The Toolbar Cure or how to find peace from the SketchUp Toolbar Madness.
by Max Coppoletta
Ever got impatient with SketchUp for messing up the interface with all the toolbars in the wrong place?
Or maybe after a couple of weeks, you still cannot place the Layers toolbar exactly where you want?
Even the best program in the world has its bugs!
If your answer is YES! read on to find out how to store your favourite settings, toolbars position, shortcuts, and recall
them all back when you need them (which is every time you open SU!).
Unfortunately for MAC users this article only works with Windows and XP Sp2 to be precise. I have not tried with Vista (and never will), but the
process should basically be the same.
Lets start:
When SU does a normal install, it creates a folder in Program Files called Google SketchUp 6. This is the path:
C:\Program Files\Google\Google SketchUp 6
STEP 1 - Create a folder called _MASTER.
Here we will keep all our settings and preference files.
This is what the Google folder looks like:
Please note: do not mess with the registry if you are not
experienced, (or you are Inspector Clouseau)
However, it is easy, if you follow the instructions properly..
it will be fine.
When you change anything in SU (toolbars or shortcuts), the settings are stored in the windows registry the moment you
exit the program. The trick therefore is to open SU, setup the toolbars, shortcut keys, file locations etc. close SU, and
save the registry key that stores all that precious information. Got it?
Windows stores a lot of information in the registry: installation folders, commands, licence numbers etc. It is accessed
using a program called Regedit.exe. Lets open it up and have a look...
STEP 2 - Go to Start > Run > type Regedit > click OK
Using the explorer like structure, navigate to this place (called key):
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\SketchUp6
The contents of this registry key hold the secret to a happy toolbar experience in SU!
There are other keys relative to SU (as you can see from the image above) but for now, we only need this one.
STEP 3 - Right Click on the SketchUp6 key > Export.
Choosing export, we will create a file containing the settings
stored at the time of exiting SU
STEP 4 - Call the exported file MASTER_SETTINGS.reg
If you open it in notepad it looks something like this:
This is the heart of the fix with this reg file you can import
the settings back into the registry anytime SU messes up the
toolbars (which is next time you use the program!)
This will instantly restore the lost settings and layout : )
Importing or applying registry files is called merging.
Now we are going to make the process automatic. This is done through the use of batch files. Small programs you can
easily create in notepad that can perform a great range of operations (their extension is .cmd or .bat).
We need to create 3 files: 2 batch files and 1 more registry file.
(Please note, this is assuming your installation of SU is in the default folder!)
STEP 5 Open Notepad > Copy and Paste the text below > Save the file as GET_KEY.cmd
CLS
@echo off
ECHO.
ECHO GET_KEY
ECHO Please wait...
start /wait Regedit /E C:\Progra~1\Google\_MASTER\MASTER_SETTINGS.REG "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\SketchUp6"
ECHO.
ECHO Done!
EXIT
What this batch file means:
start /wait Regedit /E C:\Progra~1\Google\_MASTER\MASTER_SETTINGS.REG
this line tells windows to go and export a registry file called MASTER_SETTINGS.REG.
"HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\SketchUp6"
this line tells the registry which key (and subkeys) is to be exported.
STEP 6 Open Notepad > Copy and Paste the text below > Save the file as SKETCHUP_MASTER.cmd
CLS
@echo off
ECHO.
ECHO SKETCHUP_MASTER
ECHO Please wait...
start /wait Regedit /S start /wait "C:\Program Files\Google\_MASTER\CLEANER.REG"
start /wait Regedit /S start /wait "C:\Program Files\Google\_MASTER\MASTER_SETTINGS.REG"
start "MASTER" "C:\Program Files\Google\Google SketchUp 6\SketchUp.exe"
ECHO.
ECHO Done!
EXIT
What it means:
start /wait Regedit /S start /wait "C:\Program Files\Google\_MASTER\CLEANER.REG"
this line tells the batch file (without asking for user interaction) to merge the registry file called CLEANER.REG.
start /wait Regedit /S start /wait "C:\Program Files\Google\_MASTER\MASTER_SETTINGS.REG"
this line tells the batch file (without asking for user interaction) to merge the registry file called MASTER_SETTINGS.REG.
start "MASTER" "C:\Program Files\Google\Google SketchUp 6\SketchUp.exe"
this line... finally starts SketchUp!
STEP 7 Open Notepad > Copy and Paste the text below > Save the file as CLEANER.reg
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[-HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Google\SketchUp6]
What is CLEANER.reg?
This is a small registry file you can use to clear (delete) all current SU registry settings. Notice the minus sign after the
square bracket thats what removes all entries under the key that follows.
I use CLEANER.reg before MASTER_SETTINGS.reg to avoid any confusion and make sure there are no leftover entries in the
registry (you can try running SU after cleaner.reg alone you will then see the same interface you were presented with
when you first installed SU).
We now have 4 files:
MASTER_SETTINGS.reg
GET_KEY.cmd
SKETCHUP_MASTER.cmd
CLEANER.reg
STEP 8 Place all files in the _MASTER folder we should have something like this:
All we need to do now is to create 2 shortcuts which we can place on the desktop, start menu etc:
One for SKETCHUP_MASTER.cmd
One for GET_KEY.cmd.
I assume you already know how to create shortcuts and how to assign icons to them after all you have just been editing
the registry! But if not, just Google it and you will be creating shortcuts in no time.
Usage:
Run SketchUp by clicking on your new shortcut (the one that points to SKETCHUP_MASTER.cmd)
Run GET_KEY when you want to export new settings. Note this will overwrite MASTER_SETTINGS.reg!
(This is very useful if you have updated plugins or made any changes you want to keep)
Good Luck and Enjoy your toolbars!
Max
