Mac issues

It is only possible to repair a Mac SketchUp installation by doing a clean reinstallation. But before that is attempted, there are some other things to try to fix the underlying cause of problem. First try updating the operating system, then move on to repairing preferences and disk permissions.

Update the Operating System. Unlike Windows, Apple bundles its graphics driver updates into operating system updates.

• • Other mac users who were using System 10.7.3 (Lion) or 10.7.4 on their Macs, were having a problem where the cursor was about 1/4" from where it should be. According to the SketchUp guys, the solution was to upgrade to System 10.7.5 or higher.

• Open Call for OS X Mountain Lion Issues Things to know about Mac upgrades and SketchUp AND another time to trash the plist and reset permissions... xxxx [dead link]

Update Safari. Take this time to clean out the browser cookies and cache. SketchUp uses the default browser for dialogs and connections to the internet.

Close SketchUp before doing this.

Trash plist(s) associated with SketchUp, located at: /Users/<your_username>/Library/Preferences/

• • • com.atlast.sketchup.plist

    • com.google.sketchuppro.plist

    • com.google.sketchuppro8.plist

    • com.google.sketchupfree.plist

    • com.sketchup.SketchUp.2013.plist

    • com.sketchup.SketchUp.2014.plist

    • com.sketchup.SketchUp.2015.plist

    • com.google.LayOut.plist

    • com.sketchup.LayOut.plist

    • com.google.style_builder.plist

    • com.sketchup.style_builder.plist

    • Empty the trash.

    • PreferenceCleaner An Apple utility to remove preference files.

Note: The preference list stores your customized SketchUp options. Deleting the preference list will cause SketchUp to appear as it was freshly installed. Toolbar will be in the default locations. Sorry.

Note²: With the release of Lion, the User library is now hidden by default. Type (or copy/paste) the following into terminal and your user library will no longer be hidden:

chflags nohidden ~/Library/

<return>

Access the preference folder by going to the Finder-->hold the <Option> key down ( this will unhide the needed folder)

• 1. Choose GO menu-->Library---->Preferences. Scroll down until you find any SketchUp specific plist files. Delete them.

  2. While in the Library folder, find "Saved Application State" folder. Select any SketchUp specific files. Delete them.

  3. As of Mavericks (Mac OS X 10.9) preferences are cached by the OS and will be restored the next time you restart SketchUp unless you force the OS to reload the cache. To do so, either log off and then back in, or else open the terminal and type: killall cfprefsd

  4. Restart SketchUp

• How do I open the complete Materials Browser in Pro? All I have is the color wheel. No pickers etc. Example of a plist problem. xxxx [dead link] Read more below... XXX

Repairing Disk Permissions is one of the things to do when little things start going wrong, like when File > Open recent files no longer show up, SketchUp keeps asking for license information...

• 1. Restart your computer.

  2. Open a Finder window.

  3. Click "Applications."

  4. Click "Utilities."

  5. Double-click "Disk Utility."

  6. Select your hard drive.

  7. Select the "First Aid" tab.

  8. Click "Repair Disk Permissions."

  9. After the permissions are repaired, exit Disk Utility.

  10. Repeat steps one through nine once more just to be safe.

Note: As of El Capitan (OS X 10.11) the repair disk permissions operation is gone from Disk Utility due to the introduction of System Integrity Protection (SIP). Supposedly, due to the new permissions protection of critical system files, this action is no longer necessary because nothing can change the permissions on the protected areas - not even a root user. There is a workaround for very advanced users, but it should not be necessary in general.

There have been some problems with stricter file/folder permissions in recent operating system updates. This problem has affected access to the license file (affecting Pro and Free users both) and the program's Plugins folder. Such permissions can be reset.

Resetting the license file (from Barry Janzen, Trimble SketchUp team member):

• 1. In Finder, type Command-shift-g

  2. Paste in this line "/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/SketchUp.dat" and type enter.

  3. Finder should be showing SketchUp.dat. Type Command-i (for Get Info)

  4. In the info panel, go to the bottom where it says "Sharing and Permissions". Click on the lock in the lower left of the window and authenticate.

