What’s New in SketchUp 2023

Highlights…

SketchUp

Windows Common Installer – A new installation experience with more options, including Studio features.
Revit Importer – Speaking of Studio, Studio subscribers can now easily import Revit files into their SketchUp models.
Flip Tool – The new Flip tool makes it simpler to invert selections and create symmetry, replacing SketchUp’s Flip Along commands.
Large Model Saving Efficiency – Save big models with improved efficiency using multithreading technology.
Overlays – Developers can now create extensions that can persist while using other native SketchUp tools and functions. We call this an Overlay. The new Overlays panel can help you manage extensions designed with this capability.
Various Modeling updates and improvements including new Select options, freehand tool updates, and improvements to the Axes tool.

LayOut

DWG References – You can now manage inserted .dwg files as references, just like with SketchUp files.
Custom Rotation Start Angle – Define a custom start angle for rotating selected entities.
Tag Visibility Improvements – We’ve added the ability to discreetly override styles across multiple viewports, separating line styles from other styles.
Per-page Sequence Autotext – Sequenced auto-text can now be either per page or per document.
Viewport Improvements – We’ve improved camera predictability for viewports by setting the Pan tool as the default tool when activating the Edit 3D View and fine-tuning the “Preserve scale on resize” option.

SketchUp & LayOut Desktop 2023.1 Feature Release Updates Outline

SketchUp and LayOut

Iconography Updates – Updated icons now appear in SketchUp and LayOut toolbars and modeling cursors.

SketchUp

Snaps – New custom grips that can help you quickly connect groups or components.
Custom Flip Plane – The Flip tool () functionality has been upgraded with a new customizable flip plane in pre-selected geometry.
Horizon Color – You can now create a custom horizon appearance in the Background settings of the Styles panel.
Lasso Segments – Draw individual line segments to define your selection area with the upgraded Lasso Select tool ().

LayOut

Rendering Controls – The new Rendering tab in Document Setup allows for independent control of both editing and output resolution for viewports and images.
Upgraded Scrapbook Labels – You can now drag and drop Auto-Text from Scrapbook Labels onto your SketchUp model viewports, automatically displaying model and viewport information.
Scaled Scrapbooks – Multiple scrapbooks received updates that take advantage of Scaled Groups.

See More Below

More detail…

SketchUp

: Windows Common Installer

What We Did

We’ve created a new installation experience on Windows with more options, including Studio features.

The Details

Studio is a Windows subscription that provides access to several features, such as V-Ray, the Revit Importer, and Scan Essentials. The new Windows Installer offers these Studio-only options alongside SketchUp Pro for Desktop, LayOut, and Style Builder.

When you begin a new installation with the installer, you’ll see Revit Importer and Scan Essentials selected by default.

You’ll also see V-Ray for SketchUp as an option. If you choose to install V-Ray using the installer, please see our Installing V-Ray for SketchUp article for full installation instructions.

You can always choose not to install any of these features.

: Revit Importer

What We Did

Studio subscribers can now easily import Revit projects into their SketchUp models.

The Details

Many SketchUp projects eventually make their way into other programs for detailing and documentation. At the same time, projects from these programs find their way into SketchUp for better visualization, collaboration, and improved communication. One popular program used to deliver construction documents and permit sets for many large architecture projects is Autodesk Revit.

With the new Revit Importer, available on Windows for Studio subscribers, you can now easily import your Revit projects into SketchUp. Our Revit Importer features:

Compatibility with SketchUp 2021 and any version after that; up to and including the newest version.
Availability through the Common Windows Installer and Extension Warehouse.
Does not require you to have a Revit installation or a Revit license.
Compatibility with .rvt files created with the 2011 or later versions of Revit.

When you use the Revit Importer to incorporate a .rvt file into your SketchUp model, SketchUp automatically creates the following:

SketchUp Components – Converts all Revit families into components, converts identical Revit objects to identical components, and names components using the Revit family name/family type and instance UUID.
SketchUp Tags – All Revit families receive tags named after their equivalent Revit categories.
SketchUp Sections – Creates Sections from Revit Levels, pointed downward, and placed 4′ above Revit levels.
SketchUp Materials – Revit Materials become SketchUp Materials and appear as if rendered using the Consistent Colors option in Revit.
Geometry Optimization – SketchUp optimizes redundant triangulation and lowers the segment count on curves in imported Revit projects.

Learn More

For more information, see our Revit Importer manual in the Help Center.

: Flip Tool

What We Did

The new Flip tool makes it simpler to invert selections and create symmetry, replacing SketchUp’s Flip Along commands.

The Details

Replacing the Flip Along commands, our new Flip tool makes it simpler to invert selections and create symmetry, taking the guesswork out of reorienting a selection.

