the a for sketch up - user manual

8/13/2019 The a For Sketch Up - User Manual

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THEAFORSKETCHUP

USERMANUAL

Revision 141.01

Copyright Solid Iris Technologies


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1.1 INTRODUCTION

Thea for SketchUp is an integrated version of Thea Render. This allows a creation of stnning

i!ages right inside SketchUp and an interactive work with ca!eras" !aterials and lights. There is

an option of saving a co!plete Thea scene with all associated files for tili#ing advanced tools

present in Thea Stdio. Thea $or SketchUp spports SketchUp %ersions &" '" ( and )01* +oth $ree

and ,ro" on +oth syste!s- indows / S .

1.2 INSTALLATION

MS WINDOWS

,lease se provided installer. It is advised to install Thea

Render first and enter Thea4SU license 2SketchUp plgin3

inside Thea.

,lease !ake sre yo have ad!inistrator rights while

installing the plgin.

defalt SketchUp installation folder is-

C-5,rogra! $iles 26(&357oogle57oogle Sketchp 8version

n!+er95,lgins

The folder will +e ato!atically fond in case of

SketchU, versions &" '" ( and )01*.

MAC- OS X

,lease se provided installer. The installer will gide yo throgh the needed installation steps. It

also gives yo the possi+ility to select the SketchUp version2s3 for the plgin to +e installed. It is

advised to install Thea Render first and enter Thea4SU license 2for SketchUp plgin3 inside Thea.

:aterials installation is ato!atic too. $or adding additional li+raries thogh" a defalt folder for

ptting these !aterials is-

SU(88 :acintosh ;i+rary=pplication Spport=7oogle Sketchp (=Sketchp=:aterials

SU)01*88 :acintosh ;ion" Snow >ion or higher version of S the A>i+rary forlder is hidden.

,lease follow this link to learn how to access the folder-

http-==!ac.ttspls.co!=ttorials=prodctivity=how?to?reveal?yor?li+rary?folder?in?lion?or?

!ontain?lion=

DEMOVERSIONLIMITATIONS

hile plgin is not licensed" rendered i!age resoltion will +e li!ited and water!arks will +e

added.

) Copyright Solid Iris Technologies

$igre 1- >icense Inpt $or! B

,lgins Ta+


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1.3 GENERALLAYOUTOFTHEPLUGINWINDOWS

nce the plgin is installed correctly a new ite! in the ,lgins !en will appear 2see $igre )3.

o can also have an access to Thea for SketchUp throgh tools palette. Select DShow Thea

tool+arE fro! the plgin !en. tool+ar as seen in$igre * will appear on the screen.

User interface of the plgin is divided into two windows-

:ain indowThe !ain window displays crrently rendered i!age" provides controls over the displayed

rendering and environ!ent settings.

Thea Tool indow

It allows setting p ca!eras" editing !aterials" placing and editing lights and inserting

e6ternal !odels as si!plified co!ponents B pro6ies.

1.5 MAINWINDOW

1.5.1 CONTROLBUTTONS

Save- it allows to save non?interactive render as an i!age and also a crrently +eing rendered

!odel as F.thea.pack file" which can +e opened in Thea Stdio.

Refresh-it forces a refresh of a crrent view of the rendering. It is sally +eing sed when one

wants to see i!!ediately the progress of the rendering +eing done. The plgin refreshes the view

ato!atically at so!e intervals.

Start- this +tton !akes Thea collect all necessary data fro! SketchUp and start the rendering

process. hen there is a selection present" when one presses the start +tton while keeping >T

key pressed ? only the selection will +e rendered.

Pause- it pases the rendering.

Stop- it stops the rendering and !akes Thea refresh the !ain window" so it displays the final

i!age.

* Copyright Solid Iris Technologies

$igre )- ,lgins :en$igre *- Thea Render Tool+ar

$igre 4- Control Gttons of :ain indow


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1.5.2 MAINWINDOWTABS

1.5.2.1 RENDERINGTAB

Rendering Modes

The control provides a selection of a rendering !odes. There are several options that allow also

an interactive type of rendering.

$or Interactive rendering engines" as seen in $igre H"ser can specify several settings for the

selected engine" as it is analytically descri+ed later.

