Hi I’m fairly new to SketchUp and are having trouble with the Smoove tool.
the tool will recognise any “normal” surface but wont activate on a “from scratch” surface.
it does when i explode the component but then i dont get the smooth result I’m looking for.
sorry for the basic question. any pointers are greatly appreciated.
Hi fairly new,
group* 
yes, when you do a surface from scratch, it comes grouped. if you try to Smove it, it’ll simply move everything at once. you either need to explode the group, or enter it.
because of the grid. you can smoove stuff and shape your terrain when everything is smoothed, but it’s harder because you don’t see much.
To have a smooth terrain, select it all (triple click), then right click on it, soften/smooth edges. It’ll add the panel on your right.
There, tick BOTH choices, and move the cursor to the right until all is smooth.
https://help.sketchup.com/en/sketchup/softening-smoothing-and-hiding-geometry
From there, if you have difficulties smooving stuff (because you don’t really see the topography on a smooth terrain), you can simply activate hidden geometry.