How to Open SketchUp SKP Files Without SketchUp (Free SKP Viewer + Converter)
Open and view SketchUp SKP files without SketchUp, free, in your browser.
This tutorial opens a real SketchUp model and walks through everything the free SKP viewer does: orbit, zoom and pan, standard views and orthographic projection, styles, ray tracing with soft shadows and reflections, the lights panel, walking and flying through the model, tags, exploded view, measuring, section cuts and edits, sharing a link, and converting to more than thirty formats, including OBJ, STL, GLB, FBX, USDZ, STEP, IFC, DWG and PDF. It also works on phones, tablets and VR headsets, and there are free apps for Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android. SketchUp 8 through 2025 files are supported. No software to install and no account needed.
Convert SKP files to more than 30 formats SKP to STL, SKP to OBJ, SKP to GLB, SKP to glTF, SKP to FBX, SKP to DAE (COLLADA), SKP to 3DS, SKP to USDZ, SKP to 3MF, SKP to AMF, SKP to PLY, SKP to OFF, SKP to VRML (WRL), SKP to X3D, SKP to STEP, SKP to SAT (ACIS), SKP to IFC, SKP to DXF, SKP to DWG, SKP to 3DM (Rhino 4 to 8), SKP to PDF, SKP to SVG, SKP to EPS, SKP to HTML, SKP to PNG, SKP to JPG, SKP to GIF, SKP to SPZ (Gaussian splats), SKP to YDR (GTA V prop). DXF and DWG come as a 2D drawing of the current view, a three-view drawing sheet, or 3D faces.
Transcript
Intro
Here is how to open SketchUp files without SketchUp, for free, in your web browser, and everything you can do with them: views and ray tracing, walking through, measuring, sharing, and converting to more than thirty formats.
Open the SKP viewer
Go to innerscene.com/tools/skp-viewer. There is nothing to install and no account to create. It opens files from SketchUp 8 through the latest SketchUp releases.
Open your SKP file
Click Open an SKP File, or drop the file on the page. The model is read right here in your browser, so it stays on your computer.
Orbit, zoom and pan
Drag to orbit around the model, scroll to zoom, and right-drag to pan. Double-click any spot to fly straight to it.
View angles and projection
The View menu has the standard views: top, front, back, left and right. Orthographic projection removes perspective, for true plans and elevations.
Styles
Styles change how the model is drawn: wireframe, X-ray to see through walls, and technical drawing, with clean black lines on white.
Ray tracing
Ray traced renders the model with real soft shadows and reflections, right in the browser. The picture refines over a few seconds, and Save image keeps it as a P N G. Here it is sped up. For ray traced views you can also set the ground to water, sand, dirt, gravel or rock.
Lighting
The Lights panel sets the sky, the sun and the fill lights. Drag the sun around to change the shadows.
Walk and fly
Walk puts you at eye height, inside the model. Use W A S D or the arrow keys to move, and drag to look around. Fly moves freely in any direction. Orbit takes you back.
Tags and exploded view
Tools, then Tags, shows the SketchUp tags in the file. Untick one to hide it. Explode parts pulls the model apart to show how it goes together, and can play it as an animation.
Measure
Add measurement, from the Tools menu, measures between any two points on the model, in metric or imperial units.
Section cuts and edits
The Edit menu changes the model before you export it. Plane cut slices it like a section view, here straight through the house. There are also scale, rotate, move and mirror, simplify for lighter files, lay flat and drop to floor for 3D printing, and adding a second model.
Share a link
Share uploads the model and gives you a link. It opens at the view you chose, and you can post it to LinkedIn, X, WhatsApp, Reddit or email with a preview image. Embed gives you the code to put this viewer, with your model, on your own website.
Convert to 3D formats
Export converts the model. For 3D printing there is S T L and 3MF. O B J, G L B and glTF for Blender and the web, FBX, DAE and 3DS for 3ds Max, Unity and Unreal, and USDZ to place it in augmented reality on an iPhone. Here it saves as G L B, with its colors and materials.
Convert to CAD, PDF and images
For CAD, there is STEP, IFC for Revit and BIM, Rhino files for versions 4 to 8, and D X F or D W G: a 2D drawing of the current view, a three-view drawing sheet, or 3D faces. You can also save a self-contained H T M L page, a PDF, SVG or EPS, or a P N G, JPG or animated GIF. Here is the three-view D W G drawing sheet.
Phone and tablet
On a phone or tablet, the same page works by touch: drag to orbit and pinch to zoom.
VR headsets
On a VR headset, open the same page in the headset browser and press V R. You stand in the model at full size, and here is what each eye sees. Teleport around with the controller, and the wrist menu has the styles, the section cut and the lighting.
Lighting design in Circadian Lab
To plan the lighting, Tools, then Open in Circadian Lab, sends the model to our free lighting design tool.
Free apps
There are also free apps for Windows and Mac, which open SketchUp files with a double-click, and for iPhone and iPad.
Summary
That is the free SketchUp viewer and converter at innerscene.com. Links are in the description.
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