Server

Server option is availa+le for the @on?Interactive !odes 2daptive 2GS


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Limits

Ti!e2!in3

This is a para!eter sed to ter!inate the n+iased render process 2it is only sed +y

n+iased render engines3. It is given in !intes" and 0 is a special vale corresponding to

no ti!e li!it at all.

Sa!ples=p6

This allows to ter!inate an n+iased rendering when each pi6el in a rendered i!age will

+e sa!pled given n!+er of ti!es. In si!ple cases when no !ch castics is present in a

!odel a vale of *00 is sfficient. In !ore co!ple6 scenes higher vales !ay +e needed.

Interactive Modes

Those !odes allow not only render the !odel as a static i!age" +t also let interactively !ove a

ca!era arond a !odel or adKst Sn position and see the rendering view +eing pdated.

IR?,rogressive2GS


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T"o #n$iased methods- they donMt reLire any settings and deliver renderings of the highest

Lality. These are-

#n$iased (TR%! engine- it is preferred in e6terior renders and interiors where direct

lighting is the !ost do!inant in the scene.

#n$iased (TR&! mode- it is preferred when difficlt indirect lighting is do!inant in the

render or heavy castics are present 2sch as a pool sn castics3.

1.5.2.2 DISPLAYTAB


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I!age?+ased lighting is a convenient way to add ill!ination to yor scene" co!ing fro! captred

photos of the srronding environ!ent. Since a photo of a real scene can +e sed" the lighting is

highly convincing and enhances the realis! of yor renders. In !ost cases" the i!ages sed for

this kind of lighting need to +e of high dyna!ic range in order to provide enogh lighting for a

scene.

ne can se an i!age for ill!inating the scene" nevertheless" he can also set p different i!ages

for +ackgrond" reflections and refractions. This !akes possi+le to se different sorce for

lighting and for reflections=+ackgrond" which in !ost cases need !ore details in the i!age. This

is actally a sal render opti!i#ation" where the ill!ination sorce is relatively low?detailed

te6tre in order for the i!age to Lickly DconvergeE" while +ackgrond and reflections se a

detailed !ap for visally enhanced reslts.

To add one of i!age types select proper type and press MGrowseM +tton to select a desired i!age.

hen proper +it!ap selected its path will +e displayed in the adKacent hori#ontal inpt +o6. ne

can control intensity" rotation and a way the i!age is wrapped arond a !odel.

Sun

:anal Sn option helps to position the sn in an ar+itrary

position regardless of !odelMs geographic location. o are

a+le to adKst the sn ,olar ngle and

#i!th" either +y entering the desired vales" or !anally"

+y opening the Jnviron!ent ,review 2$igre 113 and clicking

preferred location in the preview.

Jnviron!ent ,review can +e opened +y clicking a +le icon in

Jnviron!ent Settings. This window shows a preview of

environ!ent which is +eing ato!atically pdated. hen

:anal Sn is disa+led and IG> lighting sed" then the

environ!ent !ap can +e rotated +y dragging the preview

i!age.

S)

Gy selecting the Sky at the Jdit Settings list" the sky settings appear as seen in $igre 1).

' Copyright Solid Iris Technologies

$igre 10- Sn Settings

$igre 1)- Sky Settings

$igre 11- Jnviron!ent ,review


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1.5.2.4 CHANNELSTAB

This ta+ is +eing sed when an additional i!age is +eing reLired" other than a standard

rendering. This is !ostly sed when a post?processing is intended sing e6ternal i!age

!aniplation progra!.

vaila+le channels are- Color 2standard rendering3 " @or!al"


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1.6 T HEATOOLWINDOW

1.6.1 CAMERATAB

Resolution

The MidthM and M;eightM settings control resoltion of a

rendered i!age. ,lease note that interactive rendering

!odes se fll area of plginMs !ain window and render

e6actly at sa!e resoltion. The ,ls / :ins +ttons

increase or decrease crrent resoltion two fold.

2;3ori#ontal 52%3ertical toggle +tton changes orientation of

the rendered i!age.

