How Reset Dialog Boxes If ...

[JoelM3DM]

How can you reset the dialog boxes if the layout is so screwed up you can't see the Preferences window?

[Mike Amos]

Have you tried closing the dialogue boxes in turn until you find the one you want?

[TIG]

The Sketchup Preferences dialog is modal, so it always appears above the other Sketchup windows/dialogs and stops them being active until it is closed.
This sounds like you have changed your screen resolution or perhaps had two monitors attached at some point and the Preferences dialog is opening 'off-screen'...
To fix this you need to do some Registry editing - if you feel at all uncomfortable with this please stop now!

Otherwise...
Close Sketchup.
Windows > Start-button > Run... > type in regedit + OK.
A dialog opens showing the Registry entries.
Find this entry:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Google\SketchUp8\PrefsPS
Find the value ' x' and double-click it to edit its data, in the dialog that opens enter 0
Find the value ' y' and double-click it to edit its data, in the dialog that opens enter 0
Close regedit
You have now told Sketchup to open the Preferences dialog at 0,0 i.e. top-left of screen.
Open Preferences and it should appear there...

If not then try repairing Sketchup under Control Panel > Programs and Features, if that fails try reinstalling Sketchup completely...

[JoelM3DM]

Wow, it worked! Thanks

[Box]

The lowtech way to fix it is to change the position of the second screen until you find the open dialog box and move it (or them) back to the main screen, you can then reposition the screen to wherever you want it. My pc tends to move around the world a lot so this happens quite regularly for me, not just with SU, so I'm pretty quick at moving things back.

[DavidBoulder]

Here is another solution on windows. I or got th keep combination but basically you use key shortcuts to navigate and then click move, use arrow key and then mouse. Sounds complicated but is pretty easy.
http://openstudio.nrel.gov/google-sketchup-plug-tutorials/tutorials-native-sketchup-tools/finding-lost-dialog-boxes

[ashscott]

Great info, thanks Tig