Searching for Models and Materials

To search for models in the 3D Warehouse, use the search box at the top. Maybe you want to add premade items to your SketchUp model, such as windows, doors, or furniture. Perhaps you need cars, trees, or other outdoor details. You could even search for a 3D model of a building plan that you can customize with an interior design.

Tip: Whatever 3D model or component you need, you may not have to model it from scratch. Instead, search 3D Warehouse. If you find a premade 3D model that works for you, download the model into your open SketchUp model or onto your hard drive.

To do a basic search for models in 3D Warehouse, type your search term in the Search box, as shown in the figure, and press Enter. Click a model you like to open the model details page and download the model. The following sections explain how to find materials and use the 3D Warehouse filtering and advanced search features.

A search term entered into the 3D Warehouse Search box
Tip: If you need components, the Components panel in SketchUp has a search box that connects to 3D Warehouse.

Searching for materials

3D Warehouse is full of materials you can search for and use. In searching for a model you might find a material you want to save and use in your own model. You can also search for models uploaded specifically for their materials. To find these models, add materials to the end of your search term.

To see the available materials in a model, click Materials in the Model Info pane on the model details page. A list of materials appears on the right. To use the material in your own models, download the material.

Click Materials in the Model Info panel on the 3D Warehouse model details page

Filtering 3D Warehouse search results

A 3D Warehouse search results page allows you to filter your results in a few different ways. With the tabs at the top, you can filter the results to show only models, collections, or catalogs.

In 3D Warehouse, filter search results to show only models or collections
Tip: By default, when you type a search term into the 3D Warehouse Search box, you search for models, collections, and catalogs. However, you might save a little time by searching for only collections or catalogs of models that other users have already organized.

After you search for a term, a sidebar on the left also helps you filter search results. In the Category area, you have the following options:

  • Select an option for the Category drop-down list to filter results to a specific category. For example, if you’re looking for kitchen cabinets, you might select the Interior Design category.

    Tip: Before or after you search, you can also select a category from the gray drop-down list next to the Search box. Click the down arrow to open the menu and select a category from the menu that appears.
  • After you select a category, you’re able to select a subcategory from the Subcategory menu. For example, in the Interior Design category, you might select the Kitchen subcategory.
  • Choose an option from the Product Category menu.
The Category options on a 3D Warehouse search results page

You can also filter models based on certain properties:

  • Toggle on the Manufacturer Model option to see only models created by verified manufacturers in your results.
  • If you’re concerned about file size, use the File Size slider to limit the results to models that are within the file size range that you specify.
  • Limiting the number of polygons is another way to manage the size of a model. Use the Polygons slider to see models with a polygon count that’s within a specified range.
The Properties options on a 3D Warehouse search results page
Tip: Click a model’s thumbnail image in the search results to see the model details page. If you like a model but want to keep searching, click the Favorites icon (), and the model is automatically added to your Favorites folder. When you’re done, open your Favorites folder to see all your favorite models from your search.
Note: To clear your filters, click the Reset All Filters link on the search results page. Find it at the bottom of the left-hand sidebar.

Doing an advanced search

An advanced search enables you to limit your search results based on a broad range of criteria. The Advanced Search pane will appear on the left of your search results, allowing you to fine tune your results based on different criteria.. The Advanced Search pane appears, as shown in the following figure.

An advanced search enables you to limit your search results based on a broad range of criteria. To access the Advanced Search pane, shown in the following figure, search for your desired term and, on the search results page, click the down arrow next to the Advanced Search option in the left-hand sidebar.

The Advanced options on a 3D Warehouse search results page

You have the following options:

  • Dynamic Component: Toggle on this option to limit search results to dynamic components.
  • Geolocated: Toggle on this option to limit search results to geolocated models.
  • Title: To search for a term in the model’s title, enter it in the Title field.
  • Author: To search for a model author, enter it in the Author field. This option is a useful way to find all the models by a specific creator. For example, if you want only kitchen cabinet models created by the SketchUp Official account, you could search for the term kitchen cabinets and then enter SketchUp in the Author field.
  • Modified Date: If want models created before a certain date, enter that date in the To field. If you want models created after a certain date (which is an easy way to find newer models), enter that date in the After field. You can also search for models created within a certain date range by using the From and To fields.

Sorting your search results

In 3D Warehouse, you can sort search results in two ways:

  • Sort Criteria: By default, results are sorted by Relevance. However, you can change the criteria to Popularity, Likes, Author, Title, or Date. To choose a new option, click the current option in the upper right and make your selection from the menu that appears, as shown in the following figure.

    Note: The Popularity, Likes, and Date criteria are sorted by number. The Author and Title criteria are sorted alphabetically.
  • Ascending or Descending: Next to the sort criteria is an arrow. By default, search results are sorted in descending order (such as most relevant to least relevant). To change the sort order to ascending, click the arrow.
The sorting options on a 3D Warehouse search results page
Was this article helpful?