If you lose SketchUp files or SketchUp got crashed, how to recover files in SketchUp? Check detailed solutions for SKP file recovery on Windows computers.
SketchUp is one of the most popular 2D & 3D modeling tools for creating, viewing, and modifying drawings. The SKP file is the primary file type of SketchUp. It is the project of SketchUp models, which includes all of the components in one project, such as doors, windows, lights, etc. It can be used for 3D printing, too.
Although the program appears ideal for users, everyone loses vital files from time to time. Accidental deletion, SketchUp crashes, or unexpected errors can cause SKP file loss. It can also be caused by external factors such as a failed hard drive or logical errors. If you encounter those situations, how to recover files in SketchUp? Don’t worry. There are effective ways to restore deleted and unsaved SketchUp files in this post.
How to recover SketchUp files after crash? Like Microsoft Office software, you can recover unsaved Word documents from the AutoSave folder. If you have enabled SketchUp AutoSave feature before, it’s easy to recover an unsaved SketchUp file. Therefore, the first step should be checking whether you have enabled SketchUp AutoSave.
You can click the SketchUp menu > Preferences > General tab. And then, check whether the Created Backup [SKB] and AutoSave checkboxes are checked or not. If the box is ticked, the AutoSave feature has been enabled.
This is an excellent method for locating files you want, especially if you have accidentally lost access to them due to your computer shutting down unexpectedly. The location of SketchUp AutoSave files is different for Windows and Mac computers.
For Mac:
~/Library/Application Support/SketchUp 2015~2018/SketchUp/Autosave/AutoSave_FILENAME.skp
For Windows PC:
C:\Users\[youraccount]\OneDrive\Documents\AutoSave_Untitled.skp
If you're using an older version of SketchUp, the software may automatically make backup copies of the SKP files you're working on. These backup files are recovered files along with your normal files.
How to recover deleted SKP files?
If you accidentally deleted SKP files, Recycle Bin is the first place you should go. If you can’t find the file in Recycle Bin, the deleted file may be too large to be saved, or you have emptied the Recycle Bin. For those situations, you can restore deleted SKP files from available backups, like File History.
To improve the chance of data recovery, you’d better not write any new data on the affected hard drive and perform SKP file recovery as soon as possible.
Both Windows and macOS have directories that store your deleted files temporarily. That is Recycle Bin. You can recover recently deleted files from Recycle Bin. After you delete the SKP files, you can locate and restore them from it. Follow the steps below to recover SketchUp files.
Step 1. Double-click the Recycle Bin icon and open it.
Step 2. Right-click the SKP file you want to retrieve and select “Restore”. The file will be moved to the original location. Alternatively, you can drag and drop it to the desired location.
Without backups, the most effective way for SKP file recovery is the reliable data recovery software-MyRecover. It’s a professional file recovery program to recover permanently deleted files from storage devices, like HDD, SSD, external hard drive, SD card, etc., on Windows 11/10/8/7 and Windows Server.
SKP file recovery software-MyRecover
Download MyRecover to recover SketchUp files quickly.
Step 1. Install and launch MyRecover on your Windows computers. Hover the mouse over the drive and click Scan to scan.
Step 2. The software will scan the partition quickly and deeply to find deleted SKP files. You can recover the deleted file directly though the scan is not completed yet.
Step 3. When the scanning finishes, you can search the file name & extension of the file or Filter the scanning list to find the deleted SKP files quickly.
In previous versions of SketchUp, when you successfully save your SketchUp file for the second time, SketchUp can automatically create a backup file. Usually, the backup file is named FILENAME.skb on Windows and FILENAME.skp on Mac. You can find it in the same folder as the original. If you receive error messages like “Unexpected File Format” or “File Not Found”, it means the SKP files have become corrupted. The main reason is that you have saved the SketchUp file to other cloud drives, such as Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, etc. Therefore, it’s recommended to save SketchUp files on local drives.
Finding your SketchUp files is simple. SketchUp recovered files are automatically saved in the “My Documents” folder on your C drive. Besides, you can change the location where SketchUp files are kept. This location is the most common one for autosaving SketchUp files.
The best way to recover overwritten SketchUp files is to enable File Recovery Manually or create restore points. Then you can restore the SketchUp file to any previous version of it. Right-click the file, select “Restore to previous versions,” and choose one from the newly-opened window. It’s recommended to use Windows backup freeware-AOMEI Backupper to back up your essential SketchUp files. It automatically supports incremental backup for all data on your hard drives or selected partitions.