Architectural_Design_with_SketchUp

Architectural Design with SketchUp
SketchUp’s Tool Set
Navigating the 3D Model
SketchUp provides various means to move around 3D space while you are working on your
model. Analogous to many other CAD software programs, there are tools for zoom, pan,
and orbit. You can access these using the buttons on the main toolbar. If you are using a
wheel mouse, however, you can do this much faster by rotating the wheel (to zoom in or
out), pushing the wheel and dragging the mouse (to orbit), or holding the Shift key while
you push the wheel (to pan sideways).
Two further tools of interest in this context are the Walk and Look Around tools:
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Walk—This tool allows you to explore the 3D space interactively by walking back and
forth through space as if you were walking through a building, for example. To use the
tool, click on the icon that shows the two footsteps, which is found on the Large Tool
Set toolbar. Then use your mouse (click and drag) to navigate.
TIP
It is a good idea to increase the field of view to one that is more similar to our own spatial
perception (a quite narrow 35 degrees is the default setting). To do that, select the Zoom
tool (the magnifying glass) and enter a larger value into the Measurements Box at the bottom
of the screen (e.g., 60 degrees). Also make sure eye height is at human level. To change
it, select the Look Around tool (the single eye) and type in a reasonable value (e.g., 6f).
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Look Around—As the name implies, the way this tool works is similar to the way you
move your head around to explore a space.
IN-DEPTH
Alternatives for Controlling SketchUp’s View
The aforementioned built-in methods are not the only tools that you can use to orbit,
move, or walk around. Here are some suggestions for alternatives.
One method is a 3D mouse (e.g., the SpaceNavigator made by 3D Connexion), which
behaves more like a joystick and allows you to move more intuitively through 3D space
because it combines the zoom, pan, and orbit motions into one tool. A common use case
for this tool is to position it at the left hand (if you are right-handed) and use it in combination
with the regular mouse at the right hand. (See Figure 2.13.)
Another option is to use a device that can be operated in 3D space similar to the actual
motion in SketchUp. This offers the possibility of experiencing SketchUp’s 3D space in a
more immersive fashion. An example is a Wiimote controller (taken from a Wii video game
console). This tool is very inexpensive ($40 is a current retail price), and its sensors (an
accelerometer and others) can be set up to control any software using the freely available
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