(TRICK) To re-enable skp file preview

slbaumgartner · 14 Dec 2017, 13:36

I don't know why it stopped working. It is possible that Apple changed something in releases of OS X since I wrote my qlgenerator or that subsequent versions of SketchUp associate the skp files with a different system id. There was so little interest expressed at the time that I haven't bothered to maintain it. I've since moved on to macOS 10.13.2, which might also behave differently than your OS. Plus, SketchUp 2018 comes with its own new qlgenerator, which eliminates the need for mine going forward. That said, you could try the ideas below to investigate.

You are using the wrong pattern in grep to search the return from qlmanage. Try qlmanage -m | grep Ske instead and you should see what is handling SketchUp files. If my qlgenerator is correctly installed, you should see entries for dyn.ah62d4rv4ge81g45u and com.sketchup. I had to use these because at the time SketchUp itself wasn't registering anything. The icons will take effect only after you save a file while the plugin is installed, as the plugin is what creates the image used by the icon.

It's been long enough I may have forgotten, but I don't think qlgenerators can be run standalone from the Terminal. They hook into a calling chain where they are fed a file and return an image handle, which doesn't make sense standalone.

You might also check for a folder named .QL_SketchUp in your home folder (things starting with . are hidden by default - in terminal you need to use ls -a to see them). It should exist, be writable, and should contain an image for each skp you have saved since the plugin was installed.

Check your system's log files to see whether you can find anything about quick look errors. Because OS X creates vast numbers of log messages about things that will mean nothing to you, this is somewhat like looking for a needle in a haystack but if you find something it might provide a clue about why it is no longer working.

rombout · 14 Dec 2017, 17:45

I got it working by changing the plist file

I went on for hours checking and googling stuff. drove me nuts. I even installed Xcode but got to the point where you need to add code which does all the work and look at the folders and files. I didnt know what todo there.

So i went on again looking in other files. Then i noticed that when i changed com.skethup to com.sketchup.skp it does work again.

This is the altered Plist i got.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE plist PUBLIC "-//Apple//DTD PLIST 1.0//EN" "http://www.apple.com/DTDs/PropertyList-1.0.dtd">
<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
    <key>BuildMachineOSBuild</key>
    <string>12C3006</string>
    <key>CFBundleDevelopmentRegion</key>
    <string>English</string>
    <key>CFBundleDocumentTypes</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>CFBundleTypeExtensions</key>
            <array>
                <string>skp</string>
            </array>
            <key>CFBundleTypeRole</key>
            <string>QLGenerator</string>
            <key>LSItemContentTypes</key>
            <array>
                <string>com.sketchup.skp</string>
                <string>dyn.ah62d4rv4ge81g45u</string>
                <string>dyn.ah62d4rv4ge81g45c</string>
            </array>
        </dict>
    </array>
    <key>CFBundleExecutable</key>
    <string>SketchUp-Preview</string>
    <key>CFBundleIdentifier</key>
    <string>SLBaumgartner.SketchUp-Preview</string>
    <key>CFBundleInfoDictionaryVersion</key>
    <string>6.0</string>
    <key>CFBundleName</key>
    <string>SketchUp-Preview</string>
    <key>CFBundleShortVersionString</key>
    <string>1</string>
    <key>CFBundleVersion</key>
    <string>1.0</string>
    <key>CFPlugInDynamicRegisterFunction</key>
    <string></string>
    <key>CFPlugInDynamicRegistration</key>
    <string>NO</string>
    <key>CFPlugInFactories</key>
    <dict>
        <key>36F18F11-EC39-4F93-9C9A-39C5CA341D28</key>
        <string>QuickLookGeneratorPluginFactory</string>
    </dict>
    <key>CFPlugInTypes</key>
    <dict>
        <key>5E2D9680-5022-40FA-B806-43349622E5B9</key>
        <array>
            <string>36F18F11-EC39-4F93-9C9A-39C5CA341D28</string>
        </array>
    </dict>
    <key>CFPlugInUnloadFunction</key>
    <string></string>
    <key>DTCompiler</key>
    <string></string>
    <key>DTPlatformBuild</key>
    <string>4G2008a</string>
    <key>DTPlatformVersion</key>
    <string>GM</string>
    <key>DTSDKBuild</key>
    <string>12C37</string>
    <key>DTSDKName</key>
    <string>macosx10.8</string>
    <key>DTXcode</key>
    <string>0452</string>
    <key>DTXcodeBuild</key>
    <string>4G2008a</string>
    <key>LSApplicationCategoryType</key>
    <string></string>
    <key>NSHumanReadableCopyright</key>
    <string>Copyright © 2012 Stephen Baumgartner. All rights reserved.</string>
    <key>QLNeedsToBeRunInMainThread</key>
    <false/>
    <key>QLPreviewHeight</key>
    <real>600</real>
    <key>QLPreviewWidth</key>
    <real>800</real>
    <key>QLSupportsConcurrentRequests</key>
    <false/>
    <key>QLThumbnailMinimumSize</key>
    <integer>16</integer>
    <key>UTImportedTypeDeclarations</key>
    <array>
        <dict>
            <key>UTTypeConformsTo</key>
            <array>
                <string>public.data</string>
            </array>
            <key>UTTypeDescription</key>
            <string>SketchUp File</string>
            <key>UTTypeIdentifier</key>
            <string>com.sketchup.skp</string>
            <key>UTTypeTagSpecification</key>
            <dict>
                <key>public.filename-extension</key>
                <array>
                    <string>skp</string>
                    <string>skb</string>
                </array>
            </dict>
        </dict>
    </array>
</dict>
</plist>

