Update: June 2014
This article was written right before Google sold SketchUp to Trimble. Since then the instructions has changed slightly. In May 2013 SketchUp 2013 was released which included the Extension Warehouse which allow you to browse and discover extensions directly from within SketchUp. For the extensions hosted on Extension Warehouse there is no need to manually install or uninstall files. This article is now for historical purposes and useful only to legacy extensions or if you need to install extensions in an older SketchUp version.
There are many, many, many plugins available for SketchUp offering powerful features and enhancements allowing the users to customize SketchUp to their needs.
However, there is no single repository or store for obtaining these plugins. You have to locate the various community-driven sites yourself. There is also no one-click installation for these plugins. Some times they come as a single .rb
file, some times as a .zip
archive, on rare occasions they come with an installer.
Installing can be a bit of trial and error. Extracting the .zip
archives correctly isn’t even straight forward. Different extracting packages will behave differently – some times creating extra folders or even ignoring the folder hierarchy in the .zip
archive all together.
Then there is the matter of where to install it, this is particular troublesome under OSX where a user can easily mistake similarly looking locations for the correct one if the user isn’t paying attention.
The Easy Way – RBZ Packages
As of SketchUp Maintenance Release 2 Google introduced a new feature which made the process easier. They introduced a new file format for distributing plugins, or “extensions” as they prefer to call them, in the shape of .rbz
packages. Technically a .rbz
file is nothing more than a renamed .zip
file.
Unfortunately this method of distribution hasn’t gained widespread usage yet. However, if you have a plugin distributed as .zip
you can in many cases just rename it to .rbz
and use the Install Extension
feature in SketchUp. But beware that there could be plugins that need special actions in order to install correctly so always read the instructions first!
The Simpler Way?
In an attempt to make the process easier, with less clicks and more compatible with legacy distribution I wrote a small utility: Simple Plugin Installer.
It allows for installation of single .rb
files as well as legacy .zip
packages and the newer .rbz
format. Available from Plugins » Install
– a place that requires less clicks than the native Window » Preferences » Extensions
. You still need to be using SU8 M2 in order to use this utility to install .zip
and .rbz
packages.
It lets you browse and select the plugin package you want to install and it will be installed to the correct location and also automatically loaded, avoiding the need to restart SketchUp in most cases.
The caveats are that under Windows the path where the file is located cannot contain any characters outside the ASCII range, this is due to a limitation of SketchUp’s version of Ruby (1.8).
Another bug in the SketchUp API is that one cannot present a file dialogue that filters for multiple file types, which is why there is a menu item for each file format.
When Internet Explorer 10 is released it will be possible to create a cross browser solution where one can drag the plugin package files onto a webdialog drop-pad in SketchUp, making for a very easy installation.
The Old Fashioned Manual Way
This is where many, especially those new to SketchUp plugins, run into problems. Users of SketchUp versions prior to version 8 M2 must use this method.
Single .rb Files
If the plugin you downloaded consisted only of a single .rb
file you only need to copy it to SketchUp’s plugin folder.
Under Windows this folder is located where SketchUp itself is installed. On Windows 7 64bit the default location for SketchUp 8’s plugin folder is:
Note: these paths are out of date. Refer to the official help article for paths for all SketchUp versions.
1 | C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google SketchUp 8\Plugins |
C:\Program Files (x86)\Google\Google SketchUp 8\Plugins
OSX users will find the plugins folder under:
1 | /Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins |
/Library/Application Support/Google SketchUp 8/SketchUp/Plugins
Note that this path is under the root HD location and not the user folder! It is also not inside the SketchUp application package. Both of these locations are something that OSX users often mistakenly pick first time they try to install a plugin.
ZIP Packages
One frequent problem is that different decompression software extracts .zip
files differently. Some extract additional wrapping folders, some ignore the original folder structure completely.
To be sure that you do thing right, follow this check list when extracting:
- Extract to a temporary location first, not directly into your plugins folder. This way you can verify the extracted content first.
- Ensure your extraction utility preserves folder structures.
- Read the plugin’s description from where you downloaded it and check if it describes which files goes where.
Normally a .zip
package contains a .rb
file and a folder – the folder containing additional support files for the plugin. The files you place in your plugins folder should be this .rb
file and the supporting folder.
If your extraction software added a folder that wraps these files, usually with the same name as the .zip
file, you should make sure you don’t move that wrapping folder. Instead find that .rb
file and supporting folder and move those. SketchUp needs to find that .rb
file directly in the plugins folders.
But remember to always check the description for a plugin because there are exceptions to the rule. My TT_Lib² library for instance does not place a .rb
file in the plugins folder, it only has a TT_Lib2
folder. It is important not to get confused and put all the .rb
files in that folder into the roof of Plugins.
Should you encounter problems when installing, contact the author and describe exactly what doesn’t work (What did you expect should happen – and what happened?) along with any error messages you might have encountered. The error messages are very important feedback when debugging an issue – never ignore them!
When you copy files to the plugins folder under Windows ensure that you have administrator rights as you might otherwise run into issues. Vista tends to place files in a hidden Compatibility Files where things appear upon first glance to be in order. But it usually cause problems, and you should move the files into the correct folder with admin rights.
[…] that the plugin is now distributed as a .RBZ package so it can be installed easily in SketchUp 8 […]
When you talk about a “Simple Plugin Installer” above, is this an . exe file or something that I need to download and intstall into SketchUP 8?
