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Tag: 3d warehouse

SketchUp 3D Warehouse URL issues

by Timothy Whitehead on Sep.16, 2014, under 3D Models, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, California, Denmark, England, Germany, Google Earth News, Google Earth Tips, Google Sky, Google maps, Hawaii, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Natural Landmarks, Netherlands, Sightseeing, Street Views, USA

Back in 2012 Google sold SketchUp, the excellent 3D modeling tool that was used to make most of the older 3D models found in Google Earth. In October 2013, Google stopped importing models from the SketchUp 3D Warehouse, and now solely rely on automatic generation methods for 3D imagery.

Earlier this year the 3D Warehouse was completely revamped by new owner Trimble. Also, at some point, the URL for the warehouse has changed from the Google domain (sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/) to a the sketchup.com domain (3dwarehouse.sketchup.com).

Google has implemented redirects on the former URLs, but they are not all working correctly. The result is that links that we created in the past to KML/KMZs of models in the 3D Warehouse no longer work correctly. Instead of being redirected to the download of the KML/KMZ, they get redirected to the SketchUp model (.skp) download instead.

Also, it seems most of the links within Google Earth relating to 3D models are broken. If you click on a 3D model, a popup shows more information about the model. It used to display a small picture of the model on the right, but now there is just a question mark. In addition, almost all the links in the popup are supposed to direct you to the 3D warehouse, but most of them do not work correctly.

Broken links in Google Earth

If you have links to KML/KMZ files on your website then it is not difficult to correct them. Each model has a unique ID that has not changed. A typical old URL will look like this:

http://sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/download?mid=2fc1bb50f5aaf8ab91735325f76051&rtyp=k2&fn=Stadhuis+1&ctyp=other&prevstart=0

To fix it:

  • Copy the unique ID shown in bold above.
  • Search for it in the Sketchup 3D Warehouse.
  • Click on the ‘Download’ button, and you should see two options, the Sketchup model and the KML/KMZ file.
  • Right click on the KML/KMZ link and select ‘copy link address’ (or your browser’s equivalent).
  • Replace your old link with this URL.

The new link should look something like this:

https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/warehouse/getpubliccontent?contentId=57bca5fd-1c8d-4e4f-a8a7-ca4985b230c3&fn=Stadhuis-1.kmz

Although the ‘report a problem’ link on the 3D building popup does not work correctly, we did use Google Earths ‘report a problem’ feature to let Google know about this issue.

The post SketchUp 3D Warehouse URL issues appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

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SketchUp 2014 and a refreshed 3D Warehouse released

by Mickey Mellen on Mar.04, 2014, under 3D Models, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, California, Denmark, England, Germany, Google Earth News, Google Earth Tips, Google Sky, Google maps, Hawaii, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Natural Landmarks, Netherlands, Sightseeing, Street Views, USA

While it no longer has the close connection to Google Earth that it once did, we know that many of you remain avid SketchUp fans and will be pleased to learned that SketchUp 2014 has been released. Along with the new version of SketchUp is a completely revamped 3D Warehouse.

3D Warehouse

There are quite a few enhancements to the main SketchUp product, including tweaks to the core SketchUp modeler and an updated API. For the 3D Warehouse, one of the best new features is a way to easily embed visuals of your 3D models via their new WebGL Viewer. As an example, the following embedded model should be fully 3D for most of you.

All in all, it’s some great enhancements to an already excellent program. Learn more over at the SketchUpdate Blog.

The post SketchUp 2014 and a refreshed 3D Warehouse released appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

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Amazing 3D model of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya in Barcelona

by Mickey Mellen on Sep.20, 2013, under 3D Models, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, California, Denmark, England, Germany, Google Earth News, Google Earth Tips, Google Sky, Google maps, Hawaii, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Natural Landmarks, Netherlands, Sightseeing, Street Views, USA

With only a few weeks left until new models in the 3D Warehouse are no longer loaded into Google Earth, we thought it’d be nice to check out a beautiful one that was just accepted. Pedro Domecq, who we often know as simply “PeterG” and who was the winner of the 2012 Model Your Town Competition, recently added the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya to the 3D Warehouse (and subsequently to Google Earth) and it is stunning.

museu1 museu2 museu3

While I can appreciate that Google is pushing more toward 3D Imagery instead of hand-built models, it will be a long time before the automatically-generated imagery can approach this level of detail.  We’ll certainly miss seeing the amazing work of people like Pedro being added to Google Earth.

