Google SketchUp: The Missing Manual

Editing a Group

When you click a group, you select the entire group. If you want to make changes to the edges and faces inside of a grouped object, you have to open it in edit mode. As usual in SketchUp, you have more than one way to get to the same place:

• Right-click → Edit Group (Control-click → Edit Group). Use the Select (space bar) tool to select the group, and then right-click it in the modeling window. As an alternative, you can right-click the name of the group in the Outliner window.

• Double-click the group. This technique is a quick and easy way to open a group for editing, especially if you're comfortable double-clicking.

• Edit → Edit Group. This is the longest route to opening a group for editing, but you can be confident that the menu command is always there when you need it.

Hiding the Rest of the Model while Editing Groups and Components

Typically when you open a group for editing, the rest of the model is faded, and the group (or component) is the only part of the model that's displayed in sharp colors. You can use another way to edit groups and components. You can have SketchUp completely hide the rest of the model while you're editing, making it easier to focus your attention on the group that you're editing; it also gives you a handy way to determine exactly what's included in your group.

1. In your model of the house, with the Select (space bar) tool, right-click the roof group and then choose Edit Group.

   The roof of the group opens for editing. The rest of the model is ...