On Windows, activate Flip from the Getting Started, Large Toolset, and Edit toolbars. On Mac, you’ll find Flip in the standard toolbar. Or, launch Flip from Search and assign it a keyboard shortcut, as you like.

Like several other tools, you can activate Flip after selecting geometry or hover over the entities you want to flip. Once engaged, you’ll see three planes corresponding to the model’s orientation. Hover over a plane and click once to ‘flip’ about that plane. You can even use the arrow keys – left arrow for green, right arrow for red, and up for blue.

Copy mode, toggled by using the Ctrl key on Windows or Option on Mac, creates a flipped copy of your selection. Activate copy mode, click and drag a plane to the desired spot, and release your mouse to create a symmetrical copy.

Copy mode lasts for a single copy, switching back to the Default mode after you’ve performed an action.

Undoing a flip takes a step back while keeping your selection intact, ready for another flip. The ESC key resets the flip planes to their default orientation.

If you prefer to flip an object using its parent (or context) axes, use the Alt key on Windows or Command on Mac, toggling Flip between a selected object axes orientation and the parent axes orientation.

The planes you see when activating the Flip tool orient to a group or component’s axes, similar to the Scale tool. When selecting multiple objects with different axes orientations, the planes will respect the axes of the parent model.

: Large Model Saving Efficiency

What We Did

Save big models with improved efficiency using multithreading technology.

The Details

Multithreading is the ability of a central processing unit to provide multiple threads of execution concurrently. We’ve updated the way SketchUp saves your model to use this technology.

What does that mean for you? It means you can save bigger models faster and with less chance for errors.

: Overlays

What We Did

Developers can now create extensions that can persist while you are using other native SketchUp tools – even other extensions!. We call this capability an Overlay. The new Overlays panel can help you manage extensions designed with this capability.

The Details

Overlays are a new SketchUp capability and associated API that allows developers to persist extension behaviors while you are using other tools. This means extensions can now continue to analyze, visualize, and create information in the modeling window as you continue using other native tools and extensions. For example, you can now use the latest update to Solid Inspector, a popular extension with overlay capability, to detect problems with your solid entities as you create or fix them.

With the Overlays panel, you can control an extension’s visibility by turning the associated overlay off or by turning it back on. Click Discover more and browse for other extensions with Overlay capabilities on Extension Warehouse.

: Notable Modeling Updates

Increased Eraser Sensitivity

Do you know how the Eraser can sometimes annoyingly miss edges you are trying to scrub, hide, or smooth? We’ve increased the sensitivity of the Eraser so you get a truer feel and outcome to your eraser strokes.

Deselect Edges/Faces

You can now remove faces or edges from a selection set using Deselect Edges or Deselect Faces. These new commands can be found through a Search or in the Select submenu.

Double-Click Drawing Axes

Moving the axes in your model just got easier! When moving the drawing axes with the Axes tool you can now double-click to instantly place them, skipping all the other alignment steps.

Freehand Segments

You can now modify your line segments using Ctrl + or Ctrl -, the same way you would increase or decrease segments for circles, arcs, or polygons.

Three-point Drawing Tools Measurements

The measurements input for the 2-Point Arc, 3-Point Arc, and Rotated Rectangle tools are now standardized. After setting the second point for these tools you can input and repeat values into the measurement box, defining the initial distance of a drawing operation.

Section Planes in Reloaded Components

Occasionally, components with section planes load into a model, and the active style conflicts with the saved section plane visibility properties of the component. We’ve made sure your model’s settings take precedence and the current style settings are respected when importing those components.

Search Results Shortcuts

When searching for a command using Search you’ll now see the assigned shortcut, if available, for your result.

LayOut

: DWG References

What We Did

You can now manage inserted .dwg files as references, just like with inserted image files.

The Details

In LayOut, the Document Setup window helps you manage inserted images and imported SketchUp files as references. In SketchUp 2023, .dwg files imported into your document can also become manageable references. When importing, just check the box next to Import as a SketchUp model reference.

Once you import a .dwg file as a reference you can use the Reference section of the Document Setup window to see your imported .dwg files. These files will appear right next to .skp files and other imported images. You’ll also receive notifications when a .dwg reference has changed and can update multiple instances of a referenced .dwg at once.

: Custom Rotation Start Angle

What We Did

You can now easily define a custom starting point when rotating entities. .

The Details

Transform objects in your LayOut documents with even more flexibility by setting a custom angle for the start of a rotation.. Using Inferences in viewports, the grid, or other guides in your document, you can now designate the 0° base angle for the rotation. To set up a custom start angle, hover over the rotation handle, hold down Shift and drag the handle to your desired start point and orientation

: Tag Visibility Improvements

What We Did

We’ve added the ability to independently reset tag visibility and tagline styles, so you can apply coordinated line styles more efficiently across multiple viewports.

