FAQ's

Creating and Using a Trimble Identity

To create a Trimble ID you can follow the process detailed in our Help Center article on the subject here.

Once you’ve arrived at a Sign in page, just follow the steps to create your account.

1. Start by entering your desired email address in the appropriate field.



Note: Even if SketchUp has emailed you at this email address, or you’ve purchased with this email address in years past, it doesn’t automatically create a Trimble ID. If you haven’t created one already, you’ll be prompted to create a new one.

2. If the email address has already been used to create a Trimble ID, then you’ll see an option to enter your password or click on “Forgot Password.”



3. If the email address has never been used, then you’ll see an option to create one.



4. From the Trimble ID Sign in page, simply enter your email address. Enter your information. You will then receive an email asking you to activate your account. Please click on the email link within 72 hours.



5. Click the link in the email to finish creating your Trimble ID. If you don’t see the activation email, please check your spam, or wait a little while.

Note: If you choose to sign in with your Google account just click the "Sign in with Google" button. If prompted, enter the credentials for you Google/Gmail account.

I have created a Trimble ID but cannot log in. Why?

It is likely that your Trimble ID has not been activated. When you create a Trimble ID, you will receive an email asking activate your account. This step confirms your email address is correct. Click the link in the email to activate your account. After that, you should be able to sign in with your Trimble ID credentials. You have 72 hours to activate your account. If you have not activated your account within 72 hours you will need to use the forgot password link to reset your password and activate your account. If you missed your 72-hour activation window, click here for an activation link.

I have forgotten my Trimble ID password

On the Trimble ID sign in page, enter your email address and click Next. You'll be presented with a window allowing you to enter your password or click Forgot password?

Fill in your email address, and click the Reset password link.

Check your email inbox for email from Trimble ID service. In the email message, click the Reset password button to set a new password for your Trimble ID.

Troubleshooting

I tried to reset my password but Trimble ID does not recognize my email address and asks me to enter a valid email address.

I'm seeing an error that says: "Sorry, we didn't recognise this user. Please enter a valid Email address." If the spelling of the email address is correct, this means that you don’t currently have a Trimble ID with it (this can happen even if it’s the email you have used in the past for your SketchUp license.) Enter your desired email address on the sign in page, and proceed and it will take you to a window yo ucan use to create the Trimble ID.

I haven't received any emails from Trimble ID.

Your company's firewall may be blocking our emails, or it may be blocked by your spam filter. Please contact your IT department and ask them to allow emails from *@trimble.com and *@trimblepaas.com and *@mail.trimblepaas.com. If you find the email in your Spam folder, please make sure to whitelist the email domains listed above.

You can also try this: Click here to enter your information and resend the activation email. Once you get the email indicating the account was successfully created, instead of clicking on the email button to log in, go to sketchup.com and sign in from the top right corner’s profile icon to test the sign-in.

I tried to enter a new password but Trimble ID won't accept it. Why?

For security reasons, the password must at least contain:

• 8 Characters
• At least one digit [ 0-9 ]
• A combination of lower & uppercase letters [ aA-zZ ]
• At least one special character [ !@#$%&*^_-+ ]

Nothing is working, and I’m stuck in an endless loop of trying to activate the Trimble ID.

Please send your details (but not passwords, please) and screenshots, if possible, in a help ticket to our Customer Service Department. If you can remember, please tell us the steps you took to get to what you are seeing. Technical details and context are helpful! Also, please let us know what browser you are using, as well as what kind of device you’re signing in on, whether mobile or a computer.

Using your Google Sign-In with Trimble ID

Why did Google stop supporting sign in from old versions of SketchUp? That doesn’t sound very Googly.

Google is improving their ability to protect your account data. Sketchup’s sign-in UI is built on “Chromium Embedded Framework” or “CEF” for short. CEF allows software providers to build awesome UIs. The problem is that hackers can build applications with CEF which can steal user’s data. The way to prevent that is to handle all sign-ins inside an application like a web browser which can be verified as secure. As a result, we did a bunch of work to SketchUp 2019.3 to support the new sign-in methodology inside your computer’s default web browser.

