Revit w/ Sketchup?

[BomberAIA]

Has anyone exported a Revit model to Sketchup to make presentation drawings?

[SCShell]

Hi there,

I have not; however, several here have. They have posted several great looking examples of this on the old RUGI board, which I assume are here too. Do a search using "Sketchup".
In addition, one of the Architects here in our local user group does this all the time. Furthermore, he does it in reverse too. He models complex in place family items in Sketchup, then imports them into Revit. He swears by it.

Good Luck
Steve Shell

[pwmsmith]

I'm using Sketch-up 4 and Revit back and forth. If you want call me and I can show you. Maybe it can be the topic for our next User's forum.

[muttlieb]

Before switching to Revit, I used SU for preliminary design and presentation of design ideas to clients. I would then develop the design documents and CD's with ADT. Unfortunately, there would be duplication of time spent since I would basically be drawing the project twice, once in SU and again in ADT. I haven't even started my first 'real' project in Revit, but I have played around with exporting Revit models to SU for presentation and I think it is going to work very well. As easy as it is to model in SU, I think it might be even quiker to get the basic model done in Revit and then export to SU for presentation, at least at early stages. I think as the model gets developed it has the potential to look better rendered in Revit. But for early presentation and exploration of design ideas, SU is hard to beat. I am interested to hear how people have been going from SU back into Revit.

[SkiSouth]

Has anyone exported a Revit model to Sketchup to make presentation drawings?

I took this model for a jewelry store straight into Sketchup this morning after you posed the question. It took longer to edit with photoshop the jpeg than the actual conversion
time (probably took 5 minutes or so). As you see in the "x-ray" mode, the cabinetry
and all is still there. The looks are a simple toggle on the view bar. Very cool program. Was actually using SU prior to Revit. Now that I've messed with it, I think I need to go
back and incorporate some presentation stuff with it - Pretty cool effects.

[SkiSouth]

I'm not sure this will post. Took 6 minutes to generate, about 5 minutes to setup the "guide" pages.I ran it fullscreen - only 137 Megs worth of AVI! - Don't think I can post that here. This one's a little more than 4 megs. Don't know if it will post. Anyway, if your interested in either and the AVI doesn't post, just email. This is a small 320x240 AVI of the posted jpg model

I like Sketchup, but Revit is the way to go. Models much more logically to me.

[BomberAIA]

Pat:
I didn't know you used SU.. Let go to lunch next week. Dale Moe is on Revit now. I've been meeting w/ him for a few tips.

[BomberAIA]

Skisouth:
When you import a Revit model to SU, can you add texture, shadows, tress, etc to the model?

[muttlieb]

Skisouth:
When you import a Revit model to SU, can you add texture, shadows, tress, etc to the model?

When you import a Revit model to SU you can paint surfaces with textures/materials. You can set the sun shadows in SU to your geographic area so the sun shading is accurate. There are two bars that adjust time of day and time of year so you can look at sun shadows for any time you want. You can also add SU components to the model such as trees, people, furniture, etc.

[BillyGrey]

Hey Bomber,

To answer your question in the "perspective" thread:

SU is a 3d modeler, Piranesi is a 3d painting/rendering app.
I also think that the R/SU/P combo is a blazing trifecta of computational artwork potentiality for those of us who lack the core right brain functionality to confidently answer the question:

"Can you draw this elf?"

I use SU like the others above, with the added step of sometimes exporting to Piranesi for non-photo real renderings. I'll export to dwg2000 while in a 3d view, then import into SU, clean up, add any quiky 3d detailling, then export the model as an Epix, which is Piranesi's native image format. It really kicks some serious butt, and it compliments SU as well as SU compliments Revit. It also adds entorage and landscape real good. You can then tweek your image into a full on photo-real, or any number of NPR effects, and even create custom ones.

It is the closest program I know of to hand painting. Charcol/water/pointalist/pencil/whatever.

Also, yes, both proggies handle elevations nice, etc, anything you want to do pretty much....

I wish the guys and gals at Factory/Corp. would considers making Epix an export option in Revit. At least consider the benifits of doing so ;)

That would just add another layer of "smokin the competition" to this great proggie.

[SkiSouth]

Skisouth:
When you import a Revit model to SU, can you add texture, shadows, tress, etc to the model?

Yes, in Sketchup. Sketchup will not import the materials assigned in Revit.