  5. Change the setting for everyone from "Read only" to "Read & Write".

  6. Now edit the file in TextEdit and it should stick.

.rbz plugin files will not install or load with SU 8 and OS X Mountain Lion

From Sage Berlydrue, the problem has cropped up because Mountain Lion does not allow any "unknown" entities to install. It's a new (and aggravating) level of security on the Mac. It happened to me also when I updated to Mountain Lion recently.

The plugin folder where the "'.rbz" file has to be installed (unzipped) to, has a new higher level of "permissions". Previously (pre Mountain Lion) the permissions for this folder were set to "read & write". Now, in Mountain Lion, they are set to "read only". These permissions are also known as "chmod 666" or "chmod 755".

It's easy to fix these permissions on the Mac, without having to use terminal commands.

• 1. Find the plugin folder. MacHD/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/plugins

  2. Select the plugins folder by clicking once on it ( don't double click )

  3. Press <Command> i (for info)

  4. When the plugins folder info window opens, click on small padlock in bottom right, sign in with admin. pwd.

  5. Click on "sharing and permissions" to open options

  6. Change all groups to "Read & Write"

  7. Click on padlock again to prevent further changes.

  8. Close window

  9. Extensions installer should now be able to install ".rbz" plugins

Be prepared to dedicate some time investigating freezing and crashing problems - especially if the problem affects the entire computer. All parts of a computer need to play nice together - OS, hardware, all software, all drivers, plugins, etc. Yes, freezing from SketchUp can be caused by the program software OR it may be a symptom of something else going wrong.

From SketchUp support Barry: If your computer freezes and you need to restart your machine, do not use the kill switch. Does "your machine respond to Command-Option-Escape? If so, kill it there rather than the power button. That will induce a spincontrol dump and may give some clues, storing the spin dump at /Library/Logs/HangReporter/.

• • Use this information in a bug report and/or discussion

  • The dump may list problematic processes/drivers to better focus the crash investigation.

• • The steps from the SketchUp Knowledge Base.

  • A more extreme reinstallation also includes trashing the customizable folders like Materials, Plugins, etc. after saving your custom additions. Follow-up post.

  • Missing Ruby Console Menu Item on Mac OS X An issue for case-sensitive OS.

Application cleaners, like AppCleaner, can be tried, but be careful. Some cleaners may hunt for everything with "SketchUp" in the name. If that happens, other SketchUp versions installed on the computer may also be inadvertently removed - or the application may only be partially removed. AppCleaner displays the files it finds before removing them - which at least gives you the ability to double-check what is being deleted.

There may be a unique conflict with with your system environment that is causing a conflict. One way to test this is to create a new user account on your computer. Please create a new user account with Admin permissions on your Mac, log in to this new account, then try re-installing SketchUp Pro once more with these instructions:

• 1. Uninstall SketchUp by visiting our Uninstall instructions

  2. After uninstalling, try repairing disk permissions once more:

     1. 1. Restart your computer.

        2. Open a Finder window.

        3. Click Applications.

        4. Click Utilities.

        5. Double-click Disk Utility.

        6. Select your hard drive.

        7. Select the First Aid tab.

        8. Click Repair Disk Permissions.

        9. After the permissions are repaired, exit Disk Utility.

        10. Please repeat steps "1" through "9" once more.

  3. Log in to your computer with the new user account that has administrative privileges.

  4. Download SketchUp again.

  5. When the download completes, double-click on the install file and follow the on-screen instructions.

Check to see if you have any Ruby plugins installed that could have accidentally disabled those features that are missing. The old method of disabling plugins was to temporarily remove them from SketchUp's plugin folder:

'Hard Drive'/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins

But if you have SketchUp 8, Maintenance release 2, or newer, the second maintenance released added a new way to disable all plugins through the Ruby Console.

