When working with tools such as the Line or Move tool, use the arrow keys on your keyboard to force SketchUp's red, green and blue axis inferences. The arrow keys are "toggles" so they will lock a tool into a particular direction until you finish the operation.

Want to customize how you begin each SketchUp session? Create a template file to use as the starting point for your models.

You can even create different templates for different projects. Any SketchUp model can be used as a template. To get started, first open the "Model Info" dialog under the "Window" menu. Next, set important settings such as your model Units and Location.



You will probably also want to set things like your default view and your default active style. After you are done adding your favorite settings, save your template file to a location you will remember.

Finally, go to the SketchUp "Preferences" Template pane and browse to the file you just created. Start a new file to begin using your template.

You can learn SketchUp

Anyone can learn the basics of SketchUp by taking a few minutes to work through the tips in this learning center. We hope this video will help you get a sense of working in SketchUp.


Modeling Units

To change your modeling units format, First go to the "Window" menu and choose "Model Info". Once you have the "Model Info" dialog visible select the "Units" pane. There you can set your modeling units format and precision.



To save your new units as the default, you will need to create or update a Template file. For more information see the next tip or the templates help topic.