Inference control tips

If your main model axes are not square to the workspace axes, then change the workspace axes. Suspend 'gravity' while orbiting by pressing and holding down the Ctrl button.

I had been using SketchUp for quite a while before I discovered that the angle (camera position) I was looking from influenced the assumptions the program made about what I want to do. When I was looking mostly horizontally, I had a hard time getting a circle flat on the ground. When I orbited to look more downwards, suddenly it was easy. (try orbiting into another position.)

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On your computer, fine-tune your mouse settings - whether at the system level if using the default 2-button mouse, third-party mouse software.

In SketchUp, go to Window > Preferences. The Drawing and Compatibility menus have some mouse options.

draw/work on a plane - even if it is a temporary surface.

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to move a component/group, grab a corner....

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Specifically with regards to issues of trying to move an "item" while in a top-down viewing mode/angle, but where your cursor keeps snapping to other objects that are in close proximity to where you want to position your item, sometimes it is best to turn off the visibility of the neighboring/offending object. This can be done in several ways.

One way is to have already placed and positioned objects on their own Layer which can be turned off until you position your item.

Another way is to "Hide" the geometry of the offending object so your cursor does not snap to it.

There are several ways to hide things.

If you are modeling inside of components or groups, you can adjust the visibility of your workspace outside of the component/group wrapper. Go to the Window menu > Model Info > Components. Tweak 'Fade rest of model' or hide it from that menu. That is a modeling style preference.

Select what all you want to hide > r-click > Hide. To unhide, go to Edit > Unhide. Though if you set up Scenes with geometry visibility options chosen, then after you hide something, click on the Scene button to restore visibility.

To move thing around the workspace, the move cursor does not need to be "on" the object. After selecting the objects, use some other existing geometry as a guide to constrain movement.

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Now after you adjust your Model Info settings to something which fits your modeling requirements (as well as any other settings you prefer) save those preferences to a new template. Saved templates are a collection of SketchUp settings/styles you would like to apply

SketchUp Help - Setting up Templates

su.rickgraham - I have also had problems with 'snapping' especially in tight areas with faces going every way (terrain editing is one example). A little patience and zooming in tight to what I really want to snap to was the solution for me.