The Details

In the 2020.1 updates for LayOut, we introduced line styling for tags in SketchUp model viewports. We recognized it can be time-consuming when applying dash styles across multiple viewports with different tag visibility settings.

You can now discreetly reset the tag visibility or tagline style of a viewport, allowing you to preserve custom dash settings as you reset tag visibility to respect a different target scene (or referenced SketchUp model)…

Access this control through a new Reset option in the viewport Tags control. You can choose to reset all tag properties for a viewport, or discretely reset tag visibility or tag dash style.

: Per Page Sequence Autotext

What We Did

Sequenced auto-text can now be either per page or per document.

The Details

LayOut introduced Sequenced Auto-Text tags in 2022. Sequenced Auto-Text automatically changes in set increments when copied. When introduced, Sequenced Auto-Text tags worked across your entire LayOut document.

To help further customize your Sequenced Auto-Text tags, we’ve updated the way these tags work and added the option to set your sequence per page or per document. By default, all new Sequenced Auto-Text tags are now sequenced per page. You can always change from per page or per document in Document Setup along with all other tag settings.

: Viewport Improvements

What We Did

We improved camera predictability in viewports. The Pan tool is now the default tool when activating the Edit 3D View and we fine-tuned the “Preserve scale on resize” option.

The Details

Your viewport camera settings are now easier to interact with! For starters, Pan is now the default tool mode when you activate the Edit 3D View mode in LayOut. You can always switch to Orbit, Zoom, or other camera tools with a right click inside the viewport.

We’ve also made some behind-the-scenes improvements. Toggling Preserve Scale on Resize on or off won’t distort highly coordinated model views.

SketchUp and LayOut Desktop 2023.1 Features – More Detail

SketchUp and Layout

Iconography Updates

What We Did

Updated icons for all tools and features now appear in SketchUp and Layout.

The Details

SketchUp and LayOut have used the same iconography since 2013. When we launched SketchUp for iPad last year we also introduced a new generation of icons. These updated icons now appear in both SketchUp for Desktop and LayOut.

This iconography update includes both tool icons and cursors. If you have customized your toolbars don’t worry! This iconography update will not interfere with those settings. For a full overview of how our look is changing, take a look at the new Quick Reference Cards.

SketchUp

Snaps

What We Did

Snaps are new custom grips that can help you quickly connect groups or components.

The Details

A Snap is a custom point you can add to a group or component. Once added, a snap allows you to both position and orient objects at the same time. Snaps can help you create models with components that are easy to place, layout, or assemble.

While using them, snaps appear as a disk, containing visual cues that explain how the snap will work.

In most templates, the front side is white while the back side is blue. The front side is the active side you will attach to another snap or a face on a component.

To create a snap you can right click your selected component and choose Edit Component or Make/Edit Snaps.

You can also use the Move () tool to pick up and move an object with a snap on it and attach it to another one.

The SketchUp team recommends following these steps to change your display settings:

Close SketchUp.
Open your Windows Settings and select System > Display.
Change your display settings using one of the recommended options. SketchUp does not support custom settings.
Restart Windows.
Launch SketchUp. Your new settings should now apply when using SketchUp.

Note: You may encounter an issue when using two different display types. For example, if you have both a 2k monitor and a 4k monitor, each with different scaling, dragging the modeling window, toolbars, or dialogs may cause unexpected display behavior.

Clipping Improvements

What We Did

To reduce clipping, SketchUp will now better calculate near/far distances, only considering elements contained in the current view.

The Details

SketchUp now calculates near/far distances by only considering elements contained within the current view. These new calculations will reduce flickering, or z-fighting, effects on thinner geometry in larger models.

LayOut

Rendering Controls

What We Did

The new Rendering tab in Document Setup allows for independent control of both editing and output resolution for viewports and images.

The Details

Rendering controls now appear in a new Rendering tab in Document Setup. These settings control the resolution of Raster and Hybrid rendered SketchUp model viewports in your document. You can also control editing and output resolution independently. This means you can edit on a low resolution and still export high-quality assets.

Note: The Output Override (for raster rendered viewports only) is enabled by default. Disable this option when exporting or printing raster rendered SketchUp viewports.

Upgraded Scrapbook Labels

What We Did

You can now drag and drop Auto-Text from Scrapbook Labels onto your SketchUp model viewports, automatically displaying model and viewport information.

The Details

When you drag and drop Auto-Text Labels from a Scrapbook to a viewport, LayOut will now associate the data with the destination. Copying an Auto-Text enabled Label from one location to another will also associate the data and display that entity’s information.

Scaled Scrapbooks

What We Did

Multiple scrapbooks received updates that take advantage of Scaled Groups.

The Details

We have updated several scrapbooks to take advantage of Scaled Groups for our content. You’ll notice a consolidated list of scrapbook pages with assets that can easily be resized as scaled groups.

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