In an attempt to make the process easier, with less clicks and more compatible with legacy distribution I wrote a small utility: Simple Plugin Installer.
But beware that there could be plugins that need special actions in order to install correctly so always read the instructions first! The Simpler Way? rbz and use the Install Extension feature in SketchUp.
zip you can in many cases just rename it to. However, if you have a plugin distributed as. Unfortunately this method of distribution hasn’t gained widespread usage yet. They introduced a new file format for distributing plugins, or “extensions” as they prefer to call them, in the shape of.
The Easy Way – RBZ PackagesĪs of SketchUp Maintenance Release 2 Google introduced a new feature which made the process easier. Then there is the matter of where to install it, this is particular troublesome under OSX where a user can easily mistake similarly looking locations for the correct one if the user isn’t paying attention. Different extracting packages will behave differently – some times creating extra folders or even ignoring the folder hierarchy in the. zip archives correctly isn’t even straight forward.
Installing can be a bit of trial and error. zip archive, on rare occasions they come with an installer. There is also no one-click installation for these plugins. You have to locate the various community-driven sites yourself. However, there is no single repository or store for obtaining these plugins. There are many, many, many plugins available for SketchUp offering powerful features and enhancements allowing the users to customize SketchUp to their needs. This article is now for historical purposes and useful only to legacy extensions or if you need to install extensions in an older SketchUp version. For the extensions hosted on Extension Warehouse there is no need to manually install or uninstall files. In May 2013 SketchUp 2013 was released which included the Extension Warehouse which allow you to browse and discover extensions directly from within SketchUp. Since then the instructions has changed slightly. Using these interchangeably will allow you great control over the tubes you create.This article was written right before Google sold SketchUp to Trimble. Pipe along path is great for creating pipes with linear paths, while lines to tubes will create tubes around every selected line segment, but it won’t be as continuous. These 2 extensions are designed for creating tubes and paths around lines. This extension has a slightly high learning curve, and an unforgiving workflow, but when it works, it allows for the creation of fantastic new shapes.Ī. This extension allows you to deform objects along a given shape. However, with this extension, you can have much greater control over your selections, allowing you to do things like select only faces, or select only lines, or many other selection options.Ī. Trying to select and de-select complex geometry can be frustrating. This tool allows both the creation of arc lines, but also tubes along a helix.Ī. SketchUp comes built in with several arc tools, but none of them are very good at drawing curves that arc along both vertical and horizontal directions at once. This extension bends shapes along curves, allowing you to create interesting variations of shapesĪ. It will create faces between multiple geometric shapes, as well as the skinning option allows the creation of skins across multiple lines.Ī.
This extension is designed to create skins using contours. This extension changes that, allowing you to not only push pull curved surfaces, but also to push pull multiple faces at once!Ī. SketchUp doesn’t come built in with the ability to push pull curved surfaces. I’ve probably used the radial bend tool from FredoScale in more tutorials than just about any other extensions’ tool.Ī. This extension allows you to geometrically transform your objects in a number of ways, including scaling, twisting, bending, and rotating. There are several different options for this, including rounding your edges and beveling your edges.Ī. This extension allows you to round the edges of 3D shapes.
It allows you to create a skin, as well as adjust the “pressure” in the skin allowing for greatly customizable shapes.Ī.
This is great for creating organic type shapes. This extension allows you to create a skin across various edges. These commisions help me offset the cost of running the SketchUp Essentials, so if you do end up purchasing, thank you very much!Ī. *Affiliate disclaimer – I am an affiliate for Profile Builder, so if you purchase the plugin through this link I will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. ♦DOWNLOAD WEEK’S FEATURED EXTENSION (Affiliate Link)♦ Like the show? Please consider Supporting through the links below!
In this video, I walk you through my 10 favorite free SketchUp plugins and extensions from 2017 (So Far)!