Aspect ratio

This setting control proportions of a final rendered i!age.hen NSU indowN option is selected the resoltion of a

rendered i!age will +e adKsted to +e sa!e aspect ratio as

!odel view in SketchUp. hen NThea indowN is selected

the resoltion is adKsted to reflect crrent proportions of

!ain render view. typical proportions of 4-* is

characteristic for old type of !onitors with resoltions of

(006&00" 10)46'&(" 1&0061)00. ide screen proportions of

1&- is !ore co!!on in new !onitors with resoltion of

1&00600" 1)0610(0. hen creating a panora!ic spherical

or he!ispherical i!age a correct ratio is )-1.

Lens

Thea can proKect a rendered i!age on the screen in a

standard !anner B perspective or orthogonal" depending on

a crrent view in SketchUp or sing Spherical or Cylindrical

proKection. The spherical proKection allows creating

renderings of virtal panora!as that can +e viewed in

e6ternal progra!s. Correct aspect ratio of sch an i!age is

)-1.

Shtter speed controls a !otion +lr which appears in anani!ated scene. Thea gives yo control over a diaphrag! of

a ca!era. It can +e circlar or polygonal defined +y a

n!+er of +lades. This inflences a look of a Mdepth of fieldM

effect and a !otion +lr.

epth of +ield

The depth of field can +e controlled in the plgin in two ways. Jither +y Mf?n!+erM of ca!era

lenses or +y percentage of a N+lrrinessN of a rendered i!age.

hen to $ocs is ena+led plgin ato!atically adKsts focs distance to keep what is visi+le in

a ca!era Min focsM when possi+le. $ocs distance displays a !anal distance at which a ca!era is

focsed at. To set that vale click MSetM +tton and select a point in a !odel. The distance will +ecalclated ato!atically. The vale is disregarded when Mto $ocsM is ena+led.

Copyright Solid Iris Technologies

$igre 1H- Thea Tool B Ca!era

Ta+


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Level ,amera

This +tton levels ca!era withot changing itsM position. It is helpfl especially when setting?p a

ca!era for a panora!ic shot.

Scene Settings

This section allows associating Thea Render settings with SketchUp scenes=pages. It works sa!e

way as it is done in SketchUp with scene settings e6cept they are not loaded ato!atically when a

scene is selected" +t it has to +e done !anally +y clicking N>oadM +tton. To save settings select

a scene na!e fro! the list" !ark setting types yo want to store and press MSaveM +tton

vaila+le options are- Ca!era Settings"


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Material Ta$

ith the se of the :aterial Ta+ we can either select a

preset for one of or !aterials or see its preview" if edited

with Thea :at >a+.

:aterial ta+" as seen in $igre 1" displays a na!e of a

crrently edited !aterial and a preview of Thea !aterial 2if

the !aterial has +een already edited in Thea3. To select=edit

a !aterial one has to open Thea Tool and while the tool is

active" click=do+le click on an already painted face in

SketchUp. Thea Tool is active when a crsor changes itMs

appearance as seen in$igre )0.

hen yo do+le?click the face" Thea :at >a+ window will

appear" allowing yo to !odify the !aterial properties or

apply another !aterial fro! a li+rary 2see $igre 1&3. $or

!ore detailed infor!ation on Thea :aterial >a+ and its

options" please refer to Thea Render :anal.

hen ser clicks Kst once the !aterial" the :aterial ta+ will

display the na!e and a preview of a the !aterial ? if the

!aterial has +een already edited in Thea :at >a+? otherwisethe panel will show like we see it in $igre 1" where the

availa+le presets e6ist.

Tip- In interactive !ode crsor changes to a cross?hair and

allows selection of a !aterial directly in a rendered i!age.

Single click shows !aterial properties and settings while

do+le click !a6i!i#es render window.

eneral Notes

The csto! color +y defalt is linked with SketchUp !aterial color. Gy pressing the SU +tton" yo

are a+le to se a csto! color instead the one already selected in SketchUp and change yor

!aterial accordingly. Gy pressing the SU +tton once again yo can decide to choose SketchUp

!aterial again or an e6ternal te6tre.

11 Copyright Solid Iris Technologies

$igre )1- SU Gtton

$igre 1- Thea Tool B :aterial

Ta+

$igre )0- Thea Tool Crsor


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,lastic This type of !aterial +ehaves as

plastic. It provides Roghness and

Reflections para!eters. It is a good

+ase for a whole range of plasticsfro! very rogh and dll to polished

and shiny.