I’m trying to download and install the plugin from Skelion and am having the same issues as many other – with the .rbs file needing to be an .rbz. And changing the .zip folder extension to .rbz is just creating a unrecognizable file.
I don’t understand why you wouldn’t just create a .rbz file to begin with if that’s what you need to work in SketchUp, but then… I’m not a software engineer.
Can you offer any help?
“Simple Plugin Installer” is a SketchUp plugin that adds a menu within SketchUp to make the installation easier. Follow the link in the article. (Click on Simple Plugin Installer.)
However, I’d forgotten about
.RBS
files when I made “Simple Plugin Installer”, I need to make a small update to account for these types.Basically, if all you have is a single
RBS
file, put it in your SketchUp Plugins folder.The checklist was really helpful, thx.
is it possible to use the .rbz in sketch up 7?? I really want to install the building structures pluggin but have no idea how to install it on sketchup 7 – windows
You can not install .rbz directly into anything older than SU8.
But you can rename the .rbz into a .zip files and extract that content into your SketchUp plugins folder.
Cheers! Got it to work!
Thanks for your advice and the install pluggin.
One thing: it would be great if Trimble had a plugin “store”, such as Apple’s store. A centralised system allows for better control (in many areas). Also, user reviews are really handy. Also, a good description for a plugin helps a lot, along with a proper name.
There’s a reason I pay for certain apps on the app store.
Thanks for this plugin. It works great.
A question: where can I find a plugin that calculates the total length of a selected batch of lines? I downloaded a plugin that spat out errors, and then gave me a wrong number.
Last year, after they where bought by Trimble, there was a Reddit chat with the SketchUp team. There, and at Basecamp 2012, they indicated they where looking into something like a repository. :)
As for the total length so selected edges, no need for a plugin, the Entity Info window displays this.
Does anyone know how to associate the RBZ extension with the -native- Windows 8 explorer tool that jumps into zip files ? In order to look at the ruby innards of an RBZ file, I have to rename the RBZ to ZIP, then look and then back to RBZ if I want to install it.
That’s a good question. I’m not sure how or if it can be done though.
I uninsstall sketch up 8 and install sketchup 13 and I can use my serial number.What can I have to do?
Please help me
I’m sorry, but is your question about whether you can use SketchUp 8 serial to activate SketchUp 2013? That is something you need to contact SketchUp support or the vendor your purchased SketchUp from. However, I don’t think it’s possible. If it was related to some plugin, then you need to contact the author of the plugin.
thank you so much! the whole day I couldn’t find out how to install and open my plugin in sketch up. But thanks for your advice regarding “simple plugin installer”, I could open plugin a lot easier!
what to if install button is not showing in my skp 8 pro
Then you have the original release of SketchUp 8. The Install Extension button was introduced in Maintenance Release 2. Update your SketchUp to see it. It’s worth keeping your software up to date regularly to get all bug fixes. Normally you should be notified by SketchUp when there is an update – unless you have disabled it or you’re behind a firewall that blocks it.
and where i find that installer tool even that does’t work everithing i take coms in rbz files even that installer strange
I’m sorry, but I don’t quite understand your question. Can you clarify a bit, and include what “doesn’t work”, what SketchUp version do you have?
The installer tool is linked in the article, and the links seem to be working.
tengo un problema con un plugins de extención rbz… no puedo desinstalarlo, existe alguna manera de quitarlo de mi skp? ayuda, gracias
Hello,
I’m trying to get solid inspector working in my Sketchup 14. I have gone through the processes of window/preferences/install extension and it’s now sitting in the list of extensions. Just to clarify, do I need an internet connection to finalise the install?? Sketchup is on my windows computer which I don’t have connected to my internet. All my internet activity is through my mac.
Thanks for any help.
No internet connection is required. But did you install the required TT_Lib2 linked?
Ok cool. Ummm not 100% sure but will try again. Thanks
Not sure if I managed to translate this correctly, but here it goes:
If you installed the RBZ via Preferences > Extensions > Install Extensions then you need to manually remove the files from the Plugins folder. If you installed via Extension Warehouse (preferred) then you have Uninstall functionality.
Hi,
I can’t seem to get the Skelion v5.1.3 to install on SketchUp 2013, It installed with no problems in SketchUp 2014. Is there an earlier version I need to install for 2013?
Thanks
I’m afraid I’m not familiar with that specific extension. I’d recommend you contact the developer for support.
Thomas Thanks ! you saved my life ! you! man ! are a genius !
Why my program doesn’t have an Install Extension button?
As the screenshot says – you need SketchUp 8 Maintenance Release 2 or newer.
Thomas Thomassen you are awesome! I finally been able to install Advance Camera Tool yooohoooo!!!
I can’t for the life of my install the Ruby Roof plug-in. I have everything in the right spot, but its not showing up when I install the extension. I changed the .rb to a .rbz, and nothing. Your help would be much appreciated!!
I am not familiar with that extension. But you mentioned you renamed an rb file to rbz. That won’t work, because that is two very different filetypes. If you only have an rb file then it sounds like it’s an old plugin. In which case you need to manually copy the rb file to the SketchUp Plugins folder.
Does Skelion works on Sketchup 17? i am trying to install, but i cant see the bar.
I don’t know. At the time of your posting they might not have updated it, but I’d would think they would have now. For these kinds of things it’s best to ask the developer directly.