This menu holds the standard Cut, Copy, and Paste commands as well as several specific commands that work with SketchUp components and groups.
Windows: Ctrl+Z
Mac: ⌘-Z
This command undoes the last command you applied. So if you accidentally delete an edge or face in the modeling window, the Undo command brings it back like magic. Remember Undo for those moments when you smack your head and say "Oh no! Why'd I do that?" SketchUp keeps track of your actions sequentially, so you can use multiple Undo commands to backtrack through your recent actions. Most actions can be undone, but a few—like the deletion of a scene—can't be undone.
Windows: Ctrl+Y
Mac: Shift-⌘-Z
Redo lets you undo an Undo command. If you undo an action or a command and then decide that you preferred it before the Undo, use the Redo command to get back to square one. You can use multiple Undos and Redos to move back and forth through your recent SketchUp activities.
Windows: Ctrl+X
Mac: ⌘-X
Removes the selected entity (or entities) from the modeling window, and places a copy of it on your computer's Clipboard. Once it's on the Clipboard, you can paste it back into the modeling window.
Windows: Ctrl+C
Mac: ⌘-C
Copies a selected entity (or entities) and places the copy on the Clipboard. The original entity stays in place. Using this command, you can copy and paste entities from one SketchUp document into another.
Windows: Ctrl+V
Mac: ⌘-V
Attaches a copy of an entity (or entities) stored on the Clipboard to the Move tool. Click a location to paste the entity in the modeling window. If you decide not to complete the paste action, press Esc or choose another tool.
Pastes a copy of entities on the Clipboard back into position using the same XYZ coordinates as the original. This command is particularly useful for moving entities into or out of groups and components.
Windows: Delete
Mac: Delete
Removes selected entities from the modeling window. Unlike Cut, Delete doesn't put the entity on the Clipboard, and you can't paste it back into the window.
Guides are dashed lines used for measurement and alignment. When you're ready to create an animation or to print images from your model, you can use this command to remove the guide lines.
Windows: Ctrl+T
Mac: Shift-⌘-A
Removes the selection from all currently selected objects. SketchUp builders often simply click an empty space in the modeling window to deselect everything. Use Select None to make absolutely sure nothing is selected.
Mac: ⌘-E
Hides any selected entities from view in the modeling window. This command doesn't erase or delete the entities; you can make them visible with the Unhide command (next).
Makes hidden entities visible again. (See the previous command.) So how do you see and select a hidden object? If it's a group or a component, you can use the Outliner to select the hidden object. Otherwise you can use the View → Hidden Geometry command to make entities visible and selectable. They're still considered hidden until you use the Unhide command. The Unhide command has three submenu options:
Unhides entities that are selected using one of the techniques described in the previous paragraph.
Locks groups and components. You can't move locked groups and components until you unlock them (next).
Windows: G
Mac: Shift-⌘-G
Collects the selected entities and saves them in a SketchUp component. Components appear in the Components window, and you replicate them by creating new instances. All instances created from a single component are identical. (See Creating a Group for more detail on groups and components.)
Mac: ⌘-G
Saves the collected entities in a group. Groups don't appear in the Components window. (See Creating a Group for more on groups and components.)
Mac: Ctrl-Shift-⌘-G
Closes an open group or component. (Groups and components must be opened—by double-clicking, for example—to be edited.)
In SketchUp, entities (like a rectangle and a cone) can pass through each other without cutting through any of the other faces. Unlike in the real world, they can occupy the same face. When you want to change that behavior, you create shared edges by using the Intersect commands. The way faces and entities intersect with each other is important in SketchUp: It determines the way the entities behave and the way they can be manipulated. The Intersect command automates the process of creating shared edges. To use the Intersect commands, select an entity and then choose one of the three submenu options:
This menu and its submenu options show commands related to the currently selected entities. You can see many of these same options in a shortcut menu by right-clicking selected entities. If a single face or edge is selected, the name on the menu changes to "edge" or "face". If several edges and faces are selected (but aren't in a group or component), you see something like "5 Entities". When a group or component is selected, you see "group" or "component" as the menu name. The options displayed in the submenu change depending on the selection.
Selects other entities with another submenu showing these options: Connected Faces, All Connected, or "All on Same Layer".
Divides a single edge into multiple edges. After selecting the command, type a number and press Enter (Return on a Mac).
Changes the view so the selected edge fills the modeling window and is entirely within the window.
Selects other entities with another submenu showing these options: Bounding Edges, Connected Faces, All Connected, "All on Same Layer", and "All with Same Material".
Using submenus, this command calculates the surface area covered by a face, covered by a specific material, or in the current layer. The result appears in the Measurements toolbar.
Creates intersections between the face and other entities in the model. For more on intersections see Intersections in 3-D Objects.
Reverses the inside/outside orientation of the faces. Using the standard face colors, white faces (front faces) become blue, and blue faces (back faces) become white.
Changes the orientation of several faces to match the selection. SketchUp does a little guessing here to try and decide how you want the faces oriented. Often it works just right. When it doesn't, you can always use Undo and orient the faces one by one using Reverse Faces.
Changes the view so the selected face fills the modeling window and is entirely within the window.
Creates intersections between the group and other entities in the model. For more on intersections see Intersections in 3-D Objects.
Flips a group along a selected axis (red, blue, or green). Flipping doesn't create a mirror image of the group.
Changes the view so the selected group fills the modeling window and is entirely within the window.
Makes a single instance of a component into a new, separate component. The original component otherwise remains unchanged.
Makes the entities in a component into separate entities, no longer contained in the component. The original component is still in the Components window.
Updates the currently selected component with a version saved in your computer's file system.
Saves a component as a new SketchUp document under a different name. (You can also load any SketchUp document into any other SketchUp document as a component; see Saving Components for Reuse.)
Redefines the origin of the axes in the selected component. Other 3-D programs sometimes refer to this as the local coordinate system. You can use this command to align the component's bounding box with the component's geometry, which helps prevent entities from skewing awkwardly when scaled.
If the selected component has been scaled, choosing this option makes that scale the correct scale for all instances of the component. Other instances won't change in size, but they will have the option to Reset Scale. SketchUp uses the newly defined scale definition for the reset.
Creates intersections between the component and other entities in the model. For more on intersections see Intersections in 3-D Objects.
Flips a component along a selected axis (red, blue, or green). Flipping isn't the same as creating a mirror image of the group.
Smoothes the edges adjoining two surfaces, making those two surfaces look like a single curved surface. Opens the Soften Edges window, where you can adjust the angle setting.