Thin

Translcent

This type prodces a single sided

translcent !aterial which is perfect

for crtains and other non?

vol!etric o+Kects. ne can control

its transparency percentage.

>acLer This type represents a lacLered

srface typically seen as a finish of

ti!+er floors. It provides Reflectionsand Roghness para!eters. ith

the roghness set to 0 it rese!+les

polished !aterial and with higher

vales a satin appearance.

Cera!ic This type descri+es a cera!ic

!aterial with a glossy finish.

1* Copyright Solid Iris Technologies

$igre *1- >acLer

:aterial preview

$igre **- Cera!ic

:aterial preview

$igre )- Thin

Translcent

:aterial preview

$igre *)- Cera!ic

:aterial options

$igre )&- ,lastic

:aterial options

$igre )(- Thin

Translcent :aterial

options

$igre *0- >acLer

:aterial options

$igre )'- ,lastic

:aterial preview


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Car ,aint The !aterial sing this preset will

rese!+le a car paint. hen

M:etallicM option is ena+led" the

paint will +ehave as it wold containnifor!ly spread !etallic flakes.

Colored :etal This type is designed to give a !etal

appearance with prononced

reflections.

:irror The !aterial will +ehave as a !irror

srface. This type overrides

SketchUp !aterial color.

Thin 7lass This type descri+es an architectral

glass with a control over :etallic

reflection it !ay posses de to

applied coatings. This !aterial

doesnMt reLire a vol!e of a

geo!etry and is especially sited for

non solid" thin face o+Kects.


$igre *- :irror

:aterial preview

$igre 41- Thin

7lass :aterial

preview

$igre *4- Car ,aint

:aterial options

$igre 40- Thin

7lass :aterial

options

$igre *H- Car ,aint

:aterial preview

$igre *'- Colored

:etal :aterial

preview

$igre *&- Colored

:etal :aterial

options

$igre *(- :irror

:aterial options


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Thick 7lass This type prodces a vol!etric

glass which takes into accont the

refractions within o+Kect vol!e.

Roghness of a srface and intensityof Reflections can +e controlled.

J!itter This type trns a painted face into a

light e!itter. Its power is specified

in several nits. Te!peratre can

also +e specified instead of defalt

color=te6tre. There is an option to

!ake e!itter not visi+le in a

rendering or to !ake it DpassiveE ? it

will have a l!inos appearance"

+t will not cast the light into a

scene.

Thea :aterial

2:at?>a+3

This type ses fll Thea :aterial

editor fro! the Stdio and allows

fll control over !aterial properties

2sch as Clipping that we see in thee6a!ple preview3. ny of previos

!aterial types can +e also edited

this way.

DRe!ove Thea :aterialM +tton

re!oves all Thea !aterial settings

associated with SketchUp !aterial.

1H Copyright Solid Iris Technologies

$igre 4(- :at?>a+

:aterial preview

$igre 4'- :at?>a+:aterial options

$igre 4&- Jna+ling J!itter Te!peratre

$igre 4H- J!itter

:aterial preview

$igre 44- J!itter

:aterial options

$igre 4*- Thick

7lass :aterial

preview

$igre 4)- Thick

7lass :aterial

options


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1.6.3 LIGHTTAB

SketchUp doesnMt have itsM native light sorces. Thea for SketchUp ses co!ponents with a special

na!es to define position and orientation of lights. There are thee light types availa+le in the plg?

in-

,oint >ight- a reglar o!nidirectional spherical light.

Spot >ight- a directional light that allows focsing of a light cone on a chosen area in a

!odel.

IJS >ight- a light +ased on scientifically !easred real life vales" provided +y light?+l+s

and fi6tre !anfactrers in a for! of F.ies files.

ne can also paint a face with a !aterial sing e!ittance and in this way create an area light.

$ront side of the face will +e e!itting light.

,reating Lights>ight ta+ allows a creation and editing properties of

light co!ponents. To create a light open Thea Tool

idnow and select M>ightM ta+. t the +otto! there

are three +ttons responsi+le for creation of three

types of lights. n the start of light placing tool ser

is asked to show in SketchUp !odel a location of a

sorce of light +y right clicking and s+seLently a MtargetM of the light. In case of a point?light only

the distance fro! the sorce to target is +eing sed to calclate a sfficient light power to reach

the target. It is i!portant to place light sorces in a distance to an adKacent geo!etry higher than

a radis of the light. $ailing to co!ply with that rle !ay prodce ndesired NnoiseN in the finali!age. nce light co!ponent is created its na!e and properties will +e displayed in the >ight ta+.

