Hi Vince,
Sorry for the delay on my part, I wasn’t able to even download your file using the internet connection I was on yesterday.
I have it now, but have not been able to open it in Layout.
In the past I’ve been able to open regular .skp files by importing them into other CAD software, and for whatever reason that kind of workaround has been able to open a stubborn file that SketchUp itself didn’t want to open.
In this case I don’t know of any other programs that even import .layout files, so such a test can’t be done.
The idea which Mike outlines above is a nice one, and I tried that as well, but to no real effect either.
[…though this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try this too. ]
While I’m certainly no expert on this, it’s my understanding that Layout creates a type of compressed file container… in which the various resources/attributes of the project are linked together and referenced by an included .xml file.
Mike’s idea, as far as I interpret it, is that if you rename your file so it has a .zip extension, rather than a .layout extension (keeping the main file name the same)… from there you can try to see if it’s possible to then unzip the file, and possibly gain some access of the included resources found within it.
For my part, I tried this with a couple of compression programs I normally use, but I’m unable to unwrap what’s there.
As a last ditch effort which has no promise to recover anything anyhow—only some conformation of readability—I also tried to look at the file in a plain text editor, just to see if it would open. Successful results would have only produced scrambled text looking like gibberish, but that’s sometime fun to see right before you send the file off to the graveyard. (… and it didn’t open, btw)
Unfortunately, my next steps in troubleshooting start to involve calling in on a favor from the GODs. I’ve built up a small balance of good karma… but probably not enough to fix this.
There’s a Layout specialist at SketchUp @Marc …. who I’ve just now invited into this thread… Maybe he has some insights, or even some software tools which can get into things that regular users can’t… I’m not really sure… but it’s probably worth a try.
——
For a file this large, if you end up having to Trash Can it… keep in mind how big it is, and how much grief you’ve suffered from it. It may ultimately be more rewarding for you if you were to give a special send-off… something that’s completely unique, and well deserving with respect to the circumstances involved.
The Late Great analog circuit design engineer Bob Widlar developed a special process which he liked to use to mark the end of a failed research attempt, or bad project design. Some now refer to it as the Widlar-izer, others simply call it a hammer… of course there’s also something to be said for forgiveness too, so…
I’m not deleting the file I’ve downloaded just yet. But it’s highly unlikely I can do much more than what I’ve already tried. So I’m sorry to give you such bad news.
I like to tinker around however, and experiment, so If it I end up getting lucky, or I am able to cash in on my good karma account within the next day or two, I’ll let you know.
Take Care, Vince,
Jim
I’ll ping @Marc once again (not meaning to nag him).
[ Sorry, Marc… try to think of it as two thumbs up instead of one… and in return you can flip me the double bird, if you want to… I know you guys are busy these days. ] 
