Toolbars
Note: SketchUp 2027 introduces a unified interface for both Windows and MacOS. The MacOS interface is slightly different in older versions of SketchUp. For more information on these differences, see MacOS and Older Versions of SketchUp.
Toolbars help you organize SketchUp tools within your workspace. Each available toolbar represents a group of tools with a common use case. For example, when you first open SketchUp, the Getting Started toolbar provides you with all the basic tools you need to start modeling.
SketchUp provides the following toolbars by default:
Toolbar | What it’s used for | Available Tools/Features |
Add Location | Geo-locating your model | Add Location |
Camera | Viewing your model from different angles | Orbit, Pan, Zoom, Zoom Window, Zoom Extents, Undo Previous Camera View, Position Camera, Look Around, Walk |
Classifier | Modeling with BIM (Building Information Modeling) and IFC data | Classifier |
Construction | Modeling precisely | Tape Measure, Dimensions, Protractor, Text, Axes, 3D Text |
Drawing | Drawing a 3D model. | Line, Freehand, Rectangle, Rotated Rectangle, Circle, Arc, 2-Point Arc, 3-Point Arc, Pie |
Dynamic Components | Developing and managing Dynamic Components | Interact, Component Options, Component Attributes |
Edit | Editing entities in your model | Move, Push/Pull, Rotate, Follow Me, Scale, Flip, Offset |
Getting Started | Basic toolbar with everything you need to get started. | Search, Select, Eraser, Line, Arc, Rectangle, Offset, Move, Rotate, Scale, Flip, Tape Measure, Paint Bucket, Rotate, Pan, Zoom, Zoom Extents, 3D Warehouse, Extension Warehouse, Send to LayOut, Comments, User Info |
Large Tool Set | Eexpanded toolbar providing more specialized tools. | All tools in the Getting Started, Construction, Drawing, Measurement, and Edit toolbars along with each of their variants |
Measurements | Modeling with precision | The Measurements box in the bottom of the window |
Principal | Basic entity management tools | Select, Make Component, Paint Bucket, Eraser |
Sandbox | Modeling TINs to create terrain or rounded objects | From Contours, From Scratch, Smoove, Stamp, Drape, Add Detail, Flip Edge |
Section | Adding section planes that create a view inside your model | Section Plane, Display Section Plane, Display Section Cut, Display Section Fill |
Shadows | Adjusting shadow settings or studying shadows at different times of day | Shadows, Date, Time |
Solid Tools | Use solid entities in your models as tools | Outer Shell, Intersect, Union, Subtract, Trim, Split |
Standard | Accessing basic file and clipboard commands from a toolbar | New, Open, Save, Cut, Copy, Paste, Erase, Undo, Redo, Print, Info |
Styles | Incorporating multiple styles in your model | X-Ray, Edges, Ambient Occlusion, Wireframe, Hidden Line, Same Shaded, Shaded, Shaded Textures, PBR Materials |
Tags | Organizing groups or components into layers to control visibility | A dropdown providing easy access to your tags |
Trimble Connect | Accessing your content in your Trimble Connect account | File Status, Collaboration |
Views | Switching between camera views | Iso, Top, Front, Right, Left, Back, Bottom |
Warehouse | Sharing or finding a model in 3D Warehouse or managing your extensions in Extension Warehouse. | 3D Warehouse, Upload to 3D Warehouse, Share Component, Extension Warehouse, Extension Manager |
Toolbar Management
You can control the visibility of each toolbar in the Toolbars window. To open the Toolbars window, select View > Toolbars in the main menu.
The Toolbars tab lists all available toolbars, including toolbars created by extensions you’ve installed or custom toolbars. In the Toolbars tab, you can:
Control which toolbars are visible.
Create a new custom toolbar.
Reset a toolbar you’ve customized.
Reset all toolbars to their default settings.
Rename a toolbar.
Delete a toolbar.
In the Options tab of the Toolbars window, you can choose to show or hide tooltips or you can choose to use large or small icons in your toolbars.
You can dock each visible toolbar in the top or bottom of the SketchUp window. The only exception is the Large Tool Set, which can only be docked on the left side.
