SketchUp 2024: All New Features

What's New in Sketchup 2024

Expect a faster Graphics Engine, enhanced Building Information Modelling(BIM) documentation, a new Scan-to-design feature, Ambient Occlusion and more!

Better Collaboration

A main theme of this update focuses on streamlining how people share their work, while using different software/ tools. Part of this is link sharing for the desktop version of SketchUp via Trimble Connect.

LayOut has moved to a versionless model, meaning that it is now backwards compatible with older files. This means that you do not need to update LayOut in future to view newer files, making it much easier to manage collaborators who are not able to update their software.

Boost Performance, Enhance Collaboration

With stunning visualization features, you have the best opportunities to explore your creativity like never before. Plus, you get to try out new features that are part of SketchUp LABS. 

Faster Graphics Engine: The latest version of SketchUp desktop application (Pro and Studio users) and LayOut boasts a new graphics engine, resulting in a more responsive user experience. Tests indicate an average 8x increase in speed, making model navigation significantly smoother and faster.

With faster speeds, get buy–in faster. In LayOut, the graphics engine draws entities on pages (and redraws them as you zoom, pan, and change pages). 2D or 3D, you can communicate it all in one place: all the angles, all the details, all the context, much faster now!

Scan to Design for iPad

Imagine walking into a client's space, holding up your iPad to scan, and instantly generating a 3D model. With this new feature, you can now scan existing interior spaces to capture detailed conditions and measurements.​

​​Generate a photographic visualization of 3D space you can reference for existing conditions. This option is handy for collaborating with clients onsite: generate the scan and annotate it in Markup Mode to present quick design possibilities.

Jump into a simplified, untextured 3D model made up of just the SketchUp edges and faces you’re already used to working with, allowing you to start exploring design concepts immediately.

Ambient Occlusion

SketchUp has a new global style setting to give your designs depth with built-in real-time rendering capabilities - Ambient Occlusion. These features can be transferred over to LayOut viewports. And it is backwards compatible with older SketchUp files that you can open in SketchUp 2024!

LayOut supports Ambient Occlusion styles, allowing you to easily toggle them on and off when creating 2D drawings. When you turn on Ambient Occlusion in the SketchUp Scenes you use in LayOut, the visuals will automatically update throughout your LayOut file.

Advanced visualization workflows at your fingertips In addition to enhancing the visual outputs, SketchUp has also made complex rendering and animation processes more accessible than ever. Improved import and export functionality for USDZ and glTF files allows seamless transitions between SketchUp and other industry-standard tools. Use these files in real-time applications like NVIDIA Omniverse or Epic Games’ Twinmotion for rendered animations and advanced XR viewing experiences.

Share your 3D model with anyone efficently Link Sharing is now available on Desktop allowing you to show the full 3D model or Scenes you’ve selected with clients or collaborators. Your designs can be viewed even if the other party does not have a SketchUp subscription. With Trimble Connect you can easily share a link to a view-only version of your model and quickly access your .skp files across devices. Imagine how much time you can save by skipping so many steps: No more exporting one-off, flattened visuals or spending time documenting, formatting, and exporting project updates!

Amplify your productivity with other updates

• IFC Import and Export Improvements – Importing IFC files into SketchUp is now faster and more predictable. There has been multiple updates to IFC-4 exports that help maintain data consistency and optimized files, including a geometry tessellation option and multiple upgrades to how your components are exported.

• USDZ & gITF Interoperability – Newly added import and export functionality for both USDZ and gITF files opens up new possibilities for advanced visualization workflows and seamless transitions to and from industry-standard digital content creation tools

• Add Location – The new Add Location simplifies the process of adding high-quality, accurate terrain, including an updated workflow, a visible True North arrow, and improved import options.

• Extension Error Dialog – If one of your extensions fails to load when you launch SketchUp, you’ll now see a new error dialog that can help you determine which extension is failing, update that extension if there is an update available, or uninstall it.

• Modeling Improvements – Various modeling improvements across core tools and features aim to increase productivity and help you stay in your creative flow.

• Revit Importer – SketchUp’s Revit Importer is now compatible with Revit 2024.

• Scan Essentials Ground Mesh – The new Ground Mesh tool in Scan Essentials can quickly and easily turn a 3D point cloud scan into an accurate, quad-face based terrain mesh that you can edit and manipulate in SketchUp.

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SketchUp My World

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• We can offer savings of up to 19%, and for purchase of over 10 licenses, get in touch to find out about group bundle offers.

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