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    (TRICK) To re-enable skp file preview

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    • P Offline
      pibuz
      last edited by

      Hi guys!
      It may sound repetitive, but I've searched a lot in the forum and I hardly found it at last! So I decided to put it here for a more rapid serach (moderators are free to remove this topic if useless).
      This micro-tutorial to explain how to enable the thumbnail preview if it doesn't show up automatically.
      It typically happens when you have two sketchup version installed and you uninstall one of them: once uninstalled, your skp files' thumbnails are gone, and you can only see the standard sketchup.exe icon.
      A solution is obviously to re-install sketchup (repairing the existing installed version), but most of the times it is more practical to re-enable the thumbnails this way:

      Start -> run...
      type "cmd" and then press "return"

      navigate into your sketchup root directory by typing for example:
      "cd C:\program files\google\sketchup 6" and press "return"

      now you're in your sketchup6 root folder. Type:
      "regsvr32 thumbsup.dll" and press "return".

      Done 😄

      Hope this can help someone

      WEB (ita) - https://filipposcarso.wixsite.com/ordinentropico

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      • K Offline
        kwistenbiebel
        last edited by

        Cool Pibuz!
        Does it work with Vista as well?

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        • P Offline
          pibuz
          last edited by

          ..uhm...don't know at all, since I use WindowsXP pro...
          Perhaps someone experiencing this problem on Vista could test it...
          Sorry!

          WEB (ita) - https://filipposcarso.wixsite.com/ordinentropico

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          • K Offline
            kevsterman
            last edited by

            @unknownuser said:

            Start -> run...
            type "cmd" and then press "return"

            navigate into your sketchup root directory by typing for example:
            "cd C:\program files\google\sketchup 6" and press "return"

            now you're in your sketchup6 root folder. Type:
            "regsvr32 thumbsup.dll" and press "return".

            I'm having the same problem in that I don't have previews for any SU models which is a pain as I want to tidy up some folders but can't when all I have is the description.

            I'm running Vista 64bit so if I follow pibuz's advice would I have to type "regsvr**64** thumbsup.dll" and press "return".

            "Avoid keeping more than 3 items on your desk that you can't fit into your mouth."

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            • free agentF Offline
              free agent
              last edited by

              very handy thanx, my pc at work just started doing that the other day

              http:i167.photobucket.comalbumsu143FreeAgent84bug.gif

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              • M Offline
                Marklas
                last edited by

                Hi guys, do you know how you enable this on a Mac?

                Thanks,

                Mark.

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                • K Offline
                  Karlfucious
                  last edited by

                  Thanks a lot. Ive been wondering how to do this for a while.

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                  • thomthomT Offline
                    thomthom
                    last edited by

                    This would be nice as a sticky thread.

                    Thomas Thomassen — SketchUp Monkey & Coding addict
                    List of my plugins and link to the CookieWare fund

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                    • K Offline
                      kwistenbiebel
                      last edited by

                      @thomthom said:

                      This would be nice as a sticky thread.

                      +1

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                      • K Offline
                        kwistenbiebel
                        last edited by

                        @kevsterman said:

                        I'm running Vista 64bit so if I follow pibuz's advice would I have to type "regsvr**64** thumbsup.dll" and press "return".

                        That doesn't work on my box.

                        Anyone else has an idea to get this working for Vista 64 bit?

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                        • B Offline
                          BorgMan
                          last edited by

                          I had the same problem as well not so long ago. I fixed it by hitting the SU installer and clicking the "repair" option instead of the "install" or "remove" option. It will then check to see if there's anything out of the ordinary (like faulty preview information) and fix it. I think this is the most universal way of fixing this kind of problem, no matter which operating system 😄

                          More varied than the Borg, more powerful than the living dead, and better shots than Imperial Stormtroopers.

                          You've gotta love Slivers.

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                          • K Offline
                            kevsterman
                            last edited by

                            Where would I find the SU installer?

                            "Avoid keeping more than 3 items on your desk that you can't fit into your mouth."

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                            • B Offline
                              BorgMan
                              last edited by

                              Well... You used a file to install the program, right? That is the file you need. I don't know where you put your files, I usually throw them in a folder called Downloads...

                              More varied than the Borg, more powerful than the living dead, and better shots than Imperial Stormtroopers.

                              You've gotta love Slivers.

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                              • jeff hammondJ Offline
                                jeff hammond
                                last edited by

                                @marklas said:

                                Hi guys, do you know how you enable this on a Mac?

