I’ve been using Sketchup to make 3D models for printing at Shapeways. All has gone well and I’ve printed a few. Today, out of the blue, the “export to stl” feature disappeared from the File dropdown tab. I usually draw in SU16 Pro as I have all the plug-ins set up to my liking … so I saved, closed and re-opened the model in SU-18 Pro (figuring that they SU had sun-set this feature). Still no joy … has anyone else experienced this?
I’ve never used STL format as of yet. But, in the 2018 version at least:
FILE > EXPORT > 3D MODEL
A window will pop up, change the “Save as type” using the arrow dropdown, select STL from the list.
I’m thinking for some reason that Native STL export were added to the 2018 version, so you may have been using a plugin for the 2016 version? I’m not too sure about that though.
No, not using a plug-in just the features that came with 2016 Pro and 2018 Pro. The odd thing is that about 20 minutes after I posted my question … the “Export STL …” function reappeared (File>Export STL … it appears in the dropdown list between “Print Setup” and “Print Preview”. So, it is working now … no idea why it disappeared for a period this morning.
So its working now in 2016 pro without a plugin? I’m pretty sure it has to be a plugin for the 2016 version, maybe it just failed to load?
As I thought STL were added natively to the 2018 Pro release. The extract below is from the release notes for SketchUp Pro 2018…
That’s what I remember.
Ok … maybe it is a plug-in, but launches from the File tab dropdown. I was thinking that the plug-ins all launched from their own short-cut icons on the tool bar … but you’re probably correct and I’m wrong. Could be that it failed to load for a period of time. It just seemed weird. All is good now – thanks for the responses!
I’m just trying to present you with the facts that’s all. Glad you got it working.
Yes, it is weird to disappear, especially if it’s still missing after relaunching the program.
No worries!! Thanks again! 
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