SketchUp - Arkio

Importing models from and to Sketchup requires a Pro or Enterprise license. You can learn more about our paid licenses on our website and start a free trial from Arkio to try this. The Revit, Rhino, and Sketchup plugins are all included with our Arkio Windows installer on our download page.

SketchUp to Arkio locally

The Arkio SketchUp plugin allows you to export models from SketchUp 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023 to Arkio and back.

You can export models from SketchUp using the export button under the Arkio toolbar. If you don't see the Arkio buttons/toolbar you might need to still install Arkio for Windows first or enable the buttons by right-clicking your toolbar. All 3D geometry visible in your view will be exported to Arkio. You can best start with a small scene by turning off layers and hiding geometry you don't want to export.

After a model has been exported locally it will open Arkio on Windows where the model will be available to load and inspect in the scene from the create>import tab. Local imports are the fastest way to process large files using more powerful desktop hardware. If the model is looking good you can directly share it with less powerful devices using an Arkio meeting.

Sketchup to Arkio via cloud

You can also upload your 3D exports from Sketchup to Arkio Cloud to distribute multiple devices without sharing files in meetings. Arkios's SketchUp plugin saves the exports on the following path Documents\Arkio\Import\SketchUp You can zip these folders with the containing GLB files and upload them to an Arkio Cloud Group. Devices that are linked to the same group will download these files and allow you to place them directly on the device from the create>import drawer.

From the import panel you can click on the filename of your import to open the import placement sub-menu from here you can set if you want the placement of this model to be:

Movable - place the model freely as a movable Arkio prop like furniture or a tree that can be pinned later

Pinned at origin - use the model's 3D origin and pin the geometry so it stays in place for round trips

You can also set if you want the placement of the models to be in the current scene or a new Arkio scene.

If the SketchUp model has geometry modeled under the origin the terrain can be cut away by making a large void shape in the Arkio terrain to enable teleporting and modeling on the underground geometry. If your model is floating in the air or far away from the center of your Arkio table it means your model is modeled far away from the origin. It's a better practice to move your model geometry closer to the software origin to prevent visual issues and crashes.

You can also place the model manually as a moveable object and pin it in place, this will however not export your added Arkio geometry to the same coordinates when going back to SketchUp.

Update your models

When a change is made in SketchUp you can overwrite your model with a new version by exporting the same model from SketchUp again. A spinning indicator shows in Arkio when models are loaded again. When the new version of the model is available a yellow update icon will show above the model in the Arkio scene. Clicking this icon with your laser or mouse will update that model to the latest version. 

If you don't want to update your existing model or if you want to switch between various design options you can change the file name of the Sketchup models instead of updating your existing model.

Arkio will keep the old versions of your imported models so you can always revert back when needed. You can access your older imported models in the placement dialog under the date dropdown.

Arkio to SketchUp 

To load your models from Arkio back to SketchUp you can best open the Scene overview on a Windows version of Arkio and click the export button. Once the export is made for SketchUp an export confirmation will be shown. You can also export your files from Arkio on your mobile devices via our Arkio Cloud and download the model from cloud.arkio.is 

Back in SketchUp you can open our SketchUp Plugin import and select the file you exported from Arkio (default Windows path is Documents\Arkio\Export\SketchUp) All Arkios geometry, components, sketches and 3D map buildings will then be converted to SketchUp geometry.

Mac OS users

Our Arkio Sketchup plugins are currently only available on Windows and help to convert your Sketchup models to Arkio. When using Sketchup on Mac you can export your models to OBJ or glTF/GLB using Sketchup's built-in exporters or third-party exporters. After you export your models to OBJ/GLB you can zip file all the 3D and texture files and upload that zip to the Arkio Cloud to load your model to Arkio on any device.

Best practices SketchUp modeling

• The objects visible in your 3D view will be exported to Arkio using the plugin so you can reduce the model size by turning off layers, hiding geometry, and optimizing your components. Avoid long export times, performance issues, and crashes by only exporting the geometry you need.
• You can Inspect your model face orientations and optimize your Sketchup model using View>Face Style>Monochrome and reversing the white faces to the exterior of your model.
• It's best to check the size of your models before you load and optimize them on mobile devices. You can check the number of faces of your model using Window>Model Info.
• You can optimize your Sketchup models and components and increase performance for Sketchup and Arkio using plugins like Skimp
• Sketchup Models have two-sided faces. A default white material for the exterior and a purple one for the interior. Arkio's plugin will export all painted faces and the default exterior surface (white). If you want the interior (purple) faces to export you can paint these faces with a different material.

Known issues/limitations:

• If you experience loading issues try to open your exported GLB file in Windows 3D viewer, Blender, or Rhino
• to see if the files load well there and what geometry might be causing the issue.
  
• Unused SketchUp components and materials can sometimes affect exports from your scene. It's best to purge unused components from your project if you are experiencing material export issues.
• Sometimes a previously failed import can affect the loading of other files in Arkio. Cleaning your temporary ResourceCache files can solve most issues.