Sketchup - Arkio

Written By Johan Hanegraaf

Last updated About 16 hours ago

Importing models from and to Sketchup requires a Pro or Enterprise license. You can learn more about our paid features and start a free trial to try this.

Sketchup versions 2018-2026 are currently supported, allowing the export of large models to Arkio and back. Our Sketchup plugins are included with Arkio's Windows Installer, available on our download page.

Sketchup to Arkio

To export models from SketchUp, you must have the Arkio plugin installed and open SketchUp in a 3D view with all the elements you want to export visible. Then, press the Arkio > Export button. If you don't see the Arkio buttons/toolbar, install Arkio on your PC first, or enable the buttons by right-clicking your toolbar.

Clicking "Export to Arkio" exports your current 3D view to Arkio and opens a Ruby console to display the export progress. If the model is large, you will receive a notification that your export may take a long time, giving you the opportunity to save your work or grab a coffee! :)

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After a model has been exported from the plugins, it will open Arkio and process the file. From here, you can inspect and place the model on your desktop device from the Create > Import tab.

Synchronize imports with other Arkio devices

If you wish to synchronize newly imported files across multiple Arkio devices, such as your PC, Meta Quest, and iPad, you can link your PC and other devices to the same Arkio Cloud group from Create > Imports > Cloud. After linking, new imports will automatically be shared with all linked devices.

You can also share your scenes, including all placed imports, using a live meeting or via an Arkio Cloud URL

Placing models in Arkio

You can open the imported file by clicking on the Sketchup model name in the Import panel. Here, you can set placement settings for Arkio, such as the scale and orientation of models. As our plugins prepare your file in the correct scale and orientation for Arkio, you can mainly control the loaded version here.

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You can click anywhere in the scene to place an instance of the model. Or select "Place at origin" to place the model pinned in the current or a new scene following its origin. Models placed at the origin can be aligned with other loaded models, enabling a round-trip between your design tools when exporting Arkio-added geometry back to your existing tool.

Model location and orientation

SketchUp's origin will be used for placement. From that placement, you can use the map feature to load a site around your design and enable more precise sun studies for your project.

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If the model has geometry modeled under the xy-plane (origin), the Arkio table surface can be cut away using a primitive void in Arkio's modeling tools. Making the void bigger than the loaded model enables teleporting on underground geometry.

If your model is far from the center or floating, it means it is far from its origin. It's best to keep your geometry near the origin in 3D tools to prevent modeling inaccuracies. You can address this in two ways:

  1. Place the model manually by clicking in the Arkio scene and pin it in place. When you export from Arkio back to your design tool, you must manually align your imported geometry to your original coordinates.

  2. You can adjust your SketchUp model coordinates by moving your geometry closer to the origin point and exporting again.

Layers

Your SketchUp parent geometry, group or components Tags will be mapped to layers in Arkio. Nested geometry with tags assigned in groups and components will use the tag of the parent group/component instead.

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If you would like to have more control over your Layers in Arkio, for example, to present design options, you can make changes to your tags per entity and re-export your model or export your Sketchup model with a different file name to load it as a separate model in Arkio.

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You can export different SketchUp models into one Arkio scene (and other supported design tools) and align them at the origin to gain additional control over layers in your scene, as you can control the visibility of all loaded files separately.

Updating a SketchUp model in Arkio

You can update an existing imported model by overwriting your Arkio import files with the same name. In SketchUp, this can be achieved by re-running the export with the same file name. Arkio will then recognize and process the new version, displaying a green arrow above the model to indicate that a new version is available. You can click this arrow to replace the older file in the scene with the new version on the current coordinates.

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Arkio will retain the older versions of your imported models, allowing you to also revert to a previous version by selecting the desired date in your menu and clicking "Update".

Arkio to Sketchup

Arkio scenes can be exported by opening your File browser and selecting the desired export format. You can export your scene locally or via Arkio Cloud by toggling the cloud toggle at the top of your export panel. Depending on your device, you can then directly import or download the latest cloud files using the Arkio>Import command in Arkio's plugin. You can find your local exported files in \Documents\Arkio\Export\Sketchup.

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If you like to get your Arkio geometry into editable SketchUp faces, you can also use our integration with Autodesk Revit to first convert your Arkio scene to solid CAD geometry and then export to a DWG. For more information, see this workflow: Export from Arkio to other 3D formats

Mac OS users

Our Arkio SketchUp plugins are currently available only on Windows and help 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 exporting your models to OBJ/GLB, you can zip the 3D and texture files and upload them to Arkio Cloud to sync your model to Arkio across all connected devices.

Best practices Sketchup models

  • Objects visible in your 3D view will be exported to Arkio via the plugin, allowing you to reduce the model size by turning off layers, hiding geometry, and optimizing components. Avoid long export times, performance issues, and crashes by only exporting the geometry you need.

  • 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 the default exterior surfaces (white) and any painted backfaces. If you want the interior (purple) faces exported, you can assign a different material to them.

  • It's best to check your model sizes using Window > Model Info to optimize them for Arkio on mobile devices. Importing large 3D models You can optimize your SketchUp components to increase the performance of your Sketchup and Arkio scene using plugins like Skimp.

  • PNG and JPG Images loaded into the SketchUp scene are not currently exported via our plugin. Painted custom image textures are a good alternative that will get exported.

Troubleshooting

  • Avoid issues and long processing by exporting only the geometry you need, using a smaller section box, and hiding unnecessary categories. You can find tips and best practices to optimize your geometry on this page

  • If you are missing faces, please ensure that your SketchUp surfaces are modeled with the exterior surface (default white) outward, or that your backfaces (purple) are painted. You can inspect your model's face orientations in View > Face Style > Monochrome.

  • Sometimes, failing imports affect other files from loading in Arkio. Clearing your temporary resources often resolves most issues.

  • If you have models that don't load well in Arkio, we'd love to review the file to improve Arkio’s importer. You can contact us at support@arkio.is