If disabling Ruby resolves the issue, then disabling or uninstalling any recently installed plugins.

In more extreme cases it may be necessary to try Safe Mode for troubleshooting. By stopping some things from loading, a safe mode startup helps by isolating problems caused by other programs, drivers, and other stuff loading at startup. And it can help by singling out the graphics driver. Safe mode loads a default graphics card driver. But it is also possible to mark that driver as essential so it will load.

• Sketch up fading out problems Mouse driver may have caused scroll wheel Zooming to misbehave.

• Make sure the OS/video driver/patches/Safari are completely updated.

• Disable Fast Feedback - SketchUp > Preferences > OpenGL and uncheck Use fast feedback

• Turn off AirPort or internet connection while working in SketchUp (this is from an older problem several years ago, so this may not apply anymore.)

• Sketchup freezes after working for short time (new Leopard update)

• SketchUp 7 constantly freezing for a few seconds Problem with low-end graphics card Intel GMA950 | Lepard hang fix

• Sketchup 7 Pro freezing system - Mac Pro Old example of troubleshooting

  • • Follow-up results from SketchUp Support bjanzen (Barry) - problems isolated to a printer driver in an old case and OS/hardware in the other...

The Mac Material browser has a lot of special features courtesy of the operating system - if the user can get to them...

Activate the 'Colors' window, to see the colors...

• • it is found in the SU menu 'Windows' >> 'Materials'...

  • or you can set 'SketchUp' >> 'Preferences' >> 'Drawing' >> 'Auto Activate Paint Tool'

If the Materials dialog box is gone all together, these steps are recommended to reset your workspace:

• 1. Click "SketchUp" > "Preferences."

  2. Click "Workspace" in the left pane.

  3. Click "Reset Workspace."

Ruby Console method

• 1. Add the code below to the Ruby Console

  2. Press Return

%x(open /Applications/SketchUp\\ 2013/SketchUp.app/Contents/Resources/Content/Materials)

In SketchUp, push the 'B' key to bring up the paint bucket.

At the top-right of the pallet, you'll see a little pill shaped button. Push that button to expand the toolbar and all of the other color options along with the SketchUp brick will appear.

The pill shaped button in the upper right corner from earlier versions of Mac OS X has been removed by Mac OS X 10.8. If SketchUp was used under Mac OS 10.6, and last had the Color window in the collapsed state, the preferences file will have remembered that. If you have the dialog box, but the Color wheel, sliders, brick, etc... icons are missing, then reset SketchUp's preferences file:

• 1. Open a new Finder window.

  2. Click the word "Go" in the menu bar.

  3. Press and hold the Option key on your keyboard. The "Library" folder should appear in the Go drop-down list.

  4. Click "Library"

  5. Open the "Preferences" folder.

  6. Drag any of these files (if present) to your Trash:

     • com.atlast.sketchup.plist

     • com.google.sketchuppro.plist

     • com.google.sketchupfree.plist

     • com.google.sketchuppro7.plist

     • com.google.sketchupfree7.plist

     • com.google.sketchuppro8.plist

     • com.google.sketchupfree8.plist

• • • com.sketchup.SketchUp.2013.plist

    • com.sketchup.SketchUp.2014.plist

    • com.google.LayOut.plist

    • com.sketchup.LayOut.plist

    • com.google.style_builder.plist

    • com.sketchup.style_builder.plist

More on preferences. XXX

If resetting the preferences is not enough, move on to fixing disk permissions:

• 1. Restart your computer.

  2. Open a Finder window.

  3. Click Applications.

  4. Click Utilities.

  5. Double-click Disk Utility.

  6. Select your hard drive.

  7. Select the First Aid tab.

  8. Click Repair Disk Permissions.

  9. After the permissions are repaired, exit Disk Utility.

  10. Please repeat steps one through nine once more.

If rebuilding preferences and disk permissions do not restore the missing features to the Materials browser, then reinstall SketchUp. XXX

• • Call to Mac users for script portability Fredo's survey to help prevent future issues with Mac.

