In SketchUp, you can set a few preferences for how the software works overall and how files are saved. To access these preferences, select Window > Preferences (Windows) or SketchUp > Preferences (MacOS) from the menu bar. Most of these preferences are on the General pane, which you click in the sidebar on the left. As shown in the following figure, your options include Saving preferences at the top and Software Updates preferences at the bottom.

Some philosophers say that naming something is the first step toward figuring out what makes that thing different from all the other things in the world. In a SketchUp 3D model, this idea isn't some wishy-washy concept. When you use the Classifier to embed data into groups or or components, those groups or components become objects. When objects have names, descriptions, and so on, you can manage the details about all the classified objects.

PRO To develop your dynamic component interactions, use the following references to the predefined attributes, functions, and operators. These are the building blocks for any dynamic component behavior that you can imagine.

PRO Ready to dive into serious dynamic component development? Check out the following articles, which walk you through the steps for developing specific dynamic components: Repeating a sub-component within a dynamic component (1 Dimension) Repeating a sub-component within a dynamic component (2 Dimensions) Making components that animate Making components that copy

To create a dynamic component, you add attributes to a basic component and then create values for those attributes. For simple dynamic components, the process is easier than you might think, especially if you start with SketchUp’s predefined attributes and are familiar with SketchUp’s basic drawing tools and spreadsheet programs’ common functions. You don’t need to be a computer programmer, a math genius, or a benevolent wizard.

When you transform geometry into a component, your 3D model has all the behaviors and capabilities of a component:

When you create a component, you turn SketchUp geometry into something special. A basic component becomes reusable and separate from other geometry. PRO If you’re a SketchUp Pro user, you can add attributes to create dynamic components. Users can then configure certain aspects of the component, or the component can add steps to staircases or pickets to fences as you scale the dynamic component.

SketchUp components enable you to reuse objects. For example, pretty much every building has at least one door and window. Instead of modeling these common objects, you can insert a component that someone else has already made. Like all geometry in SketchUp, a component is still made of edges and faces. The edges and faces are simply part of a special component group. (You can also create components to reuse your own geometry, but that's covered in Developing Components and Dynamic Components.)

To create a 3D model in SketchUp, you're constantly switching among the drawing tools, views, components, and organizational tools. In this article, you find several examples that illustrate ways you can use these tools together to model a specific shape or object. The examples illustrate a few of the different applications for creating 3D models in SketchUp: woodworking, modeling parts or abstract objects, and creating buildings. The examples are loosely ordered from the simple to the complex.