Unable to edit

SketchUp Pro
1

I made a lot of patent drawings using sketch up 2017 and some on sketch up 2018.
I saved the drawings in documents, and as well as back up and made pdf’s of the drawings.
the problem is when I checked the drawings a few of them had double figure numbers or a extra number or and arrow was pointing at the wrong spot.

I was going to edit the drawings however the computer first needed to update sketch up. once the updates were done, the software required the graphics card (reader) to be updated
this was tried however the computer was uncapable of updating it.

I put all the drawings onto a memory stick and transferred them all to my new computer

however now I can not edit the drawings. (and I can not edit them on the old computer due to the graphics issue)

if I try to erase an arrow or its number the whole drawing is erased EXCEPT for the drawing number and description which was put in with text, such as Fast Car Drawing 7 of 23

I have installed sketch up 2017, 2018 and 2019 on the new computer and the same thing happens no matter which version I use. Editing does not work with the back up drawings or pdf’s either.

what button do I need to press in order to edit the drawings

thank you

Allan

2

It’s hard to say exactly what the problem is without seeing one of your files. Can you upload it so we can take a look?

3

here is a drawingstraight ramp 86-87.layout (954.2 KB)

lets pretend that you wanted o move #4 or add another number or change #4 to #5 and therefore change #5 to #4. if I go to erase #4 the whole drawing (except for the text disappears. If I go to write new lines on it the cines are only arcs and just make a mess of things, so I can not add anything of value to the drawings

what buttons am I not pushing so I can edit the drawings

thanks again

4

Since you put the labels in the SketchUp file instead of using LayOut’s Label tool, you need to go back to the SketchUp file to make changes to them. If you want to edit the labels in LayOut, use LayOut’s label tool instead.

Maybe this is just a sample file but you should not be using the Last saved SketchUp view as the scene in LayOut. If you don’t save the SketchUp model with exactly the same camera position after you edit those labels, the model will change position in LayOut. You should make scenes in SketchUp to show the model as you want it to appear in the LO document and then use those scene in LayOut. And don’t do anything that makes the scene show as modified in LO.

Here I opened the SketchUp model, copied the #4 label and edited it a little to make the text bold and red. Saved the changes in SketchUp, went back to LayOut and updated the reference.

Screenshot%20-%2012_5_2019%20%2C%201_48_03%20PM
Screenshot%20-%2012_5_2019%20%2C%201_48_03%20PM1140×804 71.5 KB

1 Like
5

hi Dave.

and thanks for the help.

these were the first drawings I had done so I am quite a novice at this and am not familiar with the sketch up jargon.

I did what you said and yes I can add a label like the number 4 that you added. I can erase the text and add new text.

but I can not for example move the #4 in the drawing or erase #7. nor can I do anything with the drawing such as rotate it, or erase part of it and redraw an area bigger.

how would I in step by step format ( as some things I do not understand) be able to do that as I need to get a different view of some of these drawings and therefore would also need to move the arrows and text.

thanks again for your help, you must have been doing this for a very long time.

allan

6

Are you working in the SketchUp file? Since those labels are in the SketchUp model, you must be working in SketchUp, not LayOut to make any changes to them. In SketchUp you should be able to select them, move them (with the Move tool) or edit their text–double click on the text and make the edits.

Again, you must do that in SketchUp, not LayOut.

Create scenes in SketchUp that show the model the way you need to see it in the LayOut file. Leave out the labels in the model. Then in LayOut, you can make copies of the viewport and choose a different scene for each one. Find the SketchUp Model panel in the tray while a viewport is selected and choose the scene you want to use for it.

Screenshot%20-%2012_7_2019%20%2C%205_11_40%20PM
Screenshot%20-%2012_7_2019%20%2C%205_11_40%20PM1178×537 249 KB

Before you go any farther you should probably spend some time going through the LayOut Essentials here: https://learn.sketchup.com/

7

hi thank you for the help. but I seem to be completely at a loss.

I have all my drawings entered on a new computer, there is absolutely nothing on this computer other than the software that came with it.

