SAN CARLOS PREPARATORY SCHOOL

G/F De Vera – Fernandez Bldg., Perez Blvd.

Ilang District, San Carlos City, Pangasinan

COMPUTER GRADE 8
SketchUp Basics
The tools described will be in order from left to right according to the diagrams.

When you are exploring your tools, please look at the bottom of your screen. When a
tool is selected you will usually see a description of the tool and some options you can
select when using that tool.

Navigation Tools

Orbit – Allows you to rotate around an object/areas of your workspace.

Pan – Enables you to move up, down, left, and right in your workspace.

Zoom – Helps you to get closer to or further away from specific objects.

Zoom Extents – Zooms all the way out to see everything in your workspace

Drawing Tools

Line (Line & Freehand)– Use this tool to draw a straight Line or Freehand line.

Arc (2 Point Arc, Arc, & Pie)– Creates different kinds of arcs. Note: All arcs in
SketchUp are actually a series of joined straight lines at slightly different angles.

Shape (Circle, Rectangle, & Polygon)– Allows you to create basic shapes or control the
number of sides a Polygon has.

Modify Tools

Push/Pull – Helps you to extrude surfaces at a perpendicular angle from a surface.

Offset – Allows you to copy a shape and make it bigger or smaller than the original.

Move/Copy – Enables you to move Points, Lines, Surfaces, or Objects. The Copy function
enables you to copy Lines, Surfaces, or entire Objects.

Rotate – Use this tool to rotate a Line, Surface, or Object. You can also Copy items in a
radial pattern to create things such as flower petals.

Scale – Allows you to resize Surfaces or Objects.

Utility Tools

Select – Use this arrow to select parts of your model. Selected parts will turn blue.

Tape Measure – Allows you to measure, place guidelines and guide marks in your
model.

Text Tool – Enables you to create notes or three-­­dimensional text.

Paint Bucket – Brings up the Materials Library that allows you to paint or put materials
onto the surfaces of objects. A material will fill the space between visible line boundaries.

SketchUp Tips

1) Healing – Drawing in the last edge/Line of a Surface will “Heal” it or make it

whole.

2) Surfaces – All Lines bordering Surfaces must be coplanar and in a closed loop. If
the Lines are not coplanar a surface will not be created.

3) Inferencing – Inferencing is a way of making sure Lines, Surfaces, or Objects are

the same size or spacing. Basically, Inferencing makes it so that you don’t have to
measure as much.
• Green – Green points denote corners and/or places where Lines/edges meet.
• Red – Red points are points along a Line or edge.
• Dark Blue – Dark blue points are points along a surface.
• Light Blue – Light blue points are midpoints.
• Black – Black points are where two edges cross.

4) Crossing Edges – Do not cross edges when drawing Surfaces/shapes. You

may have unintended and undesirable outcomes.

5) Push/Pull – The tool that you will most use in the beginning is the Push/Pull
Tool. It is what makes SketchUp so easy to use, however there are some
limitations.
• Push/Pull is always perpendicular to the surface you start with.
• You may type in measurements with Push/Pull to create more accurate
models.
• Don’t Push/Pull over/across a line. Make sure that you Push/Pull through an
unobstructed surface.
• You can’t Push/Pull through a curved or angled surface.

PREPARED BY:
JOHN JAINARD B. FERNADNEZ