In this new SketchUp update, the developer team put much thought into the ‘Whys’ in their decisions. According to the developer, it’s important to know the results of their decision in upcoming years. The developers put much effort into building this effective software for architects and engineers.

In this new version, we have made various changes relating to its axis and a new logo supporting as a part of SketchUp’s new version. After eight years of hard work and processing at last SketchUp comes up with a simple yet advanced new mark to support the company’s strong foundation. The simple yet advanced logo is created by using SketchUp, which means the new version of SketchUp can also be used to design an interactive 3D animated logo.

SketchUp has over 150,000 subscribers and users. The team never fails to deliver a high-quality and affordable 3D modeling experience. SketchUp 2021 comes with a brand new, innovative, and climate savvy interface. It also provides smart, selectable models for your designs. This SketchUp update comes with many features which can easily handle your most complicated projects.

Features of SketchUp 2021

Introducing PreDesign

The developer of SketchUp knows that AEC professionals are found of reality-based models for their designs and models. The AEC also strives for a reality where each and every design fits with the surrounding environment. So SketchUp added a new feature called PreDesign, which is basically a climate research tool that gives you a better knowledge of your project surrounding before designing.

This PreDesign feature not only just spot the issues it also provides many helpful suggestions regarding, effects, top-lighting, etc for your every design. If you want innovative, smooth, and powerful 3D modeling software go for SketchUp 2021.

Optimized Tag manager in SketchUp

SketchUp developer is well aware of the fact that managing such long tags list is complicated, especially the development of 2D complex documentation in LauOut. To solve this problem, SketchUp 2021 features “Tag-Folders” in SketchUp Layout. It is capable to arrange each tag of yours in the organized way possible.

This feature will automatically sort your tags that are used in a design, properly segregate them into groups and make them easily accessible by the designers. Not only that, but this new SketchUp version will also allow the user to filter tags according to their needs.

Live Components added in SketchUp 2021

Live components or parametric objects are the components in SketchUp that are programmed with modeling logic that helps in manipulating their geometric structure. These live components have the ability to change their design and re-draw themselves in real-time to match the surrounding environment.

Live components or objects can be located in a 3D warehouse and is all set to download and customize right in SketchUp’s latest version.

Just by selecting the live components in the 3D warehouse, you can easily insert them directly into your design and can customize those components in the ‘Configure Live Component’ dialogue box.

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What are live components in SketchUp 2021?

Live Components are SketchUp’s answer to parametric modeling and more. When you want objects that change depending on data, there come Live Components. Using these, your model will be more flexible and your design will be more agile.

Simply put, live components are ready-made configurable objects found in the 3D Warehouse. You can adjust various properties of a live component either in the Warehouse or in your model in SketchUp 2021.

For example, a live component can be a bookshelf that lets you adjust its shelf size, inter-shelf spaces, number of shelves, and position of special fixtures on the bookshelf.

How did it all start?

A bit of history couldn’t hurt – so here goes how to live components came to be. First, they have long been a big part of the user feedback. So, Trimble goes and acquires an NZ company called MatterMachine, and out pops a new modeling platform called Materia.

And this is what is used to build live components since they are not simple models but objects that are programmed with modeling logic. That’s what Materia does – it imbues logic (and therefore, life) into dumb models.

Live components were released as part of a new segment of the SketchUp family called the “SketchUp Labs” (in fact, it was the first experiment cooked in this) on October 1, 2020. Then with user feedback, the feature was tweaked and made a part of the SketchUp 2021.

How do I make live components in SketchUp?

The easy answer is: you don’t. Not until Trimble makes Materia public. Until then, you will have to be happy with the online live component models that are available online in the 3D warehouse.

There’s a good reason for this, we figure. Making a live component is no child’s play, so far. It involved good programming ideas. Plus, there’s no common basis for making live components – each has to be handcrafted. So, if that kind of work was left to the general SketchUp users, it would have lost much of its fame as user-friendly.

Where can I find live components?

The 3D warehouse is where all the live components are housed, for now. You will need SketchUp 2021 and an internet connection, of course, but that’s it. Here’s how it works:

1. Search for something using the search option in the 3D Warehouse.
2. On the search results page, filter out the results by “Live Components”.
   • That filter can be found under the Advanced search properties.
3. Look in the model’s tab. Items marked with a lightning bolt will be live components.

You can also come across some of the lightning-bolt-marked models while browsing the collection.

How to use a live component in SketchUp 2021?

Have you selected any one of the live components available on the search results page in the 3D Warehouse? Great! Now click on the model, and the details page will open. In the case of static components, you will see a 3D view of the thing; but in the case of live components, you will see a fully customizable model, with controls on the right, as with the view tools on the left.