I then down loaded sketch up 2017 as some of the drawings are in sketch up 2017 and some are in sketch up 2018, so I was going to start with the 2017 ones and once I was able to correct them I was going to save them and then later move them so they are all compatible with 2019.

so the only thing that is on my computer are the drawings that are in documents, they are not in a folder, all drawings are in documents I say this so you can understand that nothing else is on this computer, nothing. no games, no apps, no nothing.

I open up sketch up 2017 and then go to file and then press the open key. when I do that 17 drawings show up. if I pick any of them they open, spin, can be changed , I can erase numbers, spin the drawing 360 degrees, erase it etc, just the exact same as it would if I were drawing it. So that is exactly what I would expect should happen when I open a drawing.

so now I go to file, press open at the bottom left corner where it says sketch up models (* .skp) I change that to all files and the drawing names show up in the documents. so I pick the first one and try to open it ( or any file) and a box comes up which says that this does not appear to be a sketch up model.

I have tried using the back up folder for these drawings and it says the same thing.

I have taken a drawing, removed the text, saved it and tried to open that file but it also says that it does not appear to be a model.

so I can not open any drawing to edit it.

I can, as you said, add arrows to these drawings, I can add text, or erase the text, but I can not in any way open them or edit them

if I use sketch up viewer I get the exact same 17 drawings that I can do anything I want with but just like sketch up. If I try to open any other drawing it says it appears not to be a model

when I open layout the 17 drawings are not available, just all the drawings in documents. if I pick a drawing that was made with 2018 the message comes up that this is file was made with a newer version of layout (2018) and is not compatible with this version. this version of layout is 2017. use a version 2018 or higher to open this file,

when I open the drawings that were made with the 2017 version they open and can not be edited. I can add a label, I can add text, I can remove text, but I can not do anything to the model, it basically is simply a picture and not a drawing (model)

so how do I open these drawings to be models like the 17 of them are that are in the stored files ( I am guessing) on sketch up. in the past on the old computer they opened just fine and were able to be edited without a problem.

so I have no clue what is going wrong or what buttons I am not hitting

there is nothing on this computer that would have corrupted the files. the older computer was also only used for drawing these models and was why it was chosen to be used as it had no other function or purpose than to do the drawings, it was not used for anything else. even the files that were backed up onto memory sticks were checked to see that they transferred properly and were able to be opened. however these exact same back up files have the same problem and can not be opened,

I have taken another computer, down loaded 2019, imported a drawing ( as sketch up redoes it to be compatible with the 2019 version) and again the drawings do not allow for any modeling. they are basically pictures and not models.

so what am I missing as I have no idea why these drawings do not just load and open as they did before and I have no idea which buttons I need to push to open them.

I have tried opening them in all 3 possible scenarios. and have followed your instructions but simply can not open the drawings (models), they are just pictures with all the paint stuck together.

i have tried all that you have said but i am not able to do anything with the drawings

i am sorry as i have no clue what is wrong.

allan

8

This is so long and there seems to be so much unrelated information it is difficult to follow.

There’s no reason to install all those different versions of SketchUp. SketchUp 2019 will be able to open any .skp file that was created in an earlier version of SketchUp.

That has nothing to do with your original question, though. You uploaded a LayOut fileand indicated you want to change the numbered labels. Those are in the SketchUp file so you need to open the file in SketchUp to edit it.

Instead of screwing around with two older versions, just cut to the chase and get SketchUp 2019 installed and proceed.

Spend some time with the Essentials instructional material I linked to in my earlier post.

9

thank you

10

A new user to Layout who doesn’t know where the connected skp files are may need more help with how to open the model in SketchUp, or how to create Scenes or reference those scenes in Layout, but yes, that sounds like exactly the right advice.
@ballberring1964, using words like “drawings” doesn’t tell us if it’s a SketchUp “drawing” or a Layout file. It’s better to be very specific. Also, @DaveR gave you great direction, it would be very helpful for you to run through the Layout Basics course, as it would immediately answer most of your questions: https://learn.sketchup.com/
I’ll follow up via Support email with more specific, step-by-step instructions of how to open the viewport you see in Layout in SketchUp to edit the source model file, but really, Dave’s advice about the SketchUp Campus is the best answer you could get.