Does this mean that Trimble ID is less secure than Google?

No, Trimble Identity is as secure as we can make it. However, if you have a cracked or pirated version of SketchUp you could be at risk for hackers stealing your sign-in credentials.

Which versions of Sketchup support Sign in with Google?

Version 2019.3 and future versions will support Sign in with Google.

Do I have a Trimble account if I use Sign in with Google?

Yes. Signing in with Google is only a way for you to verify your identity. Once your identity is verified, Trimble creates an account for you in our systems. Your username for your Trimble account will be your Google email address.

Why do I have to create a Trimble password?

When you create a Trimble account by signing in with Google, you won’t have a Trimble password for your account yet. If you ever want to use sign n directly with your email address you need to set up your trimble password by going through the reset password process.

What if I’m not sure whether I have a Trimble password or not?

No problem. You can try to Sign In. Or just to be safe, you can follow the Create Trimble password flow. You can change your password as often as you like.

Why does the create password UI say Forgot password or Reset password in some places?

The forgot/reset password workflow is also used to create a password when an account is first created by signing in with Google.

Troubleshooting a Trial message after buying SketchUp

If you’re sure you purchased SketchUp, but the software is telling you that you’re on a trial or that the trial has expired, then you’ve come to the right place! The solutions below will help you quickly activate your SketchUp purchase.

First: did you purchase SketchUp Pro (a Classic license or yearly Subscription) or did you buy Shop? Shop costs less than Pro. You can see the full differences here: https://www.sketchup.com/buy/pricing

• I bought Pro (a Classic license or the yearly Subscription)

If you bought Shop

SketchUp Shop is a web-only version of our SketchUp subscription and does not include the desktop Pro modeling software. There is no serial number or download needed for Shop. Just log in to https://app.sketchup.com/app with your Trimble ID and start modeling!

Are you sure you're logged in with the right email address but are still unable to access the paid features at https://app.sketchup.com/? If so, you might have unchecked the "assign seat to myself" box during checkout and need to assign yourself or the end-user.

If you purchased Shop by accident and really want the Pro plan, the good news is that there's no need to request a refund for Shop. You can easily upgrade to Pro in the Account Management Portal (AMP) and just pay the difference in the prorated price. It only takes a few minutes, and here's how! (read all 5 steps before doing them)

1. Go to this Account Management article.
2. Follow the instructions there to find the AMP website and sign in.
3. Locate the section Upgrade to Pro or Studio and follow those instructions.
4. Next, go to the Assign the End User section of the article for instructions on how to make sure your email address is properly assigned.
5. You might need to sign out of SketchUp Pro, close and open it, and sign back in again.

Still having trouble? Contact us and include as much detail as you can - screenshots are great, too! Also, tell us how we can improve the instructions on this page (please include a link to this page).

If you bought or subscribed to Pro

There are actually two different Pro plans, so let’s find which one you have!

• The yearly Pro Subscription plan, which we started offering in February of 2019, has no serial number or authorization code, but rather activates SketchUp with a sign-in. Did you receive an email from Trimble (SketchUp’s parent company) with an account number? If so, then you definitely purchased a yearly subscription. Click here if you have a yearly Pro Subscription.
• The Classic perpetual license plan is the original - it’s been around since SketchUp started, but it only got the name “Classic” in 2019. It has no account number, but it has a serial number and authorization code. Click here if you have a perpetual Classic License.
• Still not sure which Pro plan you have? You can see more differences here. Also, if you see a Pro plan when you log in to the Account Management Portal, you have a yearly Pro Subscription. If you don’t see a Pro plan there, but can get a serial number when you retrieve your license in our Classic License Manager, or if you purchased Pro before February 2019, then you have a perpetual Classic license.

I have a Pro Subscription

There are only a few reasons why you’d be seeing a Trial message with a yearly subscription:

1. The end-user email address isn’t properly assigned or was misspelled when it was assigned. This is a common reason. Whoever purchased the plan can assign the correct end-user email by following the directions in this Account Management Help Center article. Note: The user will likely need to sign out and in again in SketchUp Pro to re-activate the entitlement token.
   
