More control, more options, more tools on iPad

New updates in SketchUp for iPad give you more control over groups & components, more import and export options, more ways to customize your interface & toolbars, and more tools to streamline your modeling workflow. 

When we launched SketchUp for iPad, we knew the freedom to model anywhere, and the ability to draw with Apple Pencil would amplify your creativity. These new enhancements boost modeling efficiency and make your design workflow even more your own. With support for hover, Dark Mode, a reimagined Flip tool, customizable shortcut toolbars, Solid Tools, support for DWG, and more, SketchUp for iPad gives you a smoother, more tailored modeling experience.

Import and export DWG & DXF across apps

SketchUp for iPad now supports DWG and DXF import and export; there’s no need to switch back and forth between desktop or web, and iPad applications to bring CAD files onto your iPad. Take your 2D concept from CAD directly into iPad to quickly iterate in 3D and flesh out all the details. Headed back to CAD? Export DWG & DXF files right from iPad to add to your 2D base with the freshly updated files. Your workflow now extends across SketchUp apps and translates seamlessly between any software that relies on DWGs & DXFs.

Precision meets speed with hover

With the new M2 iPad Pro, you can hover Apple Pencil above your iPad and unlock SketchUp’s full inferencing capability. Hover to find an exact midpoint or endpoint, and draw accurately the first time without having to create additional guides or temporary geometry. Hovering also unlocks SketchUp’s pre-inference capability, so you can precisely align objects before you start drawing. Model with Apple Pencil even faster and more precisely on iPad. 

Easy access to your favorite tools

Model by Tommy Rouse & Tammy Cody

SketchUp for iPad now offers two fully customizable shortcut toolbars, each with room for up to eight tools and settings. Match the interface to your unique workflow and keep your go-to tools front and center. 

A few favorites from our power users

• Toggle X-Ray mode on and off to trace over an image
• Switch between Parallel Projection and Perspective modes to view your model in 2D and add dimensions and annotations
• View or Hide geometry to see and edit only what you need
• Hide the rest of your model when editing a group or component to improve performance and focus on your specific task

These are just a few ideas out of loads of possible toolbar shortcuts. However you tailor it, you’ll find fewer interruptions to your flow with your favorite tools and settings always at your fingertips. 

More object control means a faster workflow

Now, you can control groups & components on iPad using Save As & Reload in the Context Menu toolbar and Outliner.

Connect and collaborate

Model by F.L.

Working alongside a large team in 3D has always been a challenge, one that’s critical to timely project delivery. Large teams working on complex projects can use components to iterate on different sections of the same model. Just save individual components to your team’s shared project in Trimble Connect by selecting “Save As > To Trimble Connect” from the Context Menu toolbar. From there, you’re free to work on each component independently — team members can work on different components while someone continues to update the primary model. When edits are ready, just Reload the latest components into the main file, and voila! Discover new ways to work together, even when apart. 

Intelligent iteration

Model by Tommy Rouse & Tammy Cody

Need to test and present alternates for specific products or components in your model? With Reload, it’s a snap. By reloading components from the 3D Warehouse, you can test multiple options in your design. Just build one base model, then use Reload to replace all instances of a component with the alternate. Watch the possibilities unfold faster than ever. 

Curated components

Save, manage, and access your own component libraries on any device across all versions of SketchUp. Choose “Save As > To 3D Warehouse.” You have the option to either keep your components private or share your component libraries with SketchUp's global community by making them public. To replace components with something else from your library, just navigate to “Reload > From 3D Warehouse.”

Built-in ease with Tag Folders

Model by F.L.

Simplicity now comes standard with Tag Folders. Efficiently create and organize long lists of Tags in the iPad app. Tags and Tag Folders now seamlessly transition from Desktop & Web apps to iPad, and vice versa, for consistent organization while modeling and presenting. Easily show and hide various design concepts by toggling multiple Tags on and off in one click using Tag Folders. No matter what device you’re working on, consistent Tags across apps mean effortless organization.

Flip with confidence

Land those flip transformations right the first time with the reimagined Flip tool. After activating Flip, you’ll clearly see the planes you can mirror about. Tapping any of the planes will flip the selection about that plane while dragging the planes lets you set a custom location for the transformation. Now you can flip with 100% confidence – no guessing or rework.

Not sure about a furniture layout? Activate flip and zip through different configurations. Flip your model, and it will flip your creative perspective, too.

Pro Tip: mirror your model to build more efficient components or make symmetrical copies. Toggle on Flip/Copy Mode to keep the original selection and create a mirrored copy. Save time with any revisions by only editing one instance of the flipped component, while all other instances update simultaneously. 

No geometry too complex with Solid Tools 

Solid Tools make modeling intricate geometry a breeze — and they’re now included in SketchUp for iPad. If you want to model precise objects like joinery or need to create complicated shapes from the combination of two (or more) solids, look no further than Solid Tools.

Solid Tools snapshot

• Trim uses object A to cut object B, but both objects remain in the model, so you can trim multiple objects using the same cutting object. A great example, Trim lets you use the top plate of your wall to cut the birdsmouth detail in roof rafters.
• Intersect cuts two solids and leaves only the overlapping geometry. Intersect object A and B to create an entirely new geometry, object C. For example, analyze the volume of soil to be excavated for a building foundation by intersecting the building model with site topography.
• Split breaks intersecting solids into pieces wherever they overlap without deleting anything. Quickly develop massing and void studies by splitting overlapping forms and choosing which pieces to keep and which to remove.  
• Subtract uses solid A to cut away from B, removing solid A and the overlapping geometry between the two solids — cut an opening in a curved surface much faster than using Intersect Faces.
• Union combines two solids (or as many as you want) into a single form and removes only overlapping interior geometry. No need to heal or erase geometry; Union makes merging solids a cinch.
• Outer Shell is similar to Union except that it removes all interior geometry, creating a solid from only the outermost faces of your solids — join multiple roof sections into one solid.

Pro Tip: See Solid Tools in action in our instructor videos in the app. Look for the after tapping each Solid Tool.

Dark Mode is easy on the eyes

Model by Alberto Beitia

Creativity doesn’t follow a normal schedule, and what’s “normal” these days anyway? An all-new visual experience for iPad, Dark Mode lets you turn down the brightness to reduce eye strain and keep creating, day or night. Night owls rejoice! Toggle between Light and Dark themes in Settings depending on your environment and modeling mood. 

Pro tip: if you use Night Shift to control your screen color and brightness, you can set SketchUp to follow your System theme, automatically transitioning from Light to Dark and vice versa on the schedule you’ve already defined. 

Go ahead and try it on iPad

Explore all the new potential to build your anything with a free seven-day trial or access it immediately if you are a current SketchUp subscriber. Download the App to start, or check out our plans and pricing page to purchase.

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