[Roger Evans]

I don't use Sketch Up yet but from what I see here You can get pretty close to the Sketch Up XRay examples posted by just playing around with the transparency of Revit Materials
The examples shown can easily be given a sketchier look in any paint program.

What interests me in this is being able to provide clients with a more free hand presentation ~ I've been finding that clients are more responsive in the early design stages to something less formal ~ (I have even gone back to hand drawn trace off & colouring ~ which is fast & I enjoy doing by the way) whereas the exact same design in Revit seems to be perceived as too fixed.

Thanks to Beegee for the tip off ~ I shall await developments.

[muttlieb]

What interests me in this is being able to provide clients with a more free hand presentation ~ I've been finding that clients are more responsive in the early design stages to something less formal ~

That is the beauty of SU and just one of the reasons I will continue to use it in conjunction with Revit. I really recommend to anyone that hasn't tried SU firsthand to download it and try it out. You get a fully functioning copy for 8 hours of use. I was sold in the first hour of playing around with it.

[Archimac]

I too have experimented with taking Revit models into SU. You can paint materials onto the surfaces, but the windows have to be exploded or edited to apply a glass texture to the glass and wood to the frame.

The difference in display is amazing. I have just learned to set up a perspective camera in Revit which gives a similar view to SU. But, if your Revit model has a material such as brick for walls, the walls of the building appear just pink as you rotate the perspective in Revit. In SU you would actually see a real brick texture as you rotate the view. I think Revits textures are vectorial instead of bitmap until you use accurender.

In Revit you would actually need to render a single view to get the textures to show up. SU is so much more powerful because the textures are live and lines can be given a sketchy look - all live while the client is watching you rotate the building.

The problem is in SU you have to take the time to paint on the textures.

[beegee]

I don't use Sketch Up yet but from what I see here You can get pretty close to the Sketch Up XRay examples posted by just playing around with the transparency of Revit Materials
The examples shown can easily be given a sketchier look in any paint program.

What interests me in this is being able to provide clients with a more free hand presentation ~ I've been finding that clients are more responsive in the early design stages to something less formal ~ (I have even gone back to hand drawn trace off & colouring ~ which is fast & I enjoy doing by the way) whereas the exact same design in Revit seems to be perceived as too fixed.

I took this model for a jewelry store straight into Sketchup this morning after you posed the question. It took longer to edit with photoshop the jpeg than the actual conversion
time (probably took 5 minutes or so). As you see in the "x-ray" mode, the cabinetry
and all is still there. The looks are a simple toggle on the view bar. Very cool program. Was actually using SU prior to Revit. Now that I've messed with it, I think I need to go
back and incorporate some presentation stuff with it - Pretty cool effects.
Nice work Roger and Skisouth. Shows good alternatives to the traditional rendering in Revit.

I would like to see those examples posted in the Gallery sometime, so that they are easy to find for future reference for members looking for different rendering approaches.

Thanks for sharing them.

[SkiSouth]

Roger,

pretty cool examples. It appears that you are mixing transparencies with solids here. Am I correct? Or is there another trick, like a depth of field effect. Your foreground solid with wire frame back is nice...

[SkiSouth]

Skisouth:
When you import a Revit model to SU, can you add texture, shadows, tress, etc to the model?

Same jewelry model with a few textures and shadowsin SU. Shadows were generated by SU.

[Roger Evans]

Roger,

pretty cool examples. It appears that you are mixing transparencies with solids here. Am I correct? Or is there another trick, like a depth of field effect. Your foreground solid with wire frame back is nice...
Yes to transparency for most walls & columns / In this case Solids for furniture, doors, floors & curved walls / with Drafting Lines left in.
Best if model is built with simple materials eg default materials ~ otherwise selecting materials for controlling transparency can be more time consuming

No to wireframe

[SCShell]

Hi there,

VERY NICE work Roger and Skisouth!
Steve Shell

[muttlieb]

I just thought I'd share my own SU example. This model was done entirely in SU. The 'Hansen Alternate East 2' image is a composite of the model over a photograph of the building site.

[Roger Evans]

I like these a lot ~ very nicely done ~ (whisper ...actually prefer the elevation.)

Looks as though Sketch Up is really worth the money ~ my only hesitation is in finding time to learn another program & then doing things twice ~ I would like to see what Santa brings us in 7.0 before I invest in SU.

