How to Use Add Location

SketchUp’s Add Location feature helps you capture and apply geolocation data and imagery to your model. To get started, open the Main Menu or the Shadows panel and click Add Location.

In the Add Location window, narrow down the location where you want to place your model using the text search box. You can type an address, part of an address, or a specific location name. Adjust the zoom level as needed using the controls in the upper right hand corner.

The red and green lines correspond to the red and green axes in your model. The orange arrow represents the True North. Adjust your model's relation to true north by clicking and dragging on the green or red axis lines, or by using the box provided.

After choosing a location and adjusting your model’s position, click Set Geolocation to geolocate your model

After geolocating a model, you can close the Add Location window, or click Import Context to add site context. To define how you want to import site context, choose from the following options:

• Import Type – These options determine how SketchUp imports your site contexts. Choose from Flat Site, Elevated Site, or both. Flat Site applies the map texture to a flat, 2D plane where all context will exist at the same elevation. An Elevated Site gives you the option to import a terrain mesh. With both selected, the elevated site will be hidden by default. Use the Geolocation Content tags in the Tags panel to switch between the different sites.
• Map Texture – Selecting this Context option uses the map texture type you selected under Import Type. To further adjust how the map texture appears, click the context menu () and choose between Satellite Imagery and Street Map. For either option, the Resolution can be set to High, Medium, or Low using the slider. If Satellite Imagery is selected, you can choose to use Bing or Digital Globe as your image provider.
• Terrain Mesh – Available when choosing to import an Elevated Site. Click the context menu () to adjust the mesh density. Higher density increases the number of triangles used in the mesh, but also increases the file size.
• 3D Buildings – Select to integrate the existing buildings from your selected area into the site context you import. As you move the blue frame, SketchUp highlights the buildings that can be imported as site context in dark blue. SketchUp will create simple geometry based on the buildings in your selection during the import process.

After adjusting these settings, click Import Site Context. You can then click Import More to add more site context, or Close to return to the modeling window.

For more details on how you can use all the features in Add Location, see Geolocation and Terrain.