SKB files are super important for file recovery, but they are used only in rare and extreme cases. In everyday use they add visual confusion in file explorer.
It is easy to confuse .skp with .skb, try to open it or worse, send it to someone. Even more confusing that they also display thumbnails, and in the end you have double amount of files than you actually use, with a need to give extra attention to file extention.
I propose to change SKB file naming by adding a dot in front of the filename (e.g: .project.skb) thus making it invisible by default in most filesystems. That would save a some daily mental energy of SketchUp users.
You have set your operating system to open .skb with Sketchup, you shouldnât have it set this way and if you donât the icon isnât a thumbnail and is quite obviously different.
I am confused. The .skb files were automatically associated with SketchUp when I downloaded and installed SketchUp 2021 Pro. The .skb files had thumbnails; the .skp files had the SU logo. I didnât deliberately do anything to associate the .skb files with SketchUp, it happened automatically during the program setup.
I have since included a .bat file to hide the .skb files, so this is not an issue for me, but Iâd like to understand why I ended up with the .skb files being associated with SU if itâs not supposed to be that way.
I never heard of anyone putting a âdotâ in front of a filename to make it invisibleâŚ
so the file would still exist but not be seen? sounds like a recipe for a disasterâŚ
That does not lessen the number of files on your systemâŚ
only hides them with a very obscure method?
Just turn on âshow file extensionsâ and group âby typeââŚ
Typical file structure for one of my projects
2D = all 2d CAD production files , draftsight, Affinity
3D = all 3d CAD production files , Sketchup, Layout, Twinmotion
EXPT = record of any files issued to others
IMPT = record of any files received from others
PRES = Presentation files - mostly Powerpoint Presentations
REFR = any files used for reference in the project
PS I tried putting a dot in front of my filename (W10)⌠it did not hide it!
Personally⌠I donât ask SU to save .skb files anyway⌠just have autosave turned on every 20 minutes and do manual saves whenever I finish a major task or about to do something with a potential risk.
@simoncbevans not sure it is even a problem⌠but one option would be to have a SU allow a designated backup folder in Preferences⌠for .skb files to be saved ?
.dot files are commonly used in server environments to store metadata of folders (sync data)
The dot in front wouldnât be enough to hide automatically on Windows, though, it still needs to be flagged.
I am not sure there is a perfect answer to the problem or it would probably have been implemented by now.
On a Mac, backup files get a tilde added at the end. Like the SKB file extension, you could argue that it makes it immediately obvious which is your âworkingâ file and which isnât. But, as you can see from this screenshot, it can easily go awry. The double tilde signifies that I must have worked on the backup file which then created a backup of a backup. And yes, this is all to do with carelessness. But I can see why people would want a failsafe.
I wonder whether it would be better if the tilde (or other character) preceded the filename? That would at least separate the positions of the files in an alphanumeric ordering whilst still making it easy to find. I have some dummy files called Untitled7 here to show the effect:
That would work if you had very long filenames (as some do) to distinguish jobs. Personally, I like the job folder to contain everything relevant to the project, so just a physical separation within the folder along the lines I suggested would be my preference.
I wouldnât object to the automatic creation of a sub-folder for backup files, but that is probably getting a bit fancy.
A more âprojectâ approach of the SketchUp-LayOut combo (he, why not StyleBuilder coz itâs also in the plan âSuiteâ) is what I would like to have.
With âper projectâ ways of setting things up like which or SketchUp files are referenced to what LayOut files , which tables need to be updated (Reports) or generated from which SketchUp model, etc.
This sort of stuff could be easily managed in Trimble Connect, btw.
There is a caveat, though. Userâs that already have some sort of system and have a high level of organizational way to deal with this sort of stuff probably wouldnât need it, and for users that are more âdesign-iterative-I-like-to-just-draw-stuffâ it would probably be to much hassle to start this wayâŚ