The controls on the right side of the model will be the ones to change and shape the model as you like. As for the example we had taken earlier, the controls will be various sliders changing their shelf size, inter-shelf spaces, number of shelves, etc. You may even be able to select colors or turn entire features on or off.

As you adjust and select/deselect these controls, you will see the model getting updated in real-time in the model viewing window. The live component will be adjusted as you change the settings on these controls, and you can preview the final result exactly as it will look in SketchUp.

When you are happy and done with the fiddling with the live component adjustments, You can download the component to your system as an SKP file. You can insert that SKP file in your SketchUp 2021 works to use the components as is.

How to adjust a live component inside SketchUp?

What if you need to change a live component’s properties after you’ve used it in a model? Don’t worry, they can be configured just the same way in SketchUp 2021. Just right-click a live component and there will be a menu item available named ‘Configure Live Component’. Click that and you’ll get the same controls to adjust the various properties of that component on the right.

Note: All the changes you make to one live component apply to the very definition of that component, so all the copies of that live component you have used in the model will change simultaneously. To make changes to only one live component, first use the ‘Make Unique’ command.

Furthermore, if you want to use a live component as a normal component, you will need to right-click the component and use the ‘Detach Definition’ option. Again – if it’s not a unique component, all instances of the component will be affected. Once detached from its definition, a live component can be used as a simple object, with all operations available. Note that this is irreversible, so do it wisely.

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Tags are everywhere in every 3D modeling system, in different names or guises. They are very useful to organize objects in neat classifications. In SketchUp, you can make tags by using the Tags panel and assign objects to existing tags by using the Entity Info panel. However, SketchUp 2021 has kicked this up quite a few notches.

The latest improvements with tags in SketchUp 2021 lets you label and organize your groups and other entities like never before. Using the new Tag Management system, you will be able to have a much clearer, organized model structure. It’s like stocking your spice drawer with perfectly labeled spice jars.

How does it work?

It was a longstanding complaint with SketchUp users that tag management becomes a real headache as the model grows more complex. And it can really increase your blood pressure when you’re setting up a big 3D model for 2D documentation like in LayOut. Lots of tags everywhere give you nowhere to go. Plus, when you needed to control model visibility, you had to click each tag separately.

Tag Folders

That is why the developers at Trimble have come up with the idea of Tag Folders. You can now create folders in the tag panel, which can contain tags. This will greatly aid you in bulk model visibility control and will let you organize tags quicker and more easily.

The advantage of this new Tag Folder in SketchUp 2021 is twofold. First, you can take better control of your tags and organize them in a much more efficient manner. Secondly, as tag folders behave much like tags in the panel, you can enable or disable whole folders full of tags to turn on or off large chunks of your model quickly.

Obviously, when designing in a given scenario, or when doing documentation, reporting, or just handling visibility in the model, this new system will come in very handy. Because most tags are in a folder, you will now be able to locate similar types of tags much more easily. Furthermore, it becomes just a one-click affair to turn on or off great portions of the model.

Tag Filter

So now you can organize tags better now, but how about finding the right one in a bunch of tags? That’s where another long-awaited request of the SketchUp users got fulfilled. And it is so easy to do it now! The tag panel now features a text box on top – you start typing out the expected tag name and the SketchUp tag panel will automatically filter in the tags containing that word. Yes, it’s that easy!

It goes without saying that when you’re in a rush to quickly turn on or off parts of your model, this can and will come in very handy – especially in models that are worked upon by multiple parties. You will find line updating becomes a breeze in this method as well. Home in quickly on the tags you need and perform operations.

Tip: This gets even better with some clever folder-filter combo work. When naming your tags, start with particular prefixes for given categories of entities. Then, when organizing, just filter by the prefix and drag them to the required folders.

How to add tags and tag folders in SketchUp 2021

Adding tags:

1. Open the tags panel.
2. Click on the plus-in-a-circle sign in the upper left corner.
3. A new blank tag appears.
4. Type in the name of the tag (Hint: see the tip above.)
5. Now you can add this tag to an entity.

Note: To create a new tag under a folder, you need to select the folder before step 1.

Adding tag folders:

1. Open the tag panel. Make sure nothing is selected.
2. Click on the second icon (beside the ‘add tag’ icon).
3. A new blank folder appears.
4. Give it a name. Using a naming convention is recommended.
5. Drag and drop some tags into it, as you see fit.
6. You can select a bunch of tags by holding down the shift button and drag them all together into the new folder. Works best with a tag filter.

Note: If you had one or more tags selected before step 1, a new folder will get created containing them. Not recommended, but can be time-saving when you are well-practiced with the new tagging system in SketchUp 2021.

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