Migrating extensions to SU2019

Just when all in on SU2019 “classic” (and why not, my maintenance agreement was nearly up).

So in SU2019, is there any better way to migrate extensions?

I always dread the upgrades, because it takes me days to do this. And usually, somewhere down the road, I’m scratching my head wondering which ones I’ve missed.

I’ve had to re-purchase Profile Builder, iRender nXt and completely lost GK Cabmaker after an upgrade from SU8.

Is there a quick way to do this?

Asking for a friend. :wink:

I guess dragging and dropping all the files from SketchUp 2018 Plugins Folder to SketchUp 2019 Plugins Folder will do the trick. I will have to test this myself and see if everything goes well.

I’ve not had much luck in the past doing it that way.

Can you elaborate what didn’t work when you tried copy and pasting files to SketchUp 2019 Plugins folder?

I’ve not tried it yet. I’ve just downloaded 2019 a few hours ago. So perhaps I’m being premature. I just wish there was an easier way. Like just re-associate my 2018 plugins folder with 2019.
And maybe that would work, I’m just not talented enough to do it.

Finding the Plugins Folder for SketchUp 2018 is a little tricky

C:\Users\<Name>\AppData\Roaming\SketchUp\SketchUp 2018\SketchUp\Plugins

Not sure but maybe for SketchUp 2019 is the same directory but with 2019 in it.

  1. Go to Window > Extension Warehouse
  2. Click on your account name > My Extensions

You’ll see a list of all the compatible plugins you’ve ever installed using the Extension Warehouse. From there, you can install each one individually, or you can click “Install All” to install all of your plugins in one step.

(Note that the loading screens took a very long time, I shortened them up in the clip) :wink:

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@indie3d, thank you I will try that. I know where that folder is on my system.

I think the last time I tried that I lost my licenses in the process.

@Matt Thank you, more options to try, not all of mine are from there, however.

I have lost some extension license myself when tinkering with the plugins folder by removing and adding files.

Seems that some have a limited amount of times to re-enter the license. But, so far I have been able to contact the author and ask them to let me license it again.

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Copying extensions from an older version is never a great idea. Some extension won’t install correctly that way and, unless you know absolutely that all extensions are up to date, you are inviting trouble. Instead use the method Matt shows for extensions you’ve gotten from the Extension Warehouse. If there are extensions you got from Sketchucation and you used the Sketchucation Extension Store extension to install them, you’ll also have a bundle of extensions that can be installed automatically after installing The SCF Extension Store extension.

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@ DaveR One might think that the SU gods, could make this process a bit less painless.

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Oh, compared to how it used to be, I’d say it’s painless. I expect they could make it more automated if every user was forced to keep their extensions up to date. We see plenty of reports of problems with extensions which turn out to be caused by the user failing to keep their extensions up to date. And we see plenty of complaints from users wanting to get rid of alert messages to updated extensions. Just updating the extension and moving on would do it but they don’t want to update and they don’t want the 2 second message displayed.

Use the change to SU2019 to do some housekeeping. Get rid of extensions you don’t use or need. Streamline the loading process.

You probably don’t remember when extensions were packed as .zip files and the user had to install each one manually and get it all right. Someday when we’re talking remind me to tell you about the guy who, in trying to install one simple extension, managed to rename his hard drive and scatter the files of the extension all over it in random places.

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I always update my extensions. And yes, compared to downloading .rbs and basically doing a manual installation into SU, it’s much easier. But not painless.
While I’ve not been using it from the @Last Software days, I have been playing since SU7. I didn’t go full in until SU8.

And thank god that wasn’t me that did scattered my files! LOL

It’s good that you update your extensions. Would that everyone did. If you’re using the Extension Manager and the Sketchucation Extension Store tools to install extensions, they will do the majority of the work and make sure you have the latest extensions.

As for migrating other stuff, I have all of my local components, materials, and styles collections in the User/App Data/Roaming… folders and when it comes time to update to the next version, I simply copy the folder and paste it in the corresponding location for the new version. Example–my SU2018 Materials A folder.


I copy Materials A from SU2018 to SU2019. Done.

The main thing I wish they’d do is come up with a tool for replicating toolbars. Until that happens, I just make a screenshot of the previous version showing the toolbars and import that into the new version of SketchUp as an image so I can use it as a guide for custom toolbars and toolbar placement. It works well enough and saves going back and forth between versions.

If it had been you, I’d never let you forget it. :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

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Thanks for the screen shot of that Dave. I’ll have to inspect that tomorrow. At the moment my pot roast is done and it’s time fro dinner.

Mmmm pot roast. With carrots and onions and potatoes? Oh boy!

Enjoy it.

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Plus celery and bay leaves. My wife’s recipe, but she must have added some magic to it because it just doesn’t taste the same.

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If you want to migrate Skalp… DON’T copy it from your previous SketchUp version. Please download the new Skalp version from our website and do a clean install.

For more info on the new Skalp version…

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In SketchUp 2019 we updated the Ruby version shipped with the produce. While most extensions will continue to work as-is, some will require an updated version to work with SU2019. So it’s best to make sure you have your extensions fully up to date.

Also, as Guy notes, other extensions needs to be installed cleanly. This relate particularly to render engines that require an installer to install all required dependencies

I would recommend installing fresh to get a clean slate.

This is a good head-start.

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