| What To Do With Downloaded Files - 2013-02-19 |
| In an effort to make plugin installation easier, the SketchUp development team introduced .rbz files with SketchUp 7m3. When you are running that version or higher, you can go to Window>Preferences>Extensions and click the "Install Extension..." button at the bottom of the dialog. You are then prompted to select an .rbz file to install, and SU will unpack all the files/folders to the needed locations for the plugin to function.
You can even "trick" SU into installing from a .zip file by typing *.zip as the filename after you've browsed to the proper folder containing the .zip file. A list of available .zip files will be displayed, and you can select one to install. While this is certainly easier, it has somehow led to the misconception that a plugin must be an .rbz file to be added to SketchUp. This is simply not true. The pre-SU7m3 methods of installing plugins still apply to all versions of SketchUp. For .rb and .rbs downloads, simply save them to your Plugins folder (the exception is for Windows Vista or higher: save to your desktop, right click on the file and choose "Unblock", then move it to your Plugins folder). For .zip files, save them to your desktop, then double-click to open it. Use CTRL + A (Command + A on Mac) to select all files/folders in the .zip download, copy (CTRL + C / Command + C), and then browse to your Plugins folder and paste the files/folders. Then restart SketchUp. If you're running a pre-7m3 version of SketchUp and you download a .rbz file, you can still install the plugin. Simply change the file extension to .zip, and follow the steps above. If you need help finding your Plugins folder, please consult our FAQ page, which has detailed information about the installation process and location. |
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