'diting Lights

>ight properties can +e invoked +y selecting a light co!ponent or clicking a co!ponent while

Thea Tool is active. n a top of the >ight ta+ a na!e of crrently edited light co!ponent is +eing

displayed.

Pointlight 0 Spotlight properties

,oint?lights and spot?lights share several properties-

'mittance

color of a light is controlled +y a color of !aterial thelight co!ponent is painted with. hen a te!peratre is

ena+led it will +e sed instead of the color.

ll lights have flowing para!eters-

,ower e6pressed in !ltiple nits" efficacy 2l!=3"

attenation and light te!peratre 2O3.

1& Copyright Solid Iris Technologies

$igre 4- Create >ights ptions

$igre H0- J!ittance ,roperties


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Spotlight properties

Spot?lights have additional ;ot Spot and $all ff

vales that control a shape of light cone. M;ot SpotM

descri+es the inner angle where the light is e!itted at

a fll intensity and M$all ffM is and angle the light fades

co!pletely at.

I'S Light properties

Gy defalt an IJS light have a sa!ple.ies file loaded into it. Itis possi+le to load a different description of light distri+tion

+y selecting it fro! a dropdown !en and pressing M>oadM

+tton.

To se an IJS file not present in Thea Stdio IJS files folder"

select fro! the list Mther fileM and press M>oadM. o will +e

asked to select a file yo want to save into the light

co!ponent.

eneral Properties

light co!ponent can +e MJna+ledM which !eans it will +e casting light. MShadowM controls

whether the light will +e casting shadows. MSoft ShadowM specifies whether the shadow will +e

soft" +ased on a i!aginary radis of the light sorce e6pressed in !eters.

M:in RaysM and M:a6 RaysM para!eters are sed only +y the daptive2GS


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1.6.4 TOOLSTAB

'/ternal Model

Thea $or SketchUp allows an insertion of co!ple6" e6ternal Thea

!odels in a for! of a +onding +o6" which will +e replaced +y the

original" detailed !odel inside Thea rendering window when a

rendering starts.

To insert a !odel press DGrowseE +tton and select a F.!od.thea

file fro! a >i+rary or fro! yor own collection. nce the !odel file

selected a preview of the !odel will +e displayed right +elow the

+tton.

,ress DInsert :odel as ,ro6yE +tton to insert the !odel into

SketchUp.

If the folder where the file is located contains !ore then one!odel" then all !odels na!es will +e added to a selection +o6.

@ote- F.!od.skp can +e written in the sa!e folder as F.!od.thea.

The SketchUp file will +e sed instead of +onding +o6 only when

inserting e6ternal !odels as a pro6y.

The +asic steps to create correctly a Sketchp !odel that will

correspond to the Thea !odel can +e seen at the ne6t e6a!ple"

where a tree fro! Girch Trees li+rary is sed.

e i!port at first" with the Insert :odel as ,ro6y tool" the

!od.thea inside Sketchp 2+onding +o63 in an e!pty scene. e

switch to the ,arallel proKection" and we select a view 2front for

e6a!ple3 and we set p the Thea ca!era so that it will fit the

+onding +o6 height and width. e then ena+le alpha channel and

we render the !odel 2+y sing only the sn and not the sky3. nce

we are satisfied with the rendering" we save the i!age as a F.png

file 2its alpha channel will +e saved ato!atically at this i!age3.

e repeat the sa!e procedre for another side of the !odel 2itsright side for e6a!ple3 so that we can have !ore correct 2do+le

sided3 preview.

In this way he have ) i!ages for ) of the !odels sides" which we can then i!port inside

SketchUp" place the! one into the other" so that or preview will +e created" and !ake the! a

co!ponent. e then save this co!ponent as a F!od.skp file inside the sa!e folder with the

initial thea !odel and with the sa!e na!e. $or or e6a!ple" we will end p with the followingfiles-

1( Copyright Solid Iris Technologies

$igre H*- Thea Tools Ta+


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GirchPTreeP0*P&!.!od.skp and GirchPTreeP0*P&!.!od.thea

$ro! now on" once we i!port the Thea !odel inside SketchUp" its preview will +e sed" so that

we can easily !ove=rotate it in or SketchUp scene.

