Guides
Straight answers for SketchUp files that won't cooperate
Version errors, viewing a model without SketchUp, and keeping an older SketchUp going. Fact-checked against SketchUp's own documentation, with every option compared honestly, free ones first.
Start here
SketchUp file “created with a newer version”? Here’s how to open it
Which SketchUp versions are really affected (hint: only 2020 and older), a 10-second check, and every way to open the file, compared honestly.
11 min readRead the guide
Viewing
How to view a SketchUp file without SketchUp
The desktop Viewer is gone. The free ways to look at a .skp today, and when you'll need more.
7 min readRead
SketchUp Make 2017
Opening newer files in SketchUp Make 2017
Why Make 2017 refuses newer models, where it stands in 2026, and how to keep it useful.
7 min readRead
Free tools
Free · no upload · no sign-up
SketchUp viewer
Open any .skp in your browser and orbit, zoom and pan around it in 3D, with SketchUp-style edges. Shows which version saved the file, too.
Open a model
Free · nothing uploaded
SKP version checker
Drop in a .skp to see which SketchUp saved it and whether yours can open it. Works on large files instantly, and nothing is uploaded.
Check a file
Your first file is free
Open that SketchUp file now
Upload it, pick your version, download. That's it.
Convert a file