Tutorials

[skube]

I think seeing you work & talk through a full example from start to finish would benefit a lot of users.

Your customers are probably either builders (who know building techniques, but not SU) or SU users (who may not know as much about a complete build as you do).

Either way, I think video tutorials could help many. Creating these would only have to be done once and could be utilized often. The few videos you do have on your site aren’t full examples and you aren’t explaining as you work.

I watched your Basecamp presentation and it was obvious you had a thorough knowledge of building homes and SU. You did talk in depth about the process, however the presentation was lacking in visual demonstrations. Your presentation definitely covered the Auditory learners out there, but left Visual learners behind.

I was also curious, you mentioned the (fully detailed) demo SU house you created wasn’t for an actual build. That made it even more impressive for some some reason. How long did it take to put that 90MB file together?

[John Brock]

Thanks for reaching out (and feel free to email me anytime directly with questions to john@estimatorforsketchup.com)
I will be creating more videos but have not had the necessary time to do it (and do it right). My Basecamp presentation was an overview, there was no way I could do hands-on in that time. The model I presented in there was indeed created for it, not a typical house for me. My typical homes are too large and I wanted to provide a sample file of a more reasonable size and still detail the entire house, which I did. I have discovered that there are so many ways Estimator is used, from detailed to simple – no one-size fits all. I have tried to create videos detailing multiple facets and capabilities and then users can take that and apply it to their needs. Actually, I was “going to” create a timelapse video of the making of that model, but again, time was not on my side and I had to knock it out before Basecamp. It would have been cool, but reality kicked in. I am in the process, hopefully, of modifying some key functions of Estimator, so my time is being spent on improvements right now, while not in the field (building houses). Feel free to email with any specific questions on how YOU use SU and what you would like to see detailed/tutorial – perhaps I could pinpoint a tutorial that helps you and others at the same time.
You asked how long it took to create the model for the presentation – I created it the week prior to leaving but the time was scattered, using available office time between field visits – I would say, if uninterrupted, it would probably have taken 3 full days, but just a guess.
My plan is to go back step by step using that model, and do videos detailing the process (vs. the missed opportunity for a timelapse), perhaps next couple of months.

[David Southwick]

I also would like to see a more in depth tutorial. I am slowly learning how to use the software, but is more a trial by error than anything else. The screenshots in the Estimator overviews are so out of focus they are unreadable. My other quibble is the Cost Code tab. It will not scroll at all and all I can see are the first few categories even if I resize the box to full screen height. But like I stated earlier, I am slowly getting it figured out and am already amazed by what Profile Builder, Takeoff Length, Takeoff Area and Estimator can do together.

I am using Mac OS X El Capitan V10.11.6

David

[John Brock]

Hi David – Sorry for the delayed reply, I have been out of town. Please feel free to email directly with any questions or issues to john@estimatorforsketchup.com – I plan on revising the tutorials but have not had a lot of time of late. I am also working on some revisions, hopefully, that would alter some methods, so please be patient and in the meantime, feel free to email me – I am glad to help!

[John Brock]

There is a revised Overview PDF download available now – I got rid of the blurry images, sorry it took so long!
http://wp.me/p6NImU-15k

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