What’s changed with the Add Location and Photo Textures feature in SketchUp?
The Add Location feature that was powered by free data from Google has changed to another provider. After Trimble’s acquisition of SketchUp from Google in 2012, Google agreed to provide this data service for five additional years. This grace period of five years ended this May. Old features are no longer available as of May 22nd 2017. Trimble and SketchUp have changed geographic data providers so that it can continue to enable the Add Location feature in some versions of SketchUp.
We understand that modeling in SketchUp with geographic data has been an important feature for so many. As a result, we are taking steps to provide access to geographic data in SketchUp Make 2017 (in the form of Map information) and SketchUp Pro 2017 (in the form of satellite imagery and terrain data).
In addition, the Photo Textures feature is no longer be accessible in any version of SketchUp once this transition is complete. There is no similar data service available for SketchUp at this time.
| Location Based Features | Older Versions | my.SketchUp | SketchUp Make 2017 | SketchUp Pro 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Add Location | ||||
| Location Terrain | ||||
| Location Imagery | ||||
| Photo Textures via Google Street View |
How does this affect me?
It depends on which version of SketchUp you’re currently using. Please locate the version below to learn more:
SketchUp 2017 (Pro or Make)Because Google was able to provide this data for free, this service was easily available to all SketchUp users. To continue supporting the Add Location feature, the new data provider comes with licensing fees. For that reason, Add Location’s satellite imagery and terrain will be accessible in SketchUp Pro 2017 going forward.
SketchUp Make 2017 will have access to Map information only – no satellite or terrain information will be available.
my.SketchUpBecause the new geodata service that SketchUp comes with licensing fees, my.SketchUp will behave just like SketchUp Make and have access to Map information only. Satellite imagery and terrain data will not be made accessible.
SketchUp 2016 (Pro or Make) and older versions of SketchUpAt this time, there is no feasible way to update these versions of SketchUp to use the new geodata service. The Add Location and Photo Textures features will no longer function.
What are my options?
The older Google provided data is no longer available.
- If you're using SketchUp Make and you wish to have access to location data for terrain or imagery you'll need to upgrade to SketchUp Pro 2017.
- If you're using an older version of SketchUp Pro and your Maintenance and Support Plan is current then you can upgrade to SketchUp Pro 2017 at no cost.
- If you're using an older version of SketchUp Pro and your Maintenance and Support Plan is NOT current, you'll need to renew your plan to allow you to upgrade to SketchUp Pro 2017.
How do I access geographic data?
After May 22nd 2017, SketchUp Pro 2017 (or newer version) will be the best version of SketchUp that matches the behavior for Add Location that’s powered by Google data.
- If you are in SketchUp 2017, use the Layer's selector in the upper right to change between new and old layer.
- The data layer you choose will be imported into SketchUp and will not change if you toggle terrain off
SketchUp Pro 2016 (or older)
If you’re using an older SketchUp Pro license with an expired Maintenance and Support plan, one option is to renew your plan here, which will generate a license to support the current version of SketchUp Pro.
SketchUp Make 2017
We chose to enable Map information data from Open Street Map when using Add Location in SketchUp Make 2017. What’s great about OSM is that anyone can contribute data to ensure accuracy. If you are a SketchUp Make user who needs road data in a particular location, check out how you can contribute to OSM.
SketchUp Make 2016 (or older)
There will be no changes made to SketchUp Make 2016 (and older) to utilize the new geodata provider. Add Location and Photo Textures will no longer be working features in these versions. We suggest utilizing SketchUp Make 2017 or my.Sketchup if possible to access the Add Location feature.
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