SketchUp For Dummies Cheat Sheet

SketchUp For Dummies

Like any 3-D modeling program, SketchUp offers different ways to do common tasks. In this Cheat Sheet, you'll find tips on the best way to use SketchUp tools and to boost your productivity. Keyboard shortcuts also enable you to work quickly and easily in SketchUp, so you'll uncover keyboard shortcuts for common tools.

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Modern architecture house interior created in SketchUp.

13 tips and techniques for using SketchUp

One of the best things about SketchUp is that you can use it to create 3-D models much more quickly than with other modeling programs. You can really turn up the speed on your creations with the following tips and techniques for using SketchUp tools.

To Do This Task	Here’s the Best Way
Navigate
Orbit with your mouse	Hold down scroll wheel
Zoom with your mouse	Roll scroll wheel
Pan with your mouse	Hold down Shift and the scroll wheel
Draw
Draw an edge a certain length with the Line tool	Type a length and press Enter
Snip off an edge at the last place you clicked	Press the Esc key
Lock your current direction with the Line tool	Hold down the Shift key while drawing with the tool
Change the number of sides in a circle, arc, or polygon	Type a number, then type s, and press Enter
Draw a circle or an arc of a certain radius	Type a radius and press Enter after you draw a circle
Select with the Select tool
Add or subtract from what you’ve selected	Hold down Shift
Select everything that isn’t hidden	Press Ctrl+A (Command+A on the Mac)
Select everything inside a selection box	Click and drag from left to right
Select everything touched by a selection box	Click and drag from right to left
Select all faces with the same material	Right-click and choose Select→All with Same Material
Move with the Move tool
Move a certain distance	Type a distance and press Enter after you move
Force Auto-Fold (tell SketchUp it’s okay to fold)	Press Alt (Command on the Mac)
Lock yourself in the blue (up and down) direction	Press the up arrow or down arrow key
Copy with the Move and Rotate tools
Make a copy with the Move or Rotate tools	Press Ctrl (Option on the Mac)
Make multiple copies in a row	Make a copy, type a distance, type x, and press Enter
Make multiple copies between	Make a copy, type a number, type /, and press Enter
Hide and Smooth with the Eraser tool
Hide something	Hold down Shift and click with the Eraser
Smooth something	Ctrl+click with the Eraser (Option+click on the Mac)
Unsmooth something	Hold down Shift+Ctrl and click with the Eraser (Shift+Option on the Mac)
Push/Pull and Offset
Make a copy of the face you’re push/pulling	Press Ctrl (Option on the Mac) and use the Push/Pull tool
Repeat the last distance you push/pulled	Double-click a face with the Push/Pull tool
Repeat the last distance you Offset	Double-click a face with the Offset tool
Scale with the Scale tool
Scale about the center	Hold down Ctrl (Option on the Mac) while scaling
Scale uniformly (don’t distort)	Hold down Shift while scaling
Scale by a certain factor	Type a number and press Enter
Make something a certain size	Type the size and the units and then press Enter
Apply materials with the Paint Bucket tool
Sample a material from a face	Hold down Alt (Command on the Mac) and click the face with the tool
Paint all faces that match the one you click	Hold down Shift while you click
Create guides
Tell the Tape Measure or Protractor tool to create a guide	Press Ctrl (Option on the Mac) and click with the tool
Walk around your model with the Walk tool
Walk through things	Hold down Alt (Command on the Mac)
Run instead of walk	Hold down Ctrl (Option on the Mac)
Get taller or shorter instead of walking	Hold down Shift
Change your eye height	Select the Look Around tool, type a height, and press Enter
Change your field of view	Select the Zoom tool, type a number, type deg, and press Enter

3 timesaving techniques for using SketchUp

Creating a 3-D model takes time, but SketchUp makes it accessible and easy when compared to high-end modeling programs. As you create your models in SketchUp, you’ll come to appreciate the following timesaving techniques.

To divide an edge into a number of shorter edges:

Right-click an edge with the Select tool.
Choose Divide from the context menu that pops up.
Type the number of segments you’d like and press Enter.

To resize your whole model based on one known measurement:

Select the Tape Measure tool.
Press Ctrl (Option on a Mac) until you don’t see a + next to your cursor.
Measure a distance; click once to start measuring, and again to stop.
Type a dimension for the distance you just measured and press Enter.
Click Yes in the dialog box that pops up.

To set up your own keyboard shortcuts:

Choose Window→Preferences (File→Preferences on the Mac).
Click the Shortcuts panel.

13 keyboard shortcuts for common SketchUp tools

SketchUp offers keyboard shortcuts for the tools you use most often as you create models. To select the tool you want, simply press the letter that’s indicated in the following table.