Jerky with Sketchup

fostertom · Post by **fostertom** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:25 am

Why would Space Pilot become jerky with latest Sketchup 6 (free version)? The model's getting big but file size is only 134KB. Computer and graphics have plenty of power.

Post by **rstadie** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 5:05 am

Hi fostertom,

Do you notice this jerky movement even if you use only your normal mouse? If this is not the case please send the model to the Email-Address you find in your forums-inbox so I can reproduce this.

fostertom · Post by **fostertom** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 1:12 pm

Thanks - I think it was too many Groups. I was going mad trying to edit things within their Groups so I Exploded most of them and now the SpPilot works fine. I will take up your offer to look at the file if it happens again.

fostertom · Post by **fostertom** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:27 pm

No, the problem is still there - no trouble with mouse navigation; it

Post by **rstadie** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 1:10 am

Hi fostertom,

I had a look at your file. Do you have the latest 3DxSoftware installed? You get it here. The download is about 70 MB.

fostertom · Post by **fostertom** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 4:55 am

rstadie, I believe I already had 3.5.6, anyway did it again, Repair mode. Still same jerkiness, when any Sketchup tool other than Select, Erase, Look Around or Walk is operational.

Tried some other .skp files. No problem in an empty new file. Very slight jerkiness in earlier simpler versions of what I sent you - I'm now emailing you one with no Components or Groups, but several Layers.

I'm also sending another, which consists of just one Sketchup Component - jerkiness slight but definitely there. My guess is it's to do with the number of Components, Groups and maybe Layers in the file.

Post by **rstadie** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:26 am

Please enable "Write Log File" in the 3DxWare Control Panel, restart the driver and move around your model.
You will find the logfile when you enter into the Address-bar of your Windows Explorer:

Code: Select all

%appdata%\3Dconnexion\3DxWare

The File is named "3DxWare.log" - please send this file to me also.

If "Write Log File" is already enabled - please try if the performance improves when you disable this option.

fostertom · Post by **fostertom** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 6:42 am

Log file sent - it wasn't previously enabled.

Post by **rstadie** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:04 am

I can not find anything related to SketchUp in this logfile - are you sure SketchUp was active when you wrote that logfile? Is SketchUp correctly recognized by your SpacePilot?

Post by **rstadie** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 11:22 am

What happens when you move you mouse outside of the SketchUp window while zooming - does the movement remain smooth then?

fostertom · Post by **fostertom** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:28 pm

rstadie, yes it works fine when I move the mouse out. The log file is enabled - I restarted the computer to activate that command - but nothing gets recorded in the file (I deleted all previous), I'm sending latest version of the file, with Components and Layers rationalised (no Groups).

Post by **rstadie** » Fri Jan 25, 2008 1:07 am

The problem seems to occur because your pointer "snaps" into various points of the model. Unfortunately if this is the case there is nothing we can do about it.

Does it also appear when you have only SketchUp opened? [First close all other applications, then start SketchUp]

UPDATE
Movement gets very slow when you start for example Google Earth and switch instantly the focus to SketchUp while Google Earth is loading. Then a restart of SketchUp is required to get it back into normal operation.
It seems that this is an error of the hardware acceleration. If you start Google Earth and switch to SketchUp after GE finished loading everything works fine.

fostertom · Post by **fostertom** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 1:43 am

rstadie, yes it seems to be when a SU tool is snapping to things in the model. When the pointer is moved well off the model (which means off screen when zoomed in) so no snapping's happening, then motion is smooth again. You say "nothing we can do about it". Is this a known problem with 3dX, then? I exported the same model to Autocad 2006, where the problem doesn't happen because snapping seems to be turned off (or the tool deactivated) as soon as 3dX motion begins. However motion in general in Acad is a lot less smooth (but still tolerable) than in SU.

Post by **rstadie** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 1:30 am

When I start SU as described above (Do not switch the focus while SU is loading) - there are no problems even if a tool snaps into the model.
Things become much more CPU-intensive when another program like GE or AutoCAD is started while SU has not finished loading (there seems to be an issue with SketchUp's hardware-acceleration in this special case).

If your hardware anyways runs at its limits this snapping will lead to those lags in movement even without having this "acceleration-issue".

fostertom · Post by **fostertom** » Mon Jan 28, 2008 2:52 am

I loaded SU as described with nothing else running - still jerky when snapping.
Consulted 'SU and OpenGL' and tried each of the 4 Capabilities options offered by my card in Window>Preferences>OpenGL, restarting SU each time - still jerky.
Noted the warning:
"Unfortunately, only some 3D drivers in the consumer video card market are 100% OpenGL compatible and can use this feature (though many cards claim to be 100% OpenGL compatible). Most 3d drivers are designed for games, and are often not tested using other 3D programs. Consequently, incompatibility problems can occur requiring a fix from the video card manufacturer." However mine can apparently 'use this feature', meaning Hardware Acceleration.
Does SU have a list of cards that are really 100% OpenGL? Mine's a GeForce 7900GT, along with AMD Athlon 64 x2 Dual Core 3800+ 2.01GHz, and 2GB RAM, physical address extension.