I am using a Mac and sketchUp pro.
In LayOut I go to file and insert. The box opens up and I see some of my older sketchUp files just fine. BUT, most of the sketchUp files and the one that I need to insert from is grayed out and has some kind of circle???
Can someone explain what is going on and how to fix please?
Open the skp file and then use the send to layout command under teh file menu.
ok, on a mac, this is a copy / synchronisation progression bar. or progression pie.
you can also see it on the left next to icloud.
My guess is, you couldnât import the file in layout at the moment of your screenshot because they were either being uploaded to icloud, or downloaded. at least they were âblockedâ from writing in order to be dealt with.
If thatâs the case, either wait for your sync to finish, or manually sync stuff when youâre done working, Or indeed, open the file in SU, pretty sure itâll stop the sync. from there you can âsend to layoutâ.
Careful though, many cases of âmy file is broken, helpâ we see on this forum are linked to files stored on clouds. Because if your file is being edited while being transferred, it might result in data loss or file corruption.
so you might consider either manual backup, or at least on schedule.
I donât use icloud, but swissbackup to backup my mac on a server. Backup is at 12h40. because when Iâm teaching, I usually end at 12h30, and when Iâm not teaching, I⌠kinda keep the rythm. so at 12h40, chances are low that Iâm using an important file, during backup.
The three .skp files shown in gray are backup files. The third one with the two tildes is a backup of a backup meaning you opened Barndominium 2023.skp~, edited that file, and then saved that. Itâs a good idea to leave the backup files alone. Only open and edit the working file which doesnât have the tilde. Donât add those backup files to your LO file, either. By editing the backup file instead of the working file and then ending up with additional backup files you have multiple unmatched copies of the file which will create all sorts of trouble.
âOpen the skp file and then use the send to layout command under teh file menu.â
The problem with that approach is that for some reason layOut opens at my page 18 and the page where this file needs to go is page 3. And for all my other scenes that goes on specific pages. Being for some reason I can not match the sketchUp scene with the correct LayOut page that way I figure that I can try to insert sketchUp from each corresponding page.
And that approach still does not address why is there a problem and how to fix it with LayOut not being able to open some sketchUp files?
Yes, I figured that out and disconnected from the iCloud thing. But the problem still exists. the files on my computer are still grayed out.
as DaveR said, the greyed out files are the backup versions, they end with a ~. itâs the mac equivalent of skb files
you shouldnât use them in your layout, as is at least.
letâs say you saved at 19h38, then again at 19h53, the normal fil will be the one form 19h53, the ~file will be the one from 19h38. itâs older, itâs backup.
so letâs take your 4 files again :
the first is ok.
the second one is the backup of the first. off course you canât put it in layout, again, itâs just a backup.
The reasl problem you have is the third one. My gess is you opened a backup, and saved as (or duplicate + rename) and forgot to remove the ~at the end. so even though youâve been working in this file, layout still sees it as a backup.
how do I know that ?
Line 4, you see it has two ~. meaning you worked on the one from line 3, and in order to create its backup, sketchup added another ~.
Why donât SU for mac use the skp / skb format ? no idea. someone probably knows.
What can you do ? simple.
Take the 3rd file, edit its name, and remove the ~
same with the 4rth file, delete ONE ~
then, youâll have two 2017 version, normal and backup, and two 2023 version, normal and backup. And layout should be able to import both normals, but not the backups (~ files)
It would be nice if the .skp~ werenât shown at all in the Import window. On the PC the .skb backup files donât show in the Import panel at all. And they donât show in File>Open in SketchUp either. I expect it would reduce confusion and errors.
âThe three .skp files shown in gray are backup files. The third one with the two tildes is a backup of a backup meaning you opened Barndominium 2023.skp~, edited that file, and then saved that. Itâs a good idea to leave the backup files alone. Only open and edit the working file which doesnât have the tilde. Donât add those backup files to your LO file, either. By editing the backup file instead of the working file and then ending up with additional backup files you have multiple unmatched copies of the file which will create all sorts of trouble.â
Thank you for your response and I am following what you stated. However, how do I find the original file without the tilde? I can not find it anywhere on my computer.
Even when I do a âsave asâ I would think that would give me a new original file but it does not, it still show a tilde thereby showing that it is a copy.
So, if what you are saying is that LayOut will only allow access to the original file and that does not have a tilde. I can understand that and be watchful for now on regarding which file I open.
But for now I have to find my original.
Thanks for you help. Very useful.
It must be some place unless you perhaps deleted it. Look at the ones with the tildes and figure out which one is the most current. Then rename it as a plain old .skp file without the tilde. That will at least give you a new baseline to work from. And then that .skp file will be insertable.
Yeah because thatâs the extension of the file you opened.
I donât know what order youâve been working on the files but if you were actually opening the backup file to edit it, it will be newer than the original one anyway.
Thank you so much. Now I can continue with my work and I know better next time. A simple fix once one knows what to look for and how to fix it. THANKS ALOT!
your welcome, however, Dave deserves the solution, he saw the ~ issue, from there it was easy to fix 
Maybe I like to play with fire, but I disable the creation of a backup file, I set the auto save to 5 mins though, so if the program crashes Iâve lost maximum 5 mins of work, I used to have enabled the backup, but on my previous computer I ran out of storage memory, I just got rid of all the backups and had 60 gb free, it took a lot of time to do so, it was like 5 years of projects.
Maybe some expert could explain this to me, if the program crashes, and the last time the file was saved it was automatic, when I open sketchup again, the auto save is kept on a temporary file or itâs directly saved on the original file?