• SketchUp 2013

• • • Mac HD > Users > [User] > Library > Application Support > SketchUp 2013 > SketchUp > [Folder, e.g. Components]

    • an alternative: Open a new Finder window, press and hold the Option key on your keyboard, the click Go in the menu bar > Library > Application Support > SketchUp 2013 > SketchUp > Plugins.

• Pre-SketchUp 2013 - 'Hard Drive' [your user name]/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins

  • • This "Library" folder is at the top level of your hard drive & should not be confused with the folder of the same name in your user (home) folder. If you are having trouble finding it, from the Finder, select "Go to Folder" from the "Go" menu. In the box that appears, type "/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/plugins" (without the quotes) & click the "Go" button.

    • Calling Whaat and Fredo!! new MAC issues (SOLVED) Troubleshooting the confusing issues about plugin location on a Mac hard drive.

If there is a problem finding the Plugins directory to manually install a plugin - in either Windows or Mac - open SketchUp and open the Ruby Console (found under the Window menu). Enter the following code:

UI.openURL("file://#{Sketchup.find_support_file("Plugins")}")

Press Enter (Return on a Mac.)

This will open a window with the correct directory.

Note: Some scripts come with several files and folders. They all go in the Program's Plugins directory shown above. Do not create any sub-directories of your own to contain script files and folders.

Some program freezing and crashing can be caused by 3rd party plugins. Troubleshooting plugin-related crashes have become easier with SketchUp 8 maintenance release 2. All plugins can be disabled from the Ruby console inside SketchUp. However, disabling all plugins only helps to identify a problem caused by some plugin, not which plugin. An if someone has over two hundred plugins, The long-standing method of troubleshooting naughty plugins (and what needs to be done to identify a specific plugin) is to remove half of the plugins from the Plugins directory, restart SketchUp. If the problem continues, remove half of the remaining plugins and restart SketchUp again. You get the idea? Continuing to dividing things in half to isolate the problem forms a binary tree.

When the upgrade to Mountain Lion occurred, it ushered in a new level of permission security by not allowing any "unknown" entities to install. This affects the ability to install plugins. See how to add folder permission above. XXX

• my spacebar hot key now brings up a Geo location dialog box in some drawings how do i stop this How to change keyboard behavior in system preference.xxx

  • SketchUp_Intro_MAC Mighty Mouse, Magic Mouse and one-button mouse set-up.

  • MagicPrefs Free app to add extra function to Magic Mouse, Magic Trackpad and MacBook glass trackpad.

• OS X Lion How To Reverse Scroll Direction

  • Space bar not selecting pointer tool on start-up Adjusting pointer set-up. xxxx [dead link]

  • Scroll Reverser Free app to change the direction of scrolling.

  • USB Overdrive Remap pointer devices.

    • (also good for remapping back and forward keys of non-Apple mice), get it installed, then head to Sys Prefs and open in, in the settings tab, click the drop down menu and hit 'new duplicate settings'. For the Application, hit 'choose' and go find your version of Sketchup (in Applications). Then for wheel up and wheel down, just invert the direction. (I have wheel up = down, wheel down = up, but you might be opposite, as I use 'Scroll Reverser' across the whole system - so I can still swipe left and right and get expected results, but scroll up and down in the way I expect it to work.) I then headed immediately to Sketchup and it worked instantly =]. from matt334455

To get the middle button of a 3 button mouse to Orbit, go to Mac System Preferences --- choose Mouse settings. Set the middle (orbit) button to "button 3" instead of "Mission Control".

• • Install dificulties A Lion update broke a linkage between the ".mpkg" file and the installer. xxxx [dead link]

  • installin sketchup Some troubleshooting for MPKG installer problems.

  • SketchUp 7 Installation Help Needed Dusty found his OS 10.4.11 was missing the MPKG Installer program that works with DMG files.