,onvert Thea material(s! to S1M

This +tton can convert a selected Thea !aterial to a SketchUp !aterial 2in SO: for!at3. The

created !aterials can +e placed in a !odel +y sing reglar ,aint Gcket. It ato!atically

opti!i#es the te6tre of the SketchUp !aterial and adds the sa!e preview as Thea !aterial has.

So apart fro! the e6isting Thea !aterial li+raries that can +e fond inside SketchUp Gcket 2as we

have seen in $igre 1(3" yo can have any Thea !aterial converted and applied to faces in the

sa!e way as all other !aterials.

Technical note- ,aths to te6tres which are stored within MThea Render=:aterialsM folder will +e

written inside SO: file as relative to that folder. This !akes SO: li+raries syste! independent. llother te6tre paths will +e stored as fll. In a case a path to a te6tre changes" the conversion

process has to +e repeated.

'/port

Saves !odel as Thea scene in F.scn.thea or F.pack.thea for!at.

@ote that when pressing the Save Thea Scene +tton with >T pressed at the key+oard" the

crrent selection is only +een saved.

Gy ena+ling the J6port ni!ation option" yor created ani!ation path 2scenes inclded in

ani!ation3 is also e6ported and can +e then seen inside Thea Stdio.


$igre H4- setting p the ca!era and render the !odel $igre HH- i!port the rendered

i!ages inside SketchUp and create

a co!ponent


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Preferences

Language* Gy clicking on ,references +tton" a new window

appears as seen in $igre H&. $ro! here" yo can change the

>angage of the plgin. In order to do so" yo need to follow the

ne6t steps-

There is a Thea$orSketchUp.po file in the folder-

Thea4SUPfile=langages=

This file needs to +e translated sing ,oedit progra!. The progra!

will generate a Thea$orSketchUp.!o file" that has to +e copied to

the corresponding folder of the selected translation langage.

If the langage is already set in the syste! then it will +e

ato!atically sed when SketchUp starts. If it has not +een set

ato!atically" ser can open Thea Tool=Tools=,references and

select the langage !anally. The langage !odification will +e

active after SketchUp will restart. If for e6a!ple yo have placed

the Thea$orSketchUp.!o file at the folder with na!e es 2Spanish3

at the drop down list of the >angage window yo will see the

Spanish langage too.

Typical Contry Codes are- de 27er!an3" es 2Spanish3" fr 2$rench3" it

2Italian3" Ka 2Qapanese3" pt 2,ortgese3" ptPGR 2Gra#ilian

,ortgese3" r 2Rssian3" #hPC@ 2Chinese Si!plified3" #hPT

2Chinese Traditional3.

#se Bac face material "hen +ront a$sent* This option helps dealing with !odels where !ltiple

faces are painted on a +ack?side only 2whereas the front face has no !aterial3. Gy ena+ling this

option Thea for SketchUp plgin will se the +ack face !aterial for rendering instead of the

defalt white !aterial.

1.7 LICENSETERMS

Solid Iris grants to o a personal" non?transfera+le" and non?e6clsive license to download" install

and se DThea for SketchUpE and associated printed and=or electronic doc!entation

acco!panying the Software" in accordance with this agree!ent. This license does not nder any

circ!stances grant ownership of the Software to o.

single copy of the progra! can +e installed and sed +y o" on one !achine. o can install

the application on p to two !ore !achines" provided that the plgin is not sed or e6ected

si!ltaneosly on any !achines. If o wish to install the Software or se the Software

concrrently on additional !achines o !st prchase additional licenses.


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1.8 DISCLAIMER

DThea for SketchUpE is provided Nas?isN and withot warranty of any kind" e6press" i!plied or

otherwise" inclding withot li!itation" any warranty of !erchanta+ility or fitness for a particlar

prpose. In no event shall the athor of this software +e held lia+le for data loss" da!ages" loss of

profits or any other kind of loss while sing or !issing this software. The software !st not +e

!odified" yo !ay not deco!pile" disasse!+le. ny kind of reverse engineering of the software is

prohi+ited.

h l d h l

the a for sketch up - user manual

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