PRO If you're a SketchUp Pro user, you can import or export CAD files, which use the .dwg or .dxf file formats.

Before you import a file, it's helpful to know what CAD entities SketchUp Pro does and doesn't support and how to prepare your CAD file for best results. Then, you can walk through the basic importing steps outlined in this article. After you're done importing, check out Starting with a CAD File in SketchUp Pro, which offers several tips and tricks for handling imported CAD geometry.

Unlike AutoCAD/LT in Windows, AutoCAD/LT for MAC have no CONVERTPSTYLES or CONVERTCTB commands to convert named plot styles to color plot styles (or vice versa) 'on the fly'. But there is workaround - if you want to convert STB-based DWG to CTB-based. Click File menu Open. In the Select File dialog box, in the Files of type box, select DXF (.dxf). Find and select the DXF file you want to import, or enter the name of the DXF file at File Name. AutoCAD LT:: Inserting DWG And DXF Files Into Existing Open DWG? I'm using AutoCAD LT 2013 and I'm having problems inserting.dwg and.dxf files into an existing open dwg. I have previously done this successfully on this computer so I'm pretty sure that I am doing it correctly.

If you're exporting a SketchUp Pro file to a CAD format, how you import a CAD file depends on whether it's a 2D file, such as a floor plan, or a 3D model. In this article, you also discover how SketchUp data is exported into CAD format.

Table of Contents

Understanding what CAD elements SketchUp can import

The following table outlines what CAD elements SketchUp does and doesn't support. If an element isn't supported, SketchUp simply ignores it when you import the CAD file.

Supported CAD Entities	Unsupported CAD Entities
Arcs	Proprietary ADT or ARX objects
Circles	Dimensions
Entities with thickness	Hatching
Faces	Text
3D faces	XREFs
Layers
Lines and supported Line Styles
Materials
Polyline-based solids
Nested blocks
AutoCAD regions
Point
Ellipse
Spline
RasterImage

Preparing a CAD file for import into SketchUp

When you take a few steps to check and prepare your CAD file before import, you can make sure all the data you need imports into SketchUp and streamline the import process. The following sections outline what you need to look for and how to resolve any potential conflicts between CAD elements and SketchUp.

Tip: You don't want to lose details in your original CAD file. Remember to create a copy of the CAD file and prepare that copy for importing into SketchUp.

Change unsupported elements

If you need to import unsupported CAD elements into SketchUp, try exploding those elements in CAD so they become primitive CAD drawing elements that SketchUp does support.

For example, when you explode CAD objects into block entities, they import into SketchUp as components. If you explode the CAD block entities into polylines, the polylines import into SketchUp as lines or polylines.

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Delete unnecessary layers

In an imported CAD file, SketchUp automatically discards any entities that have no 3D relevance, such as text, dimensions, hatching, and so on. However, SketchUp won't discard the layers holding these entities. To avoid a bunch of empty layers in SketchUp, you may want to purge any unused layers through Statistics on the Model Info dialog.

Move geometry close to the origin

In SketchUp, geometry that's many miles or kilometers away from the origin (0,0) can cause performance problems. To avoid these problems, check the placement of geometry in your CAD file before you import the CAD file into SketchUp.

For example, say you're importing Autodesk AutoCAD DWG files, such as civil site plans, in order to work with the contour lines. If the graphic or geometry is far away from the origin, move it close to the origin before importing the CAD file into SketchUp.

Alternatively, deselect the Preserve Drawing Origin option in SketchUp's DWG/DXF import options, as explained in Importing a CAD file into SketchUp, later in this article.

Reduce the file size if needed

Generally, CAD files import into SketchUp successfully when the file size is 15MB or less. When you import larger CAD files, the import can take a long time or may fail. Conversely, the smaller your CAD file size, the quicker and easier the import. Also, after a complex CAD file is imported into SketchUp, you may notice that SketchUp's performance slows down. That's because lines and faces in SketchUp contain more data than their CAD equivalents.

Tip: For best results with imported CAD files, keep the size of imported files to a minimum. Here are a few tips for minimizing a CAD file before you import it into SketchUp:

Import only the necessary geometry. SketchUp models can be designed to be as accurate as models in CAD. However, SketchUp is not designed for the same type of line-intensive drawings done in CAD software. In your CAD file, clean up or remove any content that you don't need to use after you import the CAD file into SketchUp. You might simplify the CAD file to just walls — and maybe doors and windows if you want to model those in your SketchUp file, too.
Separate levels of detail among different CAD files. If your CAD file holds lots of necessary geometry, consider whether you break one file into a few smaller files. For example, one imported CAD file can contain site plan information, another can have a floor plan, and a final file can have a specific detail.

Check the unit of measure

If possible, find out the unit of measure used to create the CAD file. When you import the CAD file into SketchUp, you need to know whether your file uses inches, feet, or a metric unit of measurement. That way, you can match the SketchUp model's units to the CAD file's units and thus maintain the scale and dimensions of your imported CAD geometry.

In SketchUp 2018 and later, you also have the option to import the model using the units specified in the CAD file. In the Units dropdown, select Model Units from the list, which tells SketchUp to attempt to match the units saved in the CAD file. If SketchUp is unable to determine what unit of measurement was used to create the CAD file, it will default to 1 CAD unit equals 1 inch in SketchUp.

Save in a SketchUp-compatible CAD file format

When SketchUp imports a CAD file, SketchUp strips the information to its basic geometric components. So no matter what AutoCAD file format you use (such as 2013 or 2018), the end result is essentially the same. To maximize compatibility between a CAD file and SketchUp, however, saving your CAD file in the Release 13 or Release 14 format works best.

Importing a CAD file into SketchUp

After you've checked and prepared your CAD file, you're ready to import it into SketchUp. The following steps walk you through the import process for your operating system:

In SketchUp, open the SketchUp model into which you want to import your .dwg or .dxf file.
Select File > Import. An Import dialog box appears.
Navigate the the place your hard drive where your CAD file is saved.
From the Files of Type drop-down list, select AutoCAD Files (*.dwg, *.dxf).
Select the file you want to import.
Click the Options button. The Import AutoCAD DWG/DXF Options dialog box appears, as shown in the following figure.
(Optional) In the Geometry area, select your preferences for the following options:
- select Merge Coplanar Faces to tell SketchUp to automatically remove triangulated lines from planes.
- Selecting the Orient Faces Consistently box tells SketchUp to analyze the direction of imported faces and orient the faces so that their direction is uniform.
(Optional) Select the Preserve Drawing Origin checkbox to place the imported geometry at the origin defined in the .dwg or .dxf file. Leave the checkbox deselected if you want to place the imported geometry near the SketchUp origin.
(Optional) To import geometry at the correct scale, select the unit used in your CAD file from the Units

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