Shortcuts + Tips & Tricks

Hi guys,

I am sure that for most of us who are delving into this amazing program are unaware of many of the shortcuts, as well as the various tips and tricks. There are so many hidden gems and easily forgotten features, that I thought that it would be great to start a thread that lists some of our favourites - and where we can raise specific questions relating to shortcuts.

I will start off this thread by listing two of my favourite shortcuts:

  • The right arrow key: When drawing a wall, press the right arrow key to toggle through the different wall alignment options. For example, if you have drawn an outline of a building, and you want to trace it with the exterior face to align with the line, press the right arrow key until it changes the alignment to suit this condition.
  • Insert: When drawing a wall, press insert to change the the orientation of the wall (the position of the external or internal face ).

I look forward to hearing from everyone else, and hopefully discovering other useful shortcuts.

Regards,
dp

Wow, I didn’t know you could change the alignment of the wall with the right arrow key! Of Course!!! That is so helpful. Thank you.

Here are a couple of PlusSpec shortcuts explained.
PlusSpec shortcuts.jpg

Hi Andrew,

Thank you for the graphical clarification. The right arrow key is amazing, and very important, and it will probably be the most used shortcut. I did not mention the End key shortcut - however, I have been using it on occasion, and it is actually very useful for initial massing, etc.

Regards,

Drew

Some more “hidden” shortcuts:

  • :opening-options: / :door-options-tool: Hold [kbd]CTRL[/kbd] to select multiple windows or doors
  • :post-tool: Press [kbd]RIGHT[/kbd] to change drawing origin
  • :push-pull-walls: Press [kbd]CTRL[/kbd] to enable modifications to adjacent alignment
  • :push-pull-walls: Press [kbd]INSERT[/kbd] to enable strict adjacent insertions (new adjacent walls inserted as needed)
  • :-opening-redefine-tool: Press [kbd]HOME[/kbd] to immediately enter “move” state
  • :-opening-redefine-tool: Press [kbd]DELETE[/kbd] with window/door selected to remove it
  • :-opening-redefine-tool: Press [kbd]CTRL[/kbd] while moving window/door to create a copy
  • :wall-tool: Press [kbd]INSERT[/kbd] to change inward/outward orientation
  • :wall-tool: Press [kbd]CTRL+ENTER[/kbd] to end input, automatically closing loop
  • :wall-tool: Press [kbd]RIGHT[/kbd] to change drawing origin

Make sure you’re focused on the main SketchUp window when you use these, if any dialog is focused they wont work.

Hi Daniel,

Thank you for posting these. Very useful information!

Regards,

Drew

Hey guys, we recently made changes to the wall drawing justification. Initially, changing the draw direction of a wall required you to use the “Insert key” yet on Mac and smaller PC keyboards, it was a hard button to find. Now, you can use the down arrow to flip the internal and external sides of the walls according to your preferred draw direction. NOTE , PlusSpecs default draw direction is clockwise.
How to Flip wall draw direction

  1. Choose your preferred wall type and materials and click submit
  2. Left-click inside the Sketchup drawing space
  3. To draw, left to right with the external side of the wall facing you; push the down arrow or the insert button and left-click again to draw another wall or double-click to finish drawing a wall.
    flip walls.gif