Hi Guys
I just had Layout close itself while updating a model.
On restarting, all Custom Trays are gone, and everything is back to factory settings.
The main menu is back to factory?
Even my Custom scales are gone 
Is there a way to recover my previous setup?
Thanks for any advice as always.
The configuration of the trays and your custom scaled are saved in a file called layout.private.json which is stored in User/AppData/Local/SketchUp/SketchUp2025/LayOut. It sounds as if whatever happened to cause LayOut to quit resulted in a corruption/deletion of that file so LO rewrote the file the next time it started and of course it rewrote it with the default options. Did you get a Bug Splat?
You could set things up again and then go in and copy that .json file to save elsewhere just in case this happens again. Actually I would just open the .json file in NotePad and immediately save it in the same folder with a different name. Then, if you have this issue again, go in and delete the wrong layout.private.json and rename the backup.
Thanks Dave.
No - I didn’t get a Bug Splat. Layout literally just quit while it was updating its SketchUp file reference.
I guess that .json file includes all Preference settings including the Folder locations as well, plus the main toolbar as well.
I will certainly take your advice and back it up after rebuilding my Layout environment.
Is there an equivalent SketchUp file I should backup as well?
Thanks again 
Where is the SketchUp reference saved?
Yes. Or at least most of them.
There is an equivalent in Local/SketchUp/SketchUp 2025/SketchUp. You could save a copy of it, too.
TBH, I’ve never had problems with either of these files. Maybe I’m just lucky.
I used to think that until today
Locally on an SSD in the same Folder as the Layout File.
Well, that’s good.
It’s unfortunate there wasn’t a Bug Splat. Colin could have looked it up to see what went pear-shaped.
Do you have any environments in the model? If so, are there any unused ones to purge?
No - its a fairly simple model and I don’t use environments.
Both files are only about 10MB
I can PM them to you if you have time to give them a quick once over? 
Go ahead and send them. Not sure what I’ll see but maybe …
I have this issue as well. Layout has improved greatly in recent years, but the default tray and icon setup is pretty weak. I like two have two sets of trays and a bunch more default buttons in the toolbar but they reset frequently which is super annoying.
I am going to try to save the preference file to a separate location and see if that recovers this next time. I wish SketchUp would improve the way the interface is saved so this isn’t a common issue.
I don’t know. A few users report this problem but there are many who don’t. I’ve never had trays or toolbars reset in LayOut and I’ve been using it since the first version was released. What’s different between LayOut on your machine and on mine? It’s the same version of LayOut.
I guess I don’t know. I am running Layout 2025 on a Windows 11 PC. Maybe I need to run a recovery install of Layout. Ughh.
I am, too.
Maybe a repair of SketchUp and LayOut which isn’t a huge investment of time or engery. Find the current installer in your Downloads folder or get it from the SketchUp site. Right click on the installer, choose Run as administrator, and then the Repair option. Maybe it will help. It certainly won’t hurt anything.
I hadn’t experienced trays resetting in Layout until it happened recently, but copying the .json file as you suggested after resetting everything, reassures me this particular inconvenience cannot happen again.
I tested this by deleting the file to trigger Factory Settings, then restoring the .json file, which brought back all my custom settings—including folder locations, tray layouts, scales, toolbar configurations, etc.
Its well worth doing
Solution
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