SketchUp Live Components

SketchUp’s Live Components are a type of configurable component you use in your SketchUp models. You can find Live Components in 3D Warehouse where you can search for, configure, preview in 3D, and download Live Components that best suit your projects. To get you started, check out our Skill Builder video: 

Finding Live Components

Any Live Component listed in 3D Warehouse will appear with a Live badge in the corner of its thumbnail or under its title in the model’s description. 

You can find Live Components by searching for them using this advanced search filter in 3D Warehouse . You can also follow these steps: 

  1. On the 3D Warehouse home page, click the search icon on the search bar to open the search results page.
  1. Click Filters. Select the checkbox next to Live Components from the list and click Apply. 
  1. All published Live Components will appear under the Models & Products tab. 
  2. Use the search bar at the top of the page to further refine and narrow your search results. 

If you are interested in creating your own Live Components, check out the tutorial available at Trimble Creator. Once there, click the Learn icon () for help getting started.

Configuring Live Components 

Live Components can be configured to fit the needs of your project. You can configure a Live Component in 3D Warehouse before you download it or within SketchUp after you have added it to your model. 

Tip: When you make a change to a Live Component’s configuration, those changes are applied at the definition level. This means that, just like other components, changes will also apply to all other instances of that component. Use the Make Unique context menu option to create a component with a new definition that can be configured separately from all other instances.   For more information see Working with Components in SketchUp . 

3D Warehouse

After finding a Live Component, you can configure it to better fit the needs of your project. To configure a Live Component: 

  1. On the model details page click Configure. You can also hover over the model’s image and click Configure Live Component. 
  2. After a short load time, the window becomes interactive and a panel will appear. If you need a bit more space, click () to expand the window to full screen. You can now navigate the model using the Pan, Zoom, and Orbit tools found in a panel on the side of the window.
  1. The Configure panel contains sliders, fields, and dropdowns that you can use to adjust the settings in the Live Component. The model updates in real time as you adjust these parameters. 
  2. If you are satisfied with the component’s configuration, click Download to save the component as a .skp file. 

SketchUp

Similar to any other SketchUp component, Live Components can be configured by choosing Configure Live Component from the components context menu or double-clicking the component. 

Due to the way Live Components work, it may take a little bit longer for the configuration panel to load. 

Was this article helpful?