[muttlieb]

SU is incredibly easy to learn. The UI is clean and simple, they've kept it that way on purpose. And really, I feel the price of SU is very reasonable (but don't tell the SU people). However, I wish Revit could incorporate the best features of SU. I would prefer to use just one program for my modeling/presentation/design documentation needs.

[Roger Evans]

Someone give me a hand up to my soapbox...

In the UK the cost of Sketch Up is unreasonably inflated by around £60 - £75 more than the cost offered in USA or Australia .. no reasons given .. no apologies ..

If there are any Resellers out there reading this I am quite prepared to talk the talk provided you are willing to be reasonable .. unjustified Price increases just get up my nose .. so if you have a hankie ...

[Scott D Davis]

The more we 'officially' request that Revit have SketchUp-like tools, the higher the priority the Factory will give them. Send an e-mail to support, let them know specifically what tool it is you are looking for, how it works, and how it will benefit your work. Then let us all know, and we will add it to the wishlist. If others agree, they should follow up the request to support.

I would assume the Revit Factory and the SketchUp guys know who each other are, and maybe even talk to each other. It only makes sense for these programs to "play nicely" with each other!

[muttlieb]

If nothing else, it would be great if SU had a plugin for Revit (like it does for ADT and ArchiCad) that would convert vertical surfaces to walls, sloped to roofs, horizontal to floors, etc.

[Scott D Davis]

I just watched the SketchUp demo videos at www.sketchup.com (http://www.sketchup.com), and I'm downloading my 8 hour trial. I have to say, i'm very im pressed with the video so far...can't wait to play with the real thing!

My initial reaction was 'This would be so cool if this was the Revit Massing tool, then you hit the "Mass/Shell" button, and converted the masses to walls, roofs, floors, etc.' Massing all along was supposed to be the initial 'design' tool, and if it were SketchUp, how powerful would that be??? Push and pull and sculpt any shape, and then convert to Revit objects! Add in Doors and windows, then toggle between hard-line and jitter for Schematics opposed to refined design!

Plus, I would love the real-time shadow capabilities to be in Revit.

[Dimitri Harvalias]

The real time shadows are what really sold me on SU. Since then I've learned that it has so much more to offer. I use it almost exclusively as my massing and design development tool. The transition to Revit is pretty painless and since I tend to try and have things 'worked out' the best I can (clients will be clients and they are entitled to change their minds) laying things out/up in Revit becomes even quicker when I'm not trying to figure out how to model something to effectively represent it in perspective at the very early sytages of a project. That way I don't have to undo stuff I had to fake in just to get it done.

As for the Revit plug in, I met one of the @Last developers when they were here for a local demo/training session and he claimed they would love to be able to provide us with just that but the lack of an open API was the stumbling block. I don't want to start that discussion again so I'll leave it at that.

It would be nice if some of the tools in SU could be licensed to the Revit development team (primarily the shadow rendering engine).

[SkiSouth]

My initial reaction was 'This would be so cool if this was the Revit Massing tool, then you hit the "Mass/Shell" button, and converted the masses to walls, roofs, floors, etc.' Massing all along was supposed to be the initial 'design' tool, and if it were SketchUp, how powerful would that be??? Push and pull and sculpt any shape, and then convert to Revit objects! Add in Doors and windows, then toggle between hard-line and jitter for Schematics opposed to refined design!

Plus, I would love the real-time shadow capabilities to be in Revit.

I was SO disappointed with Autodesk bought Revit, having seen what they did to Softdesk.
Anyway, my thought before the purchase was that IF these two programs were linked with McNeel's stuff - That would have been a trio of packages for Adesk to deal with.

Of course, Adesk nipped that in the bud....


Oh well, now we can hope the factory notes this thread...

If ifs and buts were candy and nuts we'd all have a Merry Christmas -- right?

[Archimac]

Good, Scott you will finally get to see what we are talking about. Have fun playing with SU and give us your opinions, please!

[Scott D Davis]

Does SketchUp have an Epix output for Piranesi?

[muttlieb]

Does SketchUp have an Epix output for Piranesi?

Yes, it does.

[Scott D Davis]

Sweet! So we can build a model in Revit...DWG out, into SketchUp, then Epix out in to Piranesi? These should be bundled as a package deal!

Or, even better....Autodesk should have some extra cash...time for some more aquisition!

[Scott D Davis]

I keep thinking of things...

