# SketchUp File Won’t Open – “This does not appear to be a SketchUp model” Error **URL:** \ **Category:** SketchUp\ **Tags:** sketchup\ **Created:** [June 19, 2025, 9:36am UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841 "2025-06-19T09:36:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![arankarzan0](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@arankarzan0](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/arankarzan0)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 9:36am UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/1 "2025-06-19T09:36:37Z")
Hello SketchUp Community, I’m currently working on an important interior design project using SketchUp. I recently encountered a critical problem with my file. When I try to open it, SketchUp gives the following error message: > **“This does not appear to be a SketchUp model.”** Here are the details: SketchUp Version:\*\* [SketchUp Pro 2024] - Operating System:\*\* [e.g., Windows 11] - File Size:\*\* Approximately 53 MB - File Name:\*\* `Untitled.skp` - File Type:\*\* `.skp` - What I Tried:\*\* \* - Uploading it to SketchUp Web - Checking for backup or autosave files - Renaming any `.skb` or `~.skp` files (none found) - Verifying the file structure — the file does not contain the expected “SketchUp Model” signature in the header The file size suggests it’s not empty, but it seems to be corrupted and cannot be opened by any method I’ve tried. I’ve also zipped the file in case that helps with analysis: ![image](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/original/3X/0/a/0a617c554daf75e7908e8ad2a6e4f42a6ef12c61.png) [Click here to download](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QOFdzQIQo-XBXtiUesBiPzvoFI0qLVns/view?usp=sharing) ---
**Author:** ![Elmtec-Adam](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/user_avatar/forums.sketchup.com/elmtec-adam/32/120483_2.png) [@Elmtec-Adam](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/Elmtec-Adam)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 1:04pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/2 "2025-06-19T13:04:59Z")
an SKB file or ~ file is always created when you save. If one isn’t one, then it has not managed to finish the save process and this would explain your now corrupted file. the files in the “working” folder are saves that are made by the autosave feature - again, if nothing is here, then this suggests that sketchup doesn’t have the permission from your computer to create save files. 99% of the time this happens to users who are sharing to network shares or things like dropbox/google drive. But it could also be caused by user permissions errors, which can happen for a multitude of reasons including sketchup not being installed with the correct permissions - including a corrupted user profile. ---
**Author:** ![ateliernab](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/user_avatar/forums.sketchup.com/ateliernab/32/198399_2.png) [@ateliernab](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/ateliernab)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2025, 1:06pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/3 "2025-06-19T13:06:30Z")
> [@arankarzan0](#): > > The file size suggests it’s not empty, but it seems to be corrupted and cannot be opened by any method I’ve tried. I’ve also zipped the file in case that helps with analysis: ![Capture d’écran 2025-06-19 à 15.05.59](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/original/3X/3/1/31a453c53b17afd4e87035ac9d53d8ffa80be6d8.png) there is stuff indeed, but that’s not the structure of a sketchup file, just raw hexadecimal… ---
**Author:** ![samehy100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@samehy100](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/samehy100)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:09pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/4 "2025-07-05T18:09:41Z")
hello everyone have the same problem **This does not appear to be a SketchUp model.** if any one can help even the recovery doesn’t work it says \*\*\*\* Failed to open document.\*\*\*\* ---
**Author:** ![DaveR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/user_avatar/forums.sketchup.com/daver/32/7601_2.png) [@DaveR](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/DaveR)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:17pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/5 "2025-07-05T18:17:03Z")
> [@samehy100](#): > > if any one can help We certainly can’t help you unless you share the files with us. Where have you been saving the file while working on it? What version of SketchUp are you using? Is it a cr acked version? What operating system? Please correct and update your forum profile. ---
**Author:** ![samehy100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@samehy100](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/samehy100)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:19pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/6 "2025-07-05T18:19:09Z")
> [@arankarzan0](#): > > This does not appear to be a SketchUp model. save it on my device (pc) 2025 file size about 182 mb win 11 ---
**Author:** ![DaveR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/user_avatar/forums.sketchup.com/daver/32/7601_2.png) [@DaveR](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/DaveR)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:20pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/7 "2025-07-05T18:20:18Z")
> [@samehy100](#): > > 2025 > [@samehy100](#): > > win 11 Fix your forum profile. > [@samehy100](#): > > file size about 182 mb Upload the files to DropBox or WeTransfer and share the link. ---
**Author:** ![samehy100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@samehy100](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/samehy100)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:28pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/8 "2025-07-05T18:28:29Z")
ok will share it ---