                                Thanks,

                                Mark.

                                it's not so simple but it's doable... one way is to select custom icon in the 'save as' dialog..

                                http://homepage.mac.com/jeffhammond/.Public/scf/customicon.jpg

                                the weird thing about this is that the icons have to be bigger than 48x48 in order for you to see them correctly.. [finder / ⌘J / icon size] .. if you don't want the bigger icons on your system, make a folder for skp files and have only that folder display larger icons (and that works out ok since you're actually trying to look at the icon)..

                                another problem is that your system isn't showing a preview in the same way it does a .jpg.. you can put a generic icon jpg on your computer and be able to see its icon as a preview.. with the skps, you're only seeing the preview because you custom made an icon for it... so, only the files that are saved with a custom icon will be able to be seen as you wish.. all the other ones will still have the generic sketchup icon..

                                this is how it will look vs. the standard view.. (the icon doesn't have to be this big btw)

                                http://homepage.mac.com/jeffhammond/.Public/scf/iconic.jpg

                                there's an app called GraphicConverter which used to ship with os x... it stopped shipping with macs around the same time they added .skp support to the app 😄..
                                there's a trial available here: (the difference between the trial and full version is that the trial has a 10sec. waiting period before launching)
                                http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/10057380

                                once installed, you only have to browse a folder containing skps in order for it to make preview icons for the files.. super easy -- file/browse folder/navigate to folder... the icons it builds are much nicer than the sketchup customs and it changes the icons very quickly.. these icons are also visible at any size.. if you really want, you can turn on the GraphicConverter automator actions and search your whole system for skps instead of via folders..

                                sketchup made icon on left -- GraphicConverter on right

                                http://homepage.mac.com/jeffhammond/.Public/scf/iconic1.jpg

                                and this is what happens if you want to view the icons at 48x48 or smaller

                                http://homepage.mac.com/jeffhammond/.Public/scf/iconic2.jpg

                                so those are the two workarounds i know of.. maybe with snow leopard we'll see system support for this.. 10.6 is supposedly going to be a more fine tuned 10.5 instead of a bunch of new features.. focus will be on stability, memory use, etc and i can imagine support for a wider range of files which not only will have preview icons but will be viewable with cover flow & quick look..

                                http://homepage.mac.com/jeffhammond/.Public/scf/quicklook.jpg

                                dotdotdot

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                                • K Offline
                                  kevsterman
                                  last edited by

                                  @unknownuser said:

                                  I fixed it by hitting the SU installer and clicking the "repair" option instead of the "install" or "remove" option. It will then check to see if there's anything out of the ordinary (like faulty preview information) and fix it.

                                  I found where the installer was, ran it, hit repair but it didn't make any difference 😞

                                  Is there anything else I can try? Is it because I've got SU 6 & 7 installed?

                                  "Avoid keeping more than 3 items on your desk that you can't fit into your mouth."

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                                  • S Offline
                                    sepo
                                    last edited by

                                    It could be because the path is not correct. The path is cd *C:\program files\google\google sketchup 6* instead of *cd C:\program files\google\sketchup 6*

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                                    • K Offline
                                      kevsterman
                                      last edited by

                                      Do I have to have all my components in the original SU folder, ie, in the programme files? At the moment all my components are in a folder in My Documents for ease of access.

                                      "Avoid keeping more than 3 items on your desk that you can't fit into your mouth."

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                                      • S Offline
                                        sepo
                                        last edited by

                                        No..you don't have to. However I am finding on my Vista comp it is reporting error when calling regsvr32 thumbsup.dll. As consequence I have preview of .skb instead of .skp. Quite bizzare.

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                                        • I Offline
                                          ideas_arte
                                          last edited by

                                          @unknownuser said:

                                          @marklas said:

                                          Hi guys, do you know how you enable this on a Mac?

                                          Thanks,

                                          Mark.

                                          it's not so simple but it's doable... one way is to select custom icon in the 'save as' dialog..

                                          http://homepage.mac.com/jeffhammond/.Public/scf/customicon.jpg

                                           THANK YOU VERY MUCH...! 👍 

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                                          • K Offline
                                            kevsterman
                                            last edited by

                                            Grr.. I'm still no nearer to solving this problem. Anyone have any other ideas?

                                            "Avoid keeping more than 3 items on your desk that you can't fit into your mouth."

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