It would be cool to use SketchUp to block out 3D geometry for Families, then import into Revit, add parameters, then load into your model!

I'm thinking it looks very easy to build any 3D geometry in sketchup, whether its a table, window, light fixture, door, etc.

[BillyGrey]

Scott......
Yes, yes yes to all and more.

I hybrid my cd's with Revit doc's and SU artwork.
It not only sells the clientele', but the subs love the visualisation. It really helps allot for both camps.
And yes, if I need a Kiva fireplace, I model it in SU and blam it into revt. It speeds my production time big time.

With Piranesi, it's a trifecta thats hard to beat.

[Paul P.]

I've looked into SU & Piranesi in the past and been really interested but as usual not had enough time to look into it further, this thread jolted my memory so I went back and had a look around both sites. It's really worth a look on the user groups to see what's going on and what people are producing, there's some really good stuff out there. I'm sold on both products and is something I'm definitely going to get into.

Also the free demo video's from SU are a must just to see how simple it look's and how good the result's are.

If anyone's got any spare time they don’t want could you email it to me please as I could really do with some. :)

Regard's, Paul.

[beegee]

30 secs sent to your in-box. :-)

[SkiSouth]

.If anyone's got any spare time they don’t want could you email it to me please as I could really do with some. :)

Regard's, Paul.

I'm going Scuba diving Wednesday for a week with my oldest two boys. You can have all my office time for a week (about 80 hours) :-) - Maybe that'll help..

[muttlieb]

Or, even better....Autodesk should have some extra cash...time for some more aquisition!

Oh boy... Careful Scott, you're liable to raise the ire of of the Sketchup fanatics over at the SU forum if they see that statement :)

[Scott D Davis]

So, i've played with SketchUp for about an hour and a half of my 8 hour trial, and I've pretty much got it all figured out!

Very cool program, and extremely easy to use. I'm very impressed! Obviously I need to play with it some more, and use it in some real-world instances to get the full feeling for it.

I did export out a Revit model of a house I'm doing, which had a bunch of geometry, including roof trusses, and it took a while to import, and then really seemed to slow down the program. But other than that, I really like it!

It has taken some getting used to, after being familiar with Revit tools....the orbit/pan tool is easy now, but was hard to adjust to! I keep trying to 'tab' to select things, and I keep expecting Esc to take me to the selector arrow.

We are going to do a presentation of SketchUp to the rest of our team on Friday. I'll let you know how it goes!

[sjsl]

I've used SU and like what it can do. My biggest gripe is that once I model it and present it. Yeah, it sure looks cute! I have to go back to Revit and start all over again to get a final product. I don't have enough time to do things two three or four times. That is why I stick w/Revit for the most part. It gives me something I can use when the Dog and pony show is over.

I use SU as a study tool for daylighting and loose displays, but taken from my Revit model
so I always have something to start with. As far as Piranesi goes, I am still out on a limb.
There is not much I can't do w/PS and Revit to get the results I need.

Hopefully, ADesk will purchase SU and incorporate this functinality into Revit in V8! Revit's massing tools are weak at best.

[Danny Polkinhorn]

Hopefully, ADesk will purchase SU and incorporate this functinality into Revit in V8! Revit's massing tools are weak at best.Obviously SketchUp models and Revit models are entirely different things. So instead of trying to merge SketchUp and Revit, it would probably be better to list the things about SketchUp you like and see if these features can be incorporated into a future version. Surely the developers are following this thread.

So what do you want Revit to do?
Export 3d view to EPIX format
Shading studies
"Extension edges", "Jitter edges", and "Profile edges"
"Xray" view
Improve ease of use with massing tools This will never be as easy as SU, but it's worth a shot.
what else?

[Scott D Davis]

I'll add:

Use SketchUp's 3D massing abilities as Revit's Massing tool. (With the ability to convert to walls/floors/roofs.

[Roger Evans]

I would agree with Danny on this ~ it would be far better for us all if the Revit Factory could provide Sketch Up type abilities within our program ~ That would save a lot of reworking & more control in the long run.

The freehand presentation and shadow studies are clear winners in my book and I would want these to be given the higher priority. I also think that this would lead to a high increase of Revit Users as well as having more appeal within the Educational Markets.

