Even though “create backup” is checked in my Sketchup Preferences, no backup files are being created. This just started recently. Older files have many backup files. I have searched my MacBook throughly, and there are no backup files for my most recent model. Help!
The first rule of troubleshooting a problem is to look at what has changed since it last worked There have been no changes to SketchUp 2023 in the last couple of months at least. So what did change on your computer? What version of 2023 exactly?
Have you been saving your SketchUp files to the internal drive on your computer or to an external location such as iCloud?
BTW, please update your profile. It says you are using SketchUp 2020 and Big Sur. Please correct whatever has changed besides the SketchUp version.
Thanks for responding. I updated my profile (not easy to find). I’m using SketchUp 23.1.341 with macOS Monterey 12.7.3.
The missing backup files looks to be limited to my last two projects - late fall 23 to now. I save all my files on my internal hard drive. I’m using a MacBook Pro. Some stuff gets automatically moved to the iCloud, but I can’t find them there, nor do they download when I retrieve my project files from iCloud.
I’m stumped. SktechUp used to produce multiple backup files, and numbered each. That doesn’t seem to be happening. Your help is greatly appreciated.
Did these files get automatically moved to iCloud?
Do you have any files with the ~ at the end of the file name? That would be the backup.
SketchUp has never automatically done that. Perhaps you had some extensions that did it.
FWIW, in addition to saving your SketchUp files on your internal drive you should take advantage of the unlimited storage you have with Trimble Connect. You can use Publish to Trimble Connect to upload your file. Trimble Connect does create incremental saves each time you publish the model so you can go back to the previous versions if needed.
Thanks, Good to know.
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The same problem persists in 2025 for Mac OS. I have Save Backup Copies and Autosave set to on but nothing is saved. More than that, it is not recording the time I saved the file for the last time.
This is quite annoying, as one expects to have a way to recover from crashes and the like.
Unsure of your particular issue but MacOS seems to be the common thread. We’ve seen this in the past. There are several things worth checking..
- Permissions. Ensure the folder is writeable. Apple docs here.
- Check it’s not a Google Drive (or other backup process) folder. We’ve seen this cause issues.
- Ensure you can browse to this folder manually in Finder (ie. it’s not a legacy path).
- Try an alternative location - something routinely accessed (like the desktop) - as a comparison.
- Try giving SketchUp full disk access (if not already). Screenshot below.
The auto save files are put into a particular folder. Are you looking in that folder, or are you looking next to the SKP? The backup file is saved next to the SKP, but is only saved each time you save the SKP again. The auto save file is saved based on your settings, even if you haven’t manually saved the file.
Look in this folder to see if there are any files:
~/Library/Application Support/SketchUp 2025/SketchUp/working/
Colin,
Hi, I have looked in those folders more than once and there is nothing there related to the file I am working on. The model was created on the 22th so I saved it many times. But there are no backups nor autosaves to be found.
Every time you save the auto save file is deleted. The backup file should be in the same folder as the SKP, but have a ~ at the end of the file name.
I will keep checking to see if it is there. The odd thing is that the backup file I found was not the most recent one but one related to some hours back. Thanks.
Should the backup file with a ~ at the end not reflect all my saves? I saved it right now but the backup still says “modified yesterday 15:24”. Is that how it should be?
When you do a new save, the ~ file has its modified date changed to match the previous save of the file. The actual SKP gets its date changed to be the time of the save.
There is only one ~, and it’s a copy of the previous save.
This is what I thought. It seems the obvious behavior for a backup. But look at the screenshot attached: it is still stuck at yesterday! I have saved dozen of times since then and it does not reflect the changes. Moreover, if I open it I do not see any changes I have introduced today.
I can only get that situation is if either turn off the save backup option, or if I am doing a Save a Copy As instead of a Save.