  • SketchUp 8 won't install Here there was a problem with the verify disk permission from a Lion install. xxxx[dead link]

  • Pacifist | Pacifist One person used this application instead of fixing a sick installer.

Getting a request for keychain permission when starting SketchUp?

Go to /Applications/Utilities/Keychain Access.app and search for SketchUp. You should find one for SketchUp. Click on Access Control. It should have "Confirm before allowing access" selected, but not "Ask for Keychain password" checked underneath that.

• • What is wrong with my textures? My model won't upload Separately save and reimport SketchUp textures that used the Create unique texture within SketchUp.

  • I have a new mac and downloaded sketchup. The lines are very jagged. Turning off fast feedback doesn't work John Bacus describes how to adjust Mac anti-aliasing through the Ruby console.

  • I tried to set shortcuts on my mac and all existing shortcuts were nuked Fixing an old bug.

  • Sketchup Animation Controller doesn't appear John Bacus explains how Mac-users need to make a button if they want an animation play/pause toolbar like that which appears on Windows machines.

  • Component Window not working A problem with system fonts caused problems with SketchUp.

  • Sketchup 8 asks for access to my keychain (Mac OSX) information each time I start it . Why? OS asking for SketchUp passwords for web-based features. xxxx [dead link] Alternatively, there's a file in the wrong folder: Licensing SketchUp in a Snow Leopard network. xxxx [dead links]

• Work Around for Mac OS Case Sensitive Drive Format & Plugins Issue Shannon Love

  • Save/Don't Save problem in SketchUp8 for Mac A plug-in may cause an unexpected file closing dialog on unchanged models.

• Sketchup colorpicker additions break other applications Dabel found that trashing the NSColorPanelSwatches.plist in the user's Library/Colors/ folder fixed this odd problem.

• sketchup mac, selection point is smaller than usual Beryldrue describes how to make the screen larger through Mac system preferences. xxxx [dead link]

  • Space bar not selecting pointer tool on start up flyleaf describes a keyboard command technique to make shortcuts work. xxxx [dead link]

• • Mac: no Google Earth snapshot! Some troubleshoot Mac problems with Google Earth 5. It also contains some good instructions on doing a clean reinstallation of SketchUp by SketchUp team member Barry.

  • google earth export opens Photoshop CS4 markp and zyber found a fix for this Mac issue.

  • When I click "Preview model in Google Earth," Photoshop opens and I get an error message. How can I fix this? Beryldrue describes how to fix this problem.

• • SwitchResX For people with high-resolution monitors, customize screen resolution for each running program. Fee

• • MacBook Pro: Distorted video or no video issues MacBook Pro 15-inch and 17-inch models with NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT graphics processors may have a hardware problem.

If anyone needs to submit any bug or technical support requests about a problematic Mac installation, there is some useful stuff that should be included.

A technical support request to SketchUp or any of the other Mac technical support sites would be more complete with the following information:

In a Terminal session enter:

system_profiler -detaillevel full > ~/filenameofyourchoice

(~ or tilde is Unix for "your home directory")

The results will appear in the User directory.

Find recent boo-boo reports from crashes, hangs and panics from SketchUp at:

Finder > ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/

Finder > ~/Library/Logs/PanicReporter/

Finder > ~/Library/Logs/HangReporter/

Additional required info:

• • Confirm if this happens on any file, even a brand new file.

  • If it's on a specific file, send in that file.

  • Makes notes about what was being done in SketchUp when the problem occurred.

  • Try to duplicate the problem.

  • Is there anything else running when you use SketchUp... iTunes? Firefox? Safari? EVERYTHING (System Profiles is only gives general system configuration information - not what happened when the crash or other problem occurred)

  • Is SketchUp slow before the crash?

If SketchUp malfunctions are symptoms of something going array with the computer, here are some other place to check out for help.

• • Macsimum Links to troubleshooting sites, utilities and forums

  • Developer Connection An Apple site. Information about memory management in this specific link.

  • basic troubleshooting for Mac bob collected some articles about how to hunt down problems.