There are some absolutely stunning examples of work on the Sketch Up site I can only say that the more I see the more I'm impressed & tempted by the product. ~ If I feel this way from the Revit side of the fence, you can imagine the reaction potential Revit users would have if Revit had similar features.

The huge benefit to me is that I would be able to give clients a softer & friendlier model & sketch presentation drawings.

I would assume the Factory has also noted the high level of interest in this thread.

[BomberAIA]

I want to present my project w/out going to the printer. What I do now is print a primlimary elevation of my multifamily project, overlay it w/ trash paper and draw & render the elevation. I then have to get a print and color it, the go back to the printer to get it scanned and dry mounted. I bought Piranesi & I'm still learning how to use it. The problem is Revits out put to Piranesi. It would be nice if SU, PR & Revit was all in the same program. I downloaded SU yesterday & tried to import a Revit model, it was really slow. I then tried to draw w/ SU which I can see would be a good massing tool. When I design, I think proportion & scale is important, SU is hard to scale the model. I also don't want to repeat modeling time. My projects start w/ floor plans, then massing w/ elevation, then adjust plans to coordinate w/ the elevation. I start w/ trash paper, block out plans w/ Revit, the assemble the building into building plans. I don't think SU works for me. I may be wrong. I will continue to play w/ it. How do other Reviteers use SU?

[Archimac]

I prefer to do the model in Revit and just export into SU for viewing and painting on materials. I was able to present and sell my idea to a client yesterday because of the combination. Revits shaded and hidden views would have been too sterile. Accurender would take much learning and artistry.

I have tried to model in SU but everything feels rather vague. It would be great if it had the temporary dimension string as you push/pull. Imagine if you could set up levels that appear as transparent gridded planes. You could then push pull to these levels.

It sounds like Revit could implement these things very easily or at least allow the model to be linked to SU and udateded.

Su has a long way to go in the speed department and could use more atmosheric lighting effects, but it is a young product like Revit.

[muttlieb]

I have tried to model in SU but everything feels rather vague.

That's one of the things I really like about using SU in the early phases of preliminary design. For me, the traditional method of sketching on paper between plan, section, elevation and then building a massing model out of chip board has virtually been replaced by SU. SU excels in the early phases of design when it is ok to be a bit loose, or vague. But there are tools in SU that enable you to be as precise as you want to be. SU is a great preliminary design and presentation tool. Sure, you can develop the SU model into great detail, but it makes more sense to develop the design in Revit. It would be great if there was a way to import the SU model into Revit and convert vertical faces to walls, horizontal to floor slabs, sloped to roofs, etc. Or alternatively, as everybody else has wished for, for Revit to incorporate everything SU excels at.

[BillyGrey]

I agree with aquav:

The most powerful adaptation of SU for me has been as a presentation tool after I model the building shell in Revit and export for still images into SU. Just dont load your models to the gills, and expect flying performance upon import to SU: better to keep them light unless you are isolating a room or space for a "set" shot.

Other powerful features include quik detailing of componenets for import back into into Revit, and massing/urban design style work.

I don't believe that as 3d modelers (which we all are) we should ever need to model the same building twice.

Here are some quiky monochromatic vizualizations for clientele':

[muttlieb]

I totally agree that we shouldn't have to model a building twice. I used the process I described above while I was using ADT. Now that I'm switching over to Revit I will probably just use SU to import my Revit model for early presentations and sun studies. BTW, very nice examples BillyGrey.

[muttlieb]

So what do you want Revit to do?
Export 3d view to EPIX format
Shading studies
"Extension edges", "Jitter edges", and "Profile edges"
"Xray" view
Improve ease of use with massing tools This will never be as easy as SU, but it's worth a shot.
what else?

I concur with all of the above. I also like the fact that the default 3D view in SU is in perspective (with a simple toggle to turn it off) without the need to set up a camera view. I also prefer the SU method of orbiting the model with the middle mouse button. But I am getting used to pressing the shift key in Revit so I suppose it's not a big deal.

[Scott D Davis]

So you guys are saying, that if Revit incorporated some nice real-time shadow controls like SU, and a form of 'jitter' or 'sketch' type lines, like SU, then there would really be no need to have SU? Is that primarily all you would use it for?

[Scott D Davis]

But I am getting used to pressing the shift key in Revit so I suppose it's not a big deal.
And I am trying to get used to holding the shift key in SU to pan rather than orbit! They are just opposites of each other, although the principal navaigation technique is the same.

