Hello! Mac user here. Our office just updated from SketchUp 2026 to SketchUp 2027. We are a full service design firm and use SketchUp/Layout for floor plans, models, and visualization. One major part of our workflow is using materials to give our clients a close picture of what their project will look like. Because of this, we have built a large library of materials that we regularly use in a dedicated file. Our typical workflow usually involves having that library open in one instance (along with several other custom libraries of cabinetry, plumbing, etc.) and the model we are working on in another. We were then able to use the dropper tool to select a color from the library and then apply it in the project. I believe this is because SketchUp was utilizing the native Mac color management tray instead of their proprietary one.
Now however, the eyedropper selection is file-specific, so when we select a color in one window, we cannot apply it in another. I recognize that a workaround to this is to copy a whole object and paste it into the project to then select its color, but that is adding extra steps to a very well optimized workflow, and if possible I’d like to avoid that outcome. Another workaround is to simply take the time to upload our library into the dedicated materials panel in our template file so that it is always loaded up. This works for our most used materials, but on several occasions, there is a one-off color/material that I would like to reuse from another project that I now have to open, copy an object, paste it, and then eyedropper it instead of simply having a universal eyedropper like before.
I recognize the seemingly minute nature of this problem, but working with colors and materials is such a major part of our office’s workflow that we are considering moving back to SketchUp 2026 and maybe even staying there if this is never resolved. I am wondering if others would benefit from perhaps a toggle between the new method (SketchUp’s proprietary color tray) and the old (Mac’s native color tray). If there were only a toggle I would imagine there would not be a large resource pull on development and would in turn satisfy both those who prefer the old method like my office, and those who prefer the new method.
If anyone does know of a way to fix this or an available plug-in that solves this issue, I know several people who would be extremely grateful.
Thanks!