SketchUp is a proprietary

3D modeling In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical coordinate-based Computer representation of surfaces, representation of a surface of an object (inanimate or living) in Three-dimensional space, three dimensions vi ...

software that is used to create and manipulate 3D models. It is used in

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and

interior design Interior design is the art and science of enhancing the interior of a building to achieve a healthier and more aesthetically pleasing environment for the people using the space. With a keen eye for detail and a Creativity, creative flair, an ...

. SketchUp is owned by Trimble Inc. The software has a free web-based version, and three paid subscriptions to gain access to applications for Windows and macOS.

History

@Last Software

SketchUp was developed by startup company @Last Software of

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, co-founded in 1999 by Brad Schell and Joe Esch.n SketchUp was created in August 2000 as a 3D content creation tool and was envisioned as a software program for design professionals. The program won a Community Choice Award at its first tradeshow in 2000. The first macOS release of SketchUp won a "Best of Show" at Macworld in 2002.

Google

Google acquired @Last Software on March 14, 2006, attracted by @Last Software's work developing a plugin for Google Earth. On January 9, 2007, Google announced Google SketchUp 6, a free downloadable version of SketchUp, including integrated tools for uploading content to Google Earth and to the Google 3D Warehouse. Google SketchUp Pro 6 introduced a

beta version The software release life cycle is the process of developing, testing, and distributing a software product (e.g., an operating system). It typically consists of several stages, such as pre-alpha, alpha, beta, and release candidate, before the fi ...

of Google SketchUp Layout which includes 2D vector tools and page layout tools allowing presentations to be produced without the need for a separate presentation program. On November 17, 2008, SketchUp 7 was released with integration of SketchUp's Component Browser with Google 3D Warehouse, Lay Out 2, and dynamic components that respond to scaling. On September 1, 2010, SketchUp 8 was released with model

geolocation Geopositioning is the process of determining or estimating the geographic position of an object or a person. Geopositioning yields a set of Geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinates (such as latitude and longitude) in a given map datum ...

with

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...

and Building Maker integration. Geolocation information is always stored in the .KMZ file. The building designs themselves are saved in SKP.

Trimble

Trimble Navigation (now Trimble Inc.) acquired SketchUp from

Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...

on June 1, 2012, for an undisclosed sum. In 2013, SketchUp 2013 was released. A new site was provided.

Subscriptions

SketchUp comes in the following subscription options:

Pro

SketchUp Pro subscription includes the eponymous desktop 3D modeler, plus importers and exporters to common 2D and 3D formats, access to SketchUp's repository of pre-built 3D models (3D Warehouse), access to its extension library (Extension Warehouse), access to Layout (2D documentation software) and Style Builder (create custom edge styles for SketchUp models). SketchUp Pro 2016 has native integration with Trimble Connect, treat 3D Warehouse models as references, a rebuilt Generate Report and now Layout offers web-friendly reference objects as well as a new Layout

API An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...

. SketchUp Pro licensing is dual-platform and works on Windows and Mac machines.

Studio

Studio contains everything included in the Pro subscription, professional rendering via Chaos' V-Ray for SketchUp, point cloud import, and management via Trimble's Scan Essentials.

Go

Go, formerly known as Shop, is a SketchUp offering that includes the following: web and mobile modelers, SketchUp for Web and SketchUp for iPad; Trimble Connect Business, a cloud collaboration tool for viewing, sharing, and accessing project information from anywhere; and access to SketchUp's model library, 3D Warehouse. IPad On Site

SketchUp Go is aimed at design and construction professionals, as well as DIY designers. Users can model and mark up 3D models digitally using

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and touch. SketchUp Go does not include the desktop modeler, a downloadable application that can be used offline. Currently, only Pro and Studio plans feature this modeler.

Free

In November 2017, SketchUp Free was released as a web-based application which replaces SketchUp Make. Drawings can be saved to the cloud, saved locally as a native SKP file, or exported as an STL file. Compared to Make, SketchUp Free does not support extensions, creation, and editing of materials. The product is not for commercial use.

License

On June 4, 2020, Trimble announced that SketchUp would transition to a

subscription business model The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century. It ...

. After November 4, 2020, SketchUp no longer sells perpetual licenses and maintenance & support plans.

3D Warehouse

3D Warehouse is an

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library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

in which SketchUp users may upload and download 3D models to share. The models can be downloaded right into the program without anything having to be saved onto your computer's storage. File sizes of the models can be up to 50 MB. Anyone can make, modify and re-upload content to and from the 3D warehouse free of charge. All the models in 3D Warehouse are free, so anyone can download files for use in SketchUp or even other software such as

AutoCAD AutoCAD is a 2D and 3D computer-aided design (CAD) software application developed by Autodesk. It was first released in December 1982 for the CP/M and IBM PC platforms as a desktop app running on microcomputers with internal graphics control ...

, Revit and Archi CAD - all of which have apps allowing the retrieval of models from 3D Warehouse. Since 2014 Trimble has launched a new version of 3D Warehouse where companies may have an official page with their own 3D catalog of products. Trimble is currently investing in creating 3D developer partners in order to have more professionally modeled products available in 3D Warehouse. According to the Trimble, 3D Warehouse is the most popular 3D content site on the web.

Patents

SketchUp holds U.S. Patent 6,628,279, granted in September 2003, expired in 2021, on its ''"Push/Pull"'' technology.

Software extensions

SketchUp 4 and later support software extensions written in the Ruby programming language, which add specialized functionality. Many such extensions are available to others on the Trimble Extension Warehouse and many other 3rd party

websites A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, education ...

as well. SketchUp has a

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console, an environment which allows experimentation with

. Some extension plugins for Sketchup are Enscape, Modelur, Sefaira, OpenStudio, V-Ray, Lumion. SketchUp Free, the web-based version, does not support extensions, which severely limits the functionality of the tool.

File formats

SketchUp supports its own file extension. It supports the following 3D modeling formats: .3DS, .DAE, .DEM, .DDF, .DXF, .DWG, . glTF,https://help.sketchup.com/en/sketchup/working-gltf-files .IFC (.IFCZIP), .KMZ, .STL, .PDF.

3D Exports

SKP, 3DS, DAE, DWG, DXF, FBX, IFC, OBJ, KMZ, STL, WRL, XSI

Image exports

JPG, PNG, TIF,

PDF Portable document format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe Inc., Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, computer hardware, ...

EPS An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

Layout formats

Layout Import: SKP, BMP,

GIF The Graphics Interchange Format (GIF; or , ) is a Raster graphics, bitmap Image file formats, image format that was developed by a team at the online services provider CompuServe led by American computer scientist Steve Wilhite and released ...

JPEG JPEG ( , short for Joint Photographic Experts Group and sometimes retroactively referred to as JPEG 1) is a commonly used method of lossy compression for digital images, particularly for those images produced by digital photography. The degr ...

, JPG, PNG, TIF,

TIFF Tag Image File Format or Tagged Image File Format, commonly known by the abbreviations TIFF or TIF, is an image file format for storing raster graphics images, popular among graphic artists, the publishing industry, and photographers. TIFF is w ...

, RTF, TXT, DWG, DXF, CSV, TSV, XLSX. Layout Export: PNG, JPG,

, DWG, DXF.

References

External links

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SketchUp
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how to SketchUp
- blog
SketchUp
- African Region website {{DEFAULTSORT:Sketchup 2000 establishments in the United States 2000 software 3D graphics software Computer-aided design software for Windows Software companies established in 2000 Google acquisitions MacOS computer-aided design software