To see this model for yourself in Google Earth, you can visit it in the 3D Warehouse here or use this KML file to fly there directly in Google Earth.

The post Amazing 3D model of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya in Barcelona appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

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Google continues to expand 3D imagery, but starting to phase out 3D Warehouse

by Mickey Mellen on Aug.09, 2013, under 3D Models, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, California, Denmark, England, Germany, Google Earth News, Google Earth Tips, Google Sky, Google maps, Hawaii, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Natural Landmarks, Netherlands, Sightseeing, Street Views, USA

Google is continuing to push out very rapid updates to their 3D imagery, now releasing it in a variety of new cities:

United States: Jackson, MS, Sumter, SC, Sioux City, IA, Newark, NJ, Brunswick, GA, RockyMount, NC, Mankato, MN.

Europe: Beziers, France, Blanes/Lloret De Mar, Spain, Nancy, France, Modena, Italy, Reading, UK.

jackson-ms

As they continue this push, they older 3D models are beginning to be phased out.  While you can still submit models to the 3D Warehouse, starting on October 1 new models won’t be added to Google Earth.

The amazing models housed by the 3D Warehouse have been an integral part of Google Earth for years now. While it’s sad to see that beginning to come to an end, it’s not surprising given the big push into 3D Imagery.  Here is the full release from the 3D modeling team:

“Hi folks,

With the goal to have every building in the world accurately displayed in 3D, we’ve explored different methods for modeling large areas of our planet in 3D, including technologies like SketchUp, Building Maker and lately 3D Imagery. We’ve decided that in order to pursue the most consistent user experience, we’ll be focusing our resources on the technology that will scale to the entire world and will be discontinuing support of the user generated 3D program.

We’d like to thank all of you who helped form the landscape of Google Earth and helped cities around the globe grow out of the 2D realm, and into the imaginations of virtual 3D explorers everywhere.

Models can still be uploaded to the Trimble 3D Warehouse, where they can continue to be shared with the modeling community, but they will no longer be published to Google Earth starting October 1st, 2013. Existing models will remain visible in Google Earth, until a time when they’re replaced by new models generated for that region. Google Takeout lets you download an archive containing all of your models.

On a personal note: I’ve had the good fortune of being involved in the 3D modeling effort for Google Earth from the beginning, and I’ve watched many of you create collections of amazingly detailed architectural wonders from every corner of the Earth. I’m very thankful to have been along for that ride and to have gotten to know many of you over the years.

With respect and appreciation,

- CraigD and the 3D Modeling Team”

The post Google continues to expand 3D imagery, but starting to phase out 3D Warehouse appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

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Old Trafford Stadium in Google Earth

by Mickey Mellen on May.21, 2013, under 3D Models, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, California, Denmark, England, Germany, Google Earth News, Google Earth Tips, Google Sky, Google maps, Hawaii, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Natural Landmarks, Netherlands, Sightseeing, Street Views, USA

Home of Manchester United, Old Trafford is a historic stadium in England that can hold over 75,000 spectators.  Manchester has been playing there for more than 100 years, starting when the stadium opened back in 1910.

Ale Zuniga (known as Azz8® in the 3D Warehouse) has constructed an amazing model of the stadium, seen here:

trafford above supports inside 19 goal

You can learn more about his model on this page in the 3D Warehouse, or check it out for yourself in Google Earth by loading this KML file.

Ale has a total of 189 models in the 3D Warehouse, including 60 that have been accepted into Google Earth.  He does excellent work and I encourage you to check out his full collection.

Great work Ale!

The post Old Trafford Stadium in Google Earth appeared first on Google Earth Blog.

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