home Designer 10

Thanks so much Mick. I'll check them out.

Sorry, I'm a pretty occasional user. My name is my username. I have Home Designer 10 (I think). I always re-save any Sketchup files as version 7 before importing. I'm just confused as to what makes some appear weird after importation. I understand Home Designer doesn't have the ability to "fix" bad symbols though how do I know what's actually wrong with them when they appear perfectly fine in Sketchup? How do I fix what looks like a perfect 3D model? Cheers.

Hi all I've been having fun playing around with the vast array of freely available models from the Sketchup 3D Warehouse though am wondering if anyone can provide alternate sources for freely available 3D models? Just looking to learn and stretch my legs. Cheers

I have imported several items successfully from the 3D Warehouse though occasionally run into problems with the way materials are displayed. I have very little/no Sketchup knowledge and am at a loss as to how to fix these issues. For example, materials on some items of furniture appear mixed-up and ill-fitting once imported though when viewed in Sketchup they appear perfect. I have read some information which indicated it might be a "directional face" problem though I have no idea what that means. Has anyone else experienced these issues or can anyone shed some light? Would certainly make my life easier :-)