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Best practices for developing a SketchUp extension

SketchUp extension

Do you have an idea that would help speed up or enhance a SketchUp workflow? Then it’s time for you to join our amazing extensibility developer community. If you’re just getting up to speed, SketchUp extensions are third-party add ons that allow you to customize and advance your SketchUp workflow. Many are hosted in Extension Warehouse where any SketchUp user can peruse and download with ease. You’ll find industry-specific extensions as well as generic extensions that benefit a wide variety of workflows.  

To help you get started developing your own stand-out, user-friendly SketchUp extension, we’ve compiled a list of UX best practices. In this article, we’ll cover the basics including:

  • Language and tone
  • What to do/not to do with “undo”
  • Keeping a Group unique
  • Lock state modifications
  • Convey a missing license
  • Consider popup warnings 
  • Menu & toolbar functionality
  • Extension naming conventions
  • Extension presentation
  • Scale agnostic
  • Good versus bad code examples

...and so much more. View the full list here

What are you waiting for? It’s time to turn those ideas into a SketchUp-aligned extension. Start developing today!

 

About the Author

SketchUp was created to bring your vision to life. After 25+ years, this dedication remains unwavering. We are creators at heart. Our Trimble team has grown, but we all share the same passion — to give you confidence at every turn and the best 3D modeling tools to express your ideas.

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