[muttlieb]

So you guys are saying, that if Revit incorporated some nice real-time shadow controls like SU, and a form of 'jitter' or 'sketch' type lines, like SU, then there would really be no need to have SU? Is that primarily all you would use it for?

I would also like to see an improvement to the massing tools in Revit. With SU I can create very quick and fluid 3D massing studies. Granted, I am very new to Revit and really haven't used the massing tools at all, but I find it hard to imagine it is as fluid as SU. Basically, I love the ability to easily design in 3D (in a 3D perspective view) in real-time and thus get instant visual feedback with SU. Add the real-time sun shadows and 'sketchy' look and it becomes a very powerful preliminary 3D design (and presentation) tool.

[Scott D Davis]

Totally agree that the massing tools in SU are very nice and easy to create almost any shape you want. I would love the SU tools, especially the push-pull tool, to be incorporated into Revit Massing. I think it could become very powerful with Revit's temp dims and other features added on top of SU's ease of massing.

Another cool feature of SU, is the text leaders, which stay 'glued' to the camera position. What I mean is, you place a leader with text, and then orbit in perspective around the model, and the arrow stays where you pointed it to, and the text stays true to the camera no matter how you look at the model. Just the leaders manipulate themselves to a correct position.

This topic is ironic to me, since I've been using Revit since 1.0. In the beginning, Revit was a cool parametric modeler, but didn't do Const. docs very well. We had all the cool section/elevation tools, that really had the Wow! factor. Then over the last releases, the Factory really focused on making Revit a powerful program that could easily do full blown CD's for any size project. Now that we are there, the requests have reverted back to 'Make Revit a better schematic design tool!"

<tongue in check> Dang architect's are just never satisfied! :razz:

[Marek Brandstatter]

I think its all about having a point of reference to compare to. Sketchup's schematic tools are so good that one wishes Revit had similar or even better.

[Archimac]

So you guys are saying, that if Revit incorporated some nice real-time shadow controls like SU, and a form of 'jitter' or 'sketch' type lines, like SU, then there would really be no need to have SU? Is that primarily all you would use it for?
And to quickly paint on the 3d textures with paint bucket tool!

[Steve_Stafford]

And to quickly paint on the 3d textures with paint bucket tool! This is already there...

[Archimac]

No, I meant add the ability to drop paint textures in Revit like in SU in addition to shadow, sketch styles, etc., all while orbiting the model in real time.

[BillyGrey]

So you guys are saying, that if Revit incorporated some nice real-time shadow controls like SU, and a form of 'jitter' or 'sketch' type lines, like SU, then there would really be no need to have SU? Is that primarily all you would use it for?

That's basically one aspect I'd sure like to see incorporated into Revit. One really important feature of SU's shadowing is the grey tonal control. Light to dark, mood/strength. I would do alot less work in SU if Revit got a sketchy extension plugged into it. And as I've stated before, an export function to Piranesi (.epx), and SU begins to look superflous to some of us who use it...Money better spent on next year's subscription :)

[Steve_Stafford]

...ability to drop paint textures in Revit like in SU... You can paint materials on surfaces from any view in Revit too...but it makes more sense for the most part to start with objects that have materials assigned to begin with. Nevertheless you can definitely paint on different finishes adhoc...

[Archimac]

I'm sorry but not even close. Have you actually tried SU?

[Steve_Stafford]

I'm sorry but not even close. Have you actually tried SU? Ever since 2.0

[Archimac]

As you know Revit does not have the Materials palatte etc. But, I know they have not focused their efforts in this area. So as they see how much interest this has generated maybe they will consider it.

[Steve_Stafford]

...As you know Revit does not have the Materials palatte etc... The delivery method is different but you CAN paint on finishes. See the image attached.

I point this out, not to quibble whether SU is better at this than R or not, rather to clarify for folks who don't know Revit that materials and finishes ARE an integral part of the application.

[truevis]

The delivery method is different but you CAN paint on finishes. See the image attached.

I point this out, not to quibble whether SU is better at this than R or not, rather to clarify for folks who don't know Revit that materials and finishes ARE an integral part of the application.
Excellent. It just needs some graphics added to it (previews of material/color/surface pattern), then the ability to drag and drop onto surfaces, then the ability to apply to imported DWG layers with drag and drop. Simple, huh? http://forums.augi.com/images/icons/icon14.gif