I’m looking for a tool, plugin, or workflow in SketchUp that would let me experiment with design options without having to copy and paste my entire model next to the original every time I want to try something new.
Ideally, I’d like a kind of “parallel realities” system — a way to save and revisit different design explorations or iterations within the same file, without cluttering the workspace or duplicating geometry in the model space.
Does anything like this exist? Maybe something similar to layers/tags or scenes, but more focused on design alternatives or versions?
It’s not really possible in SketchUp. There’s a startup called Higharc, specificlaly targeting home builders, that has solved the problem by centralizing data and change management that does exactly as you state - allowing alternative options to ‘co-exist’ simultaneously.
I think you can absolutely do this in Sketchup with some deliberate tag, scene and component management. The workflow ends up being fairly unique for every single project as the requirements are different but I’ve built design options for multiple aspects of projects within one file. I often make scenes that only save active tags so I can easily use the page up/down keys to flip through my options. Before you make these scenes, download and activate the “Auto-Invisible Layer” extension from the Warehouse. This extension will hide new tags in all scenes, saving you from having to turn off new tags in all your previous scenes.
Lets say you are working on some options for design geometry AND want to have options for materials. I would make a tag folder for geometry options containing tags for each geometry option (ie tall windows vs square windows) and another folder for material options. Keep the majority of your model untagged and put the groups/components that belong to each geometry option into a group tagged with that option. Material options can be applied at the object level by copy and pasting in place only the groups/components that will have a material change, then updating the tags on the pasted objects. Try to avoid having too many nested components that will be edited as it’s easy to forget to keep making each one unique when your previous work is hidden, and you can end up making changes that really mess up another option.
The scenes workflow makes less sense for showing options for multiple aspects of a project, but I really like being able to use the page keys to flip through things while I’m working or showing a coworker.
Thanks again – clarifying the type of tool I’m looking for
Thanks to everyone who responded — especially for mentioning tools like Curic and Higharc. I’m going to look into them more closely.
That said, I’d like to clarify that (unless I misunderstood), Curic seems more focused on managing clear design alternatives — like switching between a red or green facade, or choosing between a flat or pitched roof. It’s excellent for presenting binary or parallel options, but less adapted to the messy, branching nature of early design exploration.
What I’m trying to describe is more of a creative process companion — a tool that helps me navigate the fuzzy, non-linear evolution of a project. When designing, I test an idea (e.g. moving the staircase to a specific zone), then another, then I go back, mix both, or shift scale entirely. Eventually, I want to be able to trace the logic tree that led to key moments or viable design versions.
So it’s not just about toggling options — it’s about recording and navigating an evolving design thought process, with branches, loops, dead ends, and forks.
I’ve attached an image from a SketchUp file showing ~50 iterations of one project. You can see how hard it becomes to place and organize section cuts or scenes in this linear workspace. It quickly becomes overwhelming.
every session with the client, I save as and add an increment.
as any point I can reopen a previous file and copy / paste stuff that I need. but I’m not working with a massive file containing 50 iterations.
pretty sure you can then use github to manage all that, just the way a dev would do with their code.
Over using this type of formatting is unnecessary and makes reading more difficult.
Most of us can read and understand text just fine with minimal formatting and proper punctuation and paragraph breaks.
I’m not sure a magic tool exists to somehow make it easier to manage clients gone wild.
I use Save A Copy As… and iterate much like @ateliernab does. I will add a date or desciptor to the ‘Save A Copy As…’ file and keep working in my base file. This keeps section cuts, scenes, etc in place, and you can even get tricksy with LO and stack multiple files over one another showing the changes.
I think you really just need to build your own particular workflow and get used to it. Maybe you use one of the extensions others have mentioned, or use native tools. It could be that you carefully rename components or tags every time you make a new branch of the model. Between tag folders, tags, and saving new files every couple of days, I never lose track of a design’s evolution, and they are all placed in the exact same spot in the model so scenes and sections never change from option to option.