So su18 supports finally thumb previews? thats about time

Does it also preview material icons now in material editor? I use thea and has own material library, yet it doesnt take the icon out of the material but shows a texture only

rombout · 14 Dec 2017, 17:52

Heavy models do take super long to save, is that due to jpg creation?

rombout · 14 Dec 2017, 18:24

Im baffled, i worked for a while and stopped again. I didnt put all my other ql plugins back and so i did. Then nothing happened again.

Now ive taken all out accept qlsketchup and still nothing is created??
Also thumb generator was working and that as well stopped now. I think ill do a restart orso.

rombout · 14 Dec 2017, 19:31

Not sure whats happening, but removed all other. put them back restart and now it seems to work again... weird stuff

slbaumgartner · 14 Dec 2017, 22:16

@rombout said:

I got it working by changing the plist file

I looked some more, and it seems that SketchUp's own plist files affect what CFBundleDocumentTypes are initially registered for skp files. At some point they went from just com.sketchup to com.sketchup.skp, which necessitates the change you made in my plist.

slbaumgartner · 14 Dec 2017, 22:21

@rombout said:

Heavy models do take super long to save, is that due to jpg creation?

Heavy models can take a long time to save even without the jpg generation, but yes it will slow the save even more. You could get a sense of the impact by exporting the model as a 800x600 2D jpeg image, which is essentially what the plugin does.

slbaumgartner · 14 Dec 2017, 22:25

@rombout said:

Not sure whats happening, but removed all other. put them back restart and now it seems to work again... weird stuff

Recent versions of OS X cache both plists and the qlmanage settings. You often need to force them to refresh their caches to get things to "stick", especially if an affected app is open at the time. To force refresh of the preferences cache you can either log off and back on, reboot, or issue "killall cfprefsd" in the Terminal. To force refresh of the quick looks, do "qlmanage -r".

tonymynd · 22 Dec 2022, 18:15

Thanks so much, the trick: "regsvr32 thumbsup.dll" worked for my Windows 10. 12-22-2022

mariaflores · 15 Oct 2023, 15:12

Can anyone clarify whether there's a legitimate way to re-enable skp file preview, and if so, how can users ensure they're not engaging in any illegal activity when attempting to do so?
Additionally, has the author been contacted regarding version 2.17 and its relationship to the current version 2.2.4?