Layout Sketch Up and Layout Chief

[Eric Breuer]

Is anyone having problems like this? I have Sketch-up Pro and downloaded the new update from Trimble, it made all my Chief Layout files Sketchup Layout Files. To open them, I have to assign them as default in the control panel back to Chief!?!

Eric Breuer
Environmental Interior Design
X4

[lbuttery]

if files share the same extensions then the PC won't know which app to open

I don't know of a fix for this - but it is a windows foible

Lew

[Eric Breuer]

Never heard of two companies having the same file extension

[IRISH]

They don't. Something else going on.

[lbuttery]

Gary:

yes, I have run into this before

there is no governing authority that assigns file extensions

you will have to choose one to be the "default"

for the other just right click on the file and select "open with" and choose the desired software

I do this all the time now with Chief since I can be working with clients that have different versions of chief

I find it safer to right click and then open with the appropriate version of chief
as they all share the same .PLAN extension

Lew

[Doug Park]

We were the first to use the .layout file extension. When we started using it no one else had it so when Google added their layout facility they should have chosen a different extension.

I would suggest contacting Trimble and complaining about this.

[IRISH]

Well there you go then!

[Zowie]

I've done some retail design layouts in Sketchup a couple of years ago and felt it wouldn't be long before it surpassed chief once it developed decent layout tools. Just wondering how they are working for you and in what instances you find working with SU more advantageous than chief?

Personally I feel that sketchup's rough renderings allow clients to engage more imaginatively with the model. Once you get into the more animated aspects of chief, clients turn off their imagination and start honing in on materials and textures which get in the way of structural discourse. Before you know it you're changing couch fabric and wasting endless hours to sell your design. But I also feel that an arrow showing joist direction is more than enough for clients, construction workers and city permits. It's quaint to have these tools, but not at all necessary and generally more time consuming than it's worth.

Obviously the logistics of the value per hour of programs is beyond the scope of the chief blogs, maybe someone can tell me where we might have a comparison/contrast discussion.

Banzai 3D is actually a much better program than SketchUp, but they need layout tools too. If I were Chief, I would get together with the Banzai and start a new program positioned to compete in the future. Chief has a good team and infrastructure, they just need to be programming in a more updated language for the task. 80% of the way we manipulate designs in chief is just out dated. I'm interested to know if the chief team is working on a secret program to compete in the future.