It’s well worth your time to look through the entire tool list and note and special instructions, tips, etc.įinally, look at the bottom left corner of the QRC, where the mouse scroll wheel functions are listed.Įveryone knows you can zoom with the scroll wheel most know about orbiting by dragging with the wheel pressed. Or look at the instructions for the Eraser – using this tool with the Ctrl key softens edges (hides and smooths), while the Shift key just hides edges. A good number of people seem to know that, but not very many know that Ctrl+Shift together will unsoften / unsmooth. And if you enter a number with an S, that number will be the number of arc Segments. If you enter a number followed by the letter R, the arc will have that Radius. If you enter a number, that number will be the Bulge distance – how far the arc curves out. For example, the 2 Point Arc tool (shortcut: A) has three types of input. Look at each tool’s Operation and Instructions – here’s where you might learn something new.

SketchUp’s most commonly-used tools are listed here, with shortcuts again in parentheses. The right side of the QRC is just as valuable. Our next blog posts will be all about shortcuts.) You can add, change, or delete shortcuts in the System Preferences window. (A note about shortcuts – what appears on the QRC is what comes with SketchUp when installed – the default shortcuts. For example, the black arrow icon is for the Select tool, and its shortcut key is the Spacebar. You see the icon, tool name, and in parentheses, any shortcut keys that come pre-defined in SketchUp.

Along the left side is a list of nearly all of SketchUp’s tools. This one letter-sized sheet packs a lot of information inside. (Not to brag, but I just learned the codes for a PDF file – first time I’ve done that.) The QRC is a PDF, and it looks like this (PC version): There are separate QRC versions: one for PC and one for Mac.Īnd even if you’re an old hand at SketchUp, check out the QRC anyway. If you’re just starting out using SketchUp, you ought to print yourself a copy of SketchUp’s Quick Reference Card (QRC) and tack it somewhere above your computer.

Sketchup 2017 quick reference card