   If the purchasing email contained a typo, though, then the plan owner will need to contact us through the link at the bottom of this page.


2. The end-user signed in with the wrong email address. It’s common for one person to have multiple emails, so this happens frequently. Just click on the profile icon in SketchUp, sign out, and sign back in again with the assigned email address.



3. The end-user can’t sign in because of a sign-in issue. If so, then you can troubleshoot sign-in problems here.

Still having trouble? Contact us and include as much detail as you can - screenshots are great, too! Also, please tell us how we can improve the instructions on this page and include a link to this page.

I have a Classic License.

SketchUp’s Welcome Window Sign-in email/password field (added in Pro 2019) isn’t tied to any serial number or classic license purchase, so if you have a classic license, signing in isn’t enough to authorize SketchUp - you’ll need to enter your serial number and authorization code. Signing in is still handy, though, because it syncs your 3D Warehouse and Extension Warehouse accounts.

This is a non-functioning license for demonstration purposes.

To enter your serial number and authorization code, you’ll need to find the “Classic” tab next to the Subscription tab in SketchUp’s Welcome Window (Help > Welcome to SketchUp). This article has instructions if you get stuck

Did you run into any trouble adding your license? You can troubleshoot license error messages in our License Troubleshooting article, which includes issues such as when the license entered belongs to a different year, or what to do if you need to upgrade your license to the new year’s version, which you can do in the License Manager.

Still having trouble? Contact us and include as much detail as you can - purchase amount, date, and any numbers we sent you in emails. Screenshots are great, too! Also, if you’d like to tell us how we can improve the instructions on this page, please include a link to this page with your feedback.

The activation e-mail states that you must click on the activation link within 72 hours. If you have waited too long, you can still click on the activation link ... however, something else will happen. You enter (as before) your data, but then the Trimble ID website will state that your link has expired.

You must click on 'forgot password' here and enter your e-mail address again. You will then receive a new activation e-mail.

Still in Trial:

Is there still a Trial period in the welcome screen? First log out, stop SketchUp and restart. Then log in again with your Trimble ID.

The Welcome screen says "Trial expired", but I have a subscription!

If you can no longer go to your Account Management Portal via the Welcome screen, follow the steps from Step C.

I have multiple subscriptions, how do I distribute them?

You can purchase multiple subscriptions, the e-mail address where you make that purchase will act as the administrator: He can assign the licenses to others via the Account Management Portal. If the recipient does not yet have a Trimble ID, he will receive an email to activate his Trimble ID.

Note: Make sure you enter the correct e-mail address, you can add but not delete. A SketchUp Subscription is personal, so in the name of the user. Do you need more flexibility? Then buy a network license.

Manage your SketchUp subscription

You can have a subscription for SketchUp Pro and SketchUp Studio. If you have paid for the subscription, it is valid for the duration stated on your invoice. This is usually a year.

• You can check the status of your subscription from SketchUp. To do this you must do the following:
• In the [Menu] select Help-Manage License
• Select the Subscription tab. As long as your subscription is active, this will be indicated in the window. There is also indicated when the subscription ends. (expires)
• In addition, even more information is displayed via the button at the bottom left (Manage License)

Authorize SketchUp as a user

You must have internet access to authorize SketchUp Pro 2015 or later. For the techies among us; if you authorize SketchUp Pro, SketchUp communicates with the authorization server via the standard ports 80 and 443 . If you use a proxy or firewall , allow SketchUp Pro to communicate on those ports to the * .sketchup.com domain.

Authorizing SketchUp with a network license is no different than authorizing it with a single user license. Although a network license can be authorized in the same way as a single-user license, there is one important reservation for successful use of the network license: Ports 5053 and 50530 must be open while actively using a network license . Consult your network administrator if these ports are not open.

Authorize SketchUp in a network as Administrator

If you want to distribute SketchUp over a larger network, you can use the MSI file or use a disk imaging package such as Norton Ghost or Deep Freeze. In both ways of both distributed installation strategies, you can simplify the authorization process by including a file that fills in the serial number and authorization code for the users, so they don't have to type themselves. SketchUp Pro will automatically attempt to authorize on behalf of the user.