**Author:** ![samehy100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@samehy100](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/samehy100)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:36pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/9 "2025-07-05T18:36:20Z")
> **[Dropbox](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lok5kxlqw072e8b9qach2/sky-center.skp?rlkey=wz89ik0awa987wch0ox3vcl24&st=633nvii2&dl=0)** ---
**Author:** ![DaveR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/user_avatar/forums.sketchup.com/daver/32/7601_2.png) [@DaveR](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/DaveR)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:39pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/10 "2025-07-05T18:39:25Z")
There’s nothing but zeroes in that SketchUp file. ![Screenshot - 7_5_2025 , 1_37_21 PM](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/original/3X/1/e/1ee4e61c4c5858a44300239e4f2be9366e9d1bc5.png) Were you saving it to One Drive? Did you have a power interruption while working on it. Were you by any chance also saving a copy of the file to your Trimble Connect storage? ---
**Author:** ![samehy100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@samehy100](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/samehy100)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:43pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/11 "2025-07-05T18:43:55Z")
No Didn’t save it to one drive or trimble just on my pc will share the recovery version ---
**Author:** ![DaveR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/user_avatar/forums.sketchup.com/daver/32/7601_2.png) [@DaveR](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/DaveR)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:44pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/12 "2025-07-05T18:44:41Z")
> [@samehy100](#): > > No Didn’t save it to … trimble That’s unfortunate. ---
**Author:** ![samehy100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@samehy100](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/samehy100)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:47pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/13 "2025-07-05T18:47:06Z")
> [@DaveR](#): > > That’s unfortunate yes I don’t know whats happens it was working good and saved the last project update and then restart the pc then wont to open ---
**Author:** ![samehy100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@samehy100](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/samehy100)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:51pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/14 "2025-07-05T18:51:30Z")
![Screenshot - 7_5_2025 , 1_37_21 PM](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/original/3X/1/e/1ee4e61c4c5858a44300239e4f2be9366e9d1bc5.png) don’t know what you mean ---
**Author:** ![DaveR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/user_avatar/forums.sketchup.com/daver/32/7601_2.png) [@DaveR](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/DaveR)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:54pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/15 "2025-07-05T18:54:05Z")
Whatever happened on your computer replaced all the data in the .skp file with zeroes. We’ve seen this when the computer shuts down due to a power failure. Saving a copy to your Trimble Connect storage would at least give you a backup. If your computers operating system is Windows, you might also look in User/AppData/Local/SketchUp/SketchUp 2025/SketchUp/Working to see if there’s a viable copy there. Please fix your forum profile with information that makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![samehy100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@samehy100](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/samehy100)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 6:57pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/16 "2025-07-05T18:57:42Z")
> **[Dropbox](https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/lok5kxlqw072e8b9qach2/sky-center.skp?rlkey=wz89ik0awa987wch0ox3vcl24&st=ir85x5zv&dl=0)** ---
**Author:** ![DaveR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/user_avatar/forums.sketchup.com/daver/32/7601_2.png) [@DaveR](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/DaveR)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 7:01pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/17 "2025-07-05T19:01:49Z")
That file is also nothing but zeroes. ---
**Author:** ![samehy100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@samehy100](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/samehy100)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 7:09pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/18 "2025-07-05T19:09:10Z")
any chance to get it back ---
**Author:** ![DaveR](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/sketchup/user_avatar/forums.sketchup.com/daver/32/7601_2.png) [@DaveR](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/DaveR)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/19 "2025-07-05T19:14:04Z")
> [@samehy100](#): > > any chance to get it back There’s nothing to get back when the files contain nothing but zeroes. Did you look in the AppData path I suggested? ---
**Author:** ![samehy100](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@samehy100](https://forums.sketchup.com/u/samehy100)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 7:17pm UTC](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841/20 "2025-07-05T19:17:49Z")
yes not found [Next page](https://forums.sketchup.com/t/sketchup-file-won-t-open-this-does-not-appear-to-be-a-sketchup-model-error/331841.md?page=2)