Google SketchUp: The Missing Manual

Saving Components for Reuse

You're the creator of the newly named "skylight" component. It wasn't one of the components that you retrieved from a collection or the 3D Warehouse. So at this point the only place the skylight component exists is inside of this SketchUp document. With a decent chance you'll need a skylight again, it makes sense to save it where you can reuse or even modify it for some other purpose.

1. In the Components window (Window → Components), click the Select tab.

   The Select tab shows your components as thumbnails, a list of names, or longer descriptions, depending on the View Options (Figure 9-17). Choose the view you like best.

2. Click the In Model button.

   SketchUp displays the components that are in your model. If you added components to your model but later deleted them, they'll show here, too.

3. Right-click the skylight component, and choose Save As from the shortcut menu.

   A file browser window opens. Use the browser to find a folder where you want to store your SketchUp components. If this is your first component, you may want to create a special SketchUp Components folder. Over time, it's likely that you'll want to create subfolders to hold different types of components: windows and doors, landscape furniture, people, and pets. It's your collection, so organize it in a way that makes sense to you and provides room for growth.

4. Click the Save button.

   SketchUp saves components in files that are exactly the same as any SketchUp document. In fact, the files have a .skp extension. ...