Managing a Network License

Network licenses offer a pool of individual SketchUp allowances, or "seats". Each seat represents an instance of SketchUp using the same license.

Warning: SketchUp Classic network licenses only work when the following conditions are met:

  • Ports 5053 and 50530 must be open.
  • Authorize SketchUp Pro on each device.
  • IPs 34.218.95.16, 52.10.114.51, 35.155.75.69, and 52.40.227.59 cannot be blocked.

Serial Number and Authorization Codes

Tip: In either distributed-installation strategy, you can simplify the licensing process by including a file that pre-populates the serial number and authorization code for users so they don't need to enter it themselves.

To fill in the serial number and authorization code for users, follow these steps:

  1. Make sure each device has the appropriate version of SketchUp Pro installed.
  2. Create a file named activation_info.txt
  3. In that file, add your network serial number and authorization code in the following format:
    {
    "serial_number":"YOUR SERIAL NUMBER",
    "auth_code":"YOUR AUTHORIZATION CODE"
    }

    Tip: Be sure to include the quotation marks in the file as well as the commas. For example, the activation_info.txt file could look something like this:{
    "serial_number":"VA-99999999-ALR",
    "auth_code":"ab3de21fgh"
    }
  4. Save the file and distribute it to each machine. Use the folder appropriate for your version of SketchUp.

    For example, when distributing a file associated with a SketchUp 2020 license:

    On Microsoft Windows, distribute the file to C:\ProgramData\SketchUp\SketchUp 2020On MacOS, distribute the file to /Library/Application Support/SketchUp 2020

  5. Launch SketchUp on each machine or ask your users to open it. A Welcome to SketchUp modal will appear. Click Add License, then click Add License in the License box.

When changing any parameters, such as adding "allow_reactivation":"true" later, you will need to remove and re-add the license with the adjusted activation_info.txt file.

Need to perform a Silent Installation? Check out our article on how to do it.

Checking Network Licenses In and Out

Want to use your SketchUp network license but won't have an internet connection? You can check out a network license seat for up to a week, allowing offline use.

To check out a network license, follow these steps:

Windows
  1. Select Help > License.
  2. Click Check Out License for Offline Use. A dialog box showing the number of days the license can be checked out appears.
  3. Click Check Out. Your license is checked out, and you can now use it when you're offline.
MacOS
  1. Select SketchUp > License.
  2. Click Check Out License for Offline Use. A dialog box showing the number of days the license can be checked out appears.
  3. Click Check Out. Your license is checked out, and you can now use it when you're offline.
Note: While your license is checked out, no one else with access to the network license can use that seat. In other words, the total number of seats on the license decreases by one for the duration of the check-out period.

To check the license back in, follow the same steps as above and click Check In instead.

Tip: If you don't check in a license, it's checked in automatically when the check-out period expires.

Troubleshooting

If you aren't able to connect, you may need to check if you can connect to the appropriate IP addresses and ports. The best way to do this is through Telnet.

Note: By default, the Telnet client is not installed on macOS. Package managers that help you add developer tools to your Mac can help you set up Telnet. If you have Telnet set up on your macOS, please skip to step 2.
  1. Enable your Telnet client. For most versions of Windows, Telnet is installed but not enabled. How to enable Telnet can vary depending on the version of Windows you are using. In most versions of Windows, follow these steps to enable Telnet:
    1. From the Start menu, click the Control Panel.
    2. Click Programs.
    3. Select Turn Windows features on or off.
    4. In the Windows Features list, select Telnet Client and click OK.
  2. In Telnet type “telnet license1.sketchup.com 5053” or “telnet license1.sketchup.com 50530” and press enter.

    Replace license1 in the above example with your license server number.

  3. A blank screen indicates the connection was successful.

If the connection times out or the connection is refused, that means something your connection was blocked by something on the local network. Verify with your network team that access is allowed to 34.218.95.16 and 52.10.114.51 over ports 5053 and 50530.

Was this article helpful?