SKP File Recovery: How to Recover Files in SketchUp

What is an SKP file?

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 unsaved SketchUp files via AutoSave?

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.

Where to find SketchUp AutoSave files?

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.

Method 1. Recover SketchUp files from Recycle Bin

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.

Method 2. Recover SketchUp files via software

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

▶ Support permanently deleted files recovery, formatted file recovery, and other data loss situations.

▶ Recover deleted or missing files from HDDs, SSDs, external hard drives, and other storage devices.

▶ Recover images, videos, audio, emails, Word document, Excel Sheets, PDFs, and hundreds of other file types.

▶ Compatible with Windows 7/8/10/11 and Windows Server.

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.

FAQ about SKP file recovery