@Last Software begins shipping SketchUp 4.0
July 14, 2004 - 00:16 PDT   by Dennis Sellers - At this week's Macworld Conference & Expo in Boston, @Last Software announced that it's now shipping SketchUp 4.0, the latest version of the "3D for the rest of us" software that includes such new tools as Follow Me, Texture Tweaker, Face Me, the Intersector and the Ruby Scripting Interface. SketchUp is used for 3D model creation, viewing, modification and presentation. Unlike 2D software, the SketchUp user is always working in 3D and can orbit around the model at any time with just a mouse click.

"SketchUp 4.0 is filled with features requested by users of the product," Macintosh Product Manager John Bacus told MacMinute. "It's been in the works for over a year, following our usual release schedule."

You can use the Follow Me tool to push or pull a surface along a path, quickly create stair railings, crown moldings and tubing. It's somewhat akin to using a router, Bacus said.

Texture Tweaker allows any texture or photo to be stretched and manipulated across any continuous surface. For example, you can place a photo of a building onto a 3D square created in SketchUp and model directly from the picture. In version 4.0, SketchUp's texture map capabilities have also been enhanced.

"The texture tweaking improvements effectively let you do quick and dirty perspective correction," Bacus said. "You can keep modeling on projected textures. It's great for people in urban areas who are trying to design a building that will fit into a historic context. We're also working to round out the feature set of texture mapping."

Using Face Me, 2D models of people and landscaping elements will always face the camera and appear to be 3D without bulking up your models. Trees and people are needed to make models more realistic, and this is easier to do in SketchUp 4.0, Bacus said.

"You can also do an environment map with Face Me to put a background behind a model," he added. "It takes a step out of the process."

SketchUp 4.0's Intersector provides the power of Boolean modeling without the overhead and is capable of performing multiple changes in rapid succession. You can delete out bits you don't want and work in some "pretty complicated things," Bacus noted. You can also do multiple Booleans atop each other.

With SketchUp's New Ruby Scripting Interface users can automate almost any task. It uses the Ruby object-oriented scripting language out of Japan. @Last has "embraced it" and made its methods available inside SketchUp. For instance, you can use Ruby to make parametric objects.

"You'll see us release scripts for additional functions over the next couple of months," Bacus said. "All will be implemented like text scripts and will load like plug-ins."

SketchUp for Mac OS X is available in 11 languages. Version 4.0 costs US$495 or $95 as an upgrade.

Today on MacMinute...

MacMinute Final Post
MacMinute update
Clarification from Julie
Upcoming Changes For MacMinute
MacMinute update from the Flack family
Pro Applications Update 2008-01
Burger Shop now available
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.4.1 update posted
MacBook Air Bluetooth Firmware Update 1.0 posted
Deals: Toon Boom Storyboard' 32% off today only
Equinux enhances The Tube 2.6 with new EPG engine
iPresentee releases new add-ons for Keynote
Deals: Cheetah3D 47% off today only
Creaceed ships Morph Age Regular/Pro 4.0
New iPhone cases now available from DLO
Stairways Software releases Keyboard Maestro 3.0
Deals: Sandvox 39% off today only
New Adobe TV Programming comes online
Apple releases numerous updates
Deals: NetShade 48% off today only