To use this procedure:

• 1. Ensure that SketchUp Pro 2015 or later is installed on all computers.
• 2. Create a file called activation_info.txt . You must use a plain text editor, such as Notepad (Microsoft Windows) or TextMate (Mac OS X).

3. In that file, type your network serial number and authorization code in the following format: {"serial_number": "YOUR SERIAL NUMBER", "auth_code": "YOUR AUTHORIZATION CODE", "allow_reactivation": true}

4. Save the file and distribute to the following location on each machine:

Windows - C: \ ProgramData \ SketchUp \ SketchUp 201x
Note that it is the hidden ProgramData folder, not the more famous Program Files folder .

OS X - / Library / Application Support / SketchUp 201x
Note that this is the root level library, not the user library.
You must create the SketchUp 201x folder yourself. There is no default SketchUp 201x folder in the root-level folder / Library / Application.

5. Start SketchUp on every machine or ask your users to open SketchUp Pro.

6. In the SketchUp Welcome dialog box, click the License tab . The serial number and authorization code must now be pre-entered in the fields with * symbols, so that the user does not have to type anything. SketchUp Pro will then automatically send the hidden license information to the authorization server. Once the license information is validated, SketchUp will download a unique license file to the user's computer.

Like many computer programs, SketchUp requires certain hardware and software specifications in order to install and run. These are basic requirements, though, so you may want to use our recommended suggestions to improve performance.

Windows 10, Windows 8+ and Windows 7+

• Software

• An internet connection is required to install and authorize SketchUp and to use some of the features.
• Microsoft® Internet Explorer 9.0 or higher.
• SketchUp Pro requires .NET Framework version 4.5.2. For more information about the .NET framework, click here.

SketchUp requires a 64-bit version of Windows. Also, to install SketchUp, Windows 8.1 must be current with Windows Update.

Boot Camp, VMWare, and Parallels are not supported environments

Recommended hardware

• 2+ GHz processor
• 8+ GB RAM
• 700MB of available hard-disk space
• 3D class video card with 1 GB of memory or higher and support for hardware acceleration. Please ensure that the video card driver supports OpenGL 3.0 or higher and is up to date.
• SketchUp's performance relies heavily on the graphics card driver and its ability to support OpenGL 3.0 or higher. To test your graphics card's compatibility, please download and run the SketchUp Check-up application. Historically, people have seen problems with Intel-based cards with SketchUp. We don't recommend using these graphics cards with SketchUp at this time.
• 3-button, scroll-wheel mouse

• Minimum hardware

• 1 GHz processor
• 4GB RAM
• 500MB of free hard-disk space
• 3D class video card with 512 MB of memory or higher and support for hardware acceleration. Please ensure that the video card driver supports OpenGL 3.0 or higher and is up to date.

Mac OS 10.14+ (Mojave), Mac OS 10.13+ (High Sierra), and 10.12+ (Sierra).

• Software

• An internet connection is required to authorize SketchUp and to use some of the features.
• QuickTime 5.0 and web browser for multimedia tutorials.
• Safari

Boot Camp, VMWare, and Parallels are not supported environments.

• Recommended hardware

• 2.1+ GHz processor
• 8GB RAM
• 700MB of available hard-disk space Alert: Please be aware, SketchUp is unable to support case sensitive hard drives with our installation. If you use a case sensitive hard drive you'll experience crashes at launch which cannot be resolved.
• 3D class video card with 1 GB of memory or higher and support for hardware acceleration. Please ensure that the video card driver supports OpenGL version 3.0 or higher and is up to date.
• 3-button, scroll-wheel mouse

• Minimum hardware

• 2.1+ GHz Intel™ processor
• 4GB RAM
• 500MB of available hard-disk space.
• 3D class video card with 512 MB of memory or higher and support for hardware acceleration. Please ensure that the video card driver supports OpenGL version 3.0 or higher and up to date.
• 3-button, scroll-wheel mouse.

Download Sketchup License Guide