The easiest way is to take the Select tool (press the spacebar as a shortcut) and then press the Esc (escape) key.

The last step is to close up the component wrapper.When SketchUp asks if you want to change the size of the active component, click Yes ( Figure 4.27).Then type 182.5' and press Enter to scale the car to its exact, proper length ( Figure 4.24).Īn important difference between using the Scale tool and using the Tape Measure tool is that scaling an object with the Scale tool may change the position of the bottom of the component in the blue axis (vertical) direction, whereas the Tape Measure tool scale option will keep the bottom of the component in the same spot. While scaling the model out along the green axis, press and hold the Shift key to constrain on center the proportions of the model, and then click to initially scale the model up to an arbitrary size. When using the Scale tool to size a component, you can eyeball it, enter a specific scale factor in the Measurements box in the bottom-right corner, or enter an exact size in the direction of the axis about which you are scaling.įor example, click the center-front scale handle. Using the Get Models command, search for and download the model 'Car Model (Not to Scale)' in the Real World Google SketchUp Chapter 4 collection. In this example we'll use a model of a car that you can download from the 3D Warehouse. The Scale tool: The Scale tool is probably the first tool that comes to mind when you need to scale an object that comes in at the wrong size. If you end up importing a 3-foot-long car, all is not lost.

So search away, and see what you come up with. You won't run into very many problems with relative size or byte size if you stick to searching for manufacturer catalogs and Geo content, but you don't want to miss out on the other 95 percent of the content in the 3D Warehouse. Among the most common issues with content downloaded from the Warehouse is the size of the file, both in terms of the object's relative size in the model, and also the byte size of the file.

As such, the precision and care with which the components have been created varies widely. The models on the 3D Warehouse are created by experts and novices alike.

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