The Ultimate Guide to Convert and Downgrade any SKP Sketchup file to any lower version (2024)

 In this Article I will quickly gather, summarize and share all free tools plugins and online converters that allow you to go from higher to lower SKP file version, and that I personally use to change the version of any Sketchup file format version.

Here is how to change, convert, downgrade or down-save your new Sketchup file to older versions by Scenario :

1- Down-save a Sketchup file:

This is the case where you already own a recent Sketchup software version and you want to save a lower file version, or you already have a working file that you want to share it with other users, and want to make sure they will be able to open it regardless of what Sketchup version they have, and of course so they won't see the famous error message: "The file was created in a newer version of SketchUp"

1.1- You have Sketchup 2024 version : 

This option is disabled in Sketchup 2024, there is no drop-down menu where you can select the desired save version, you have to either use this Ruby Snippet or the Dezmo Save to older SketchUp Version extension.

1.2- You have any Sketchup version up to 2023 :  

For Sketchup 2023 or all versions below, you can just change the versions from the save drop-down menu, open your file in Sketchup then :

• Click File > Save As This will open the Save dialog box.

• Click the Save as Type drop-down menu and choose the desired SketchUp file version.

2- Convert SKP files online using 3Dwarehouse :  

You can convert your Sketchup file online by uploading it to 3Dwarehouse, the trick is not only to convert Sketchup files lower, but to be able to download models lower version from 3Dwarehouse too, while this is still possible but they certainly be patched very soon. Sketchup end of support policy is forcing users to upgrade and downloading from the 3Dwarehouse is becoming a privilege.

2.1- Download as Collada DAE format from 3Dwarehouse: 

Uploading your Sketchup file to 3Dwahouse will give you the option to re-download it as DAE Collada format (which is compatible with all Sketchup version), then import it again in Sketchup. This works fine for 3D models, but it's not recommended for Sketchup models that contain 2D drawings, dimensions, sections, scenes, text annotation etc...they will be lost after conversion.

2.2- Downgrade your file to 2019 using 3Dwarehouse:

As I already mentioned in this article, using 3Dwarehouse you can downgrade your Sketchup file online to as low as version 2019 which is the lowest possible by editing the download link and replacing the the 3D model ID.

Put in mind that 3Dwarehouse will keep the original version of the Sketchup file you uploaded, so if you want to do other people a favor you can always save and upload your files to 3Dwarehouse as SKP V8.

3- Convert newer SKP file Version to lower version using SuForYou Free converter (Win and Mac):

SuForYou is an offline conversion program available for Win and Mac, no registration or internet required, available to download for free from the official S4U page. I recommend this for all Sketchup users especially Sketchup Make 2017 fans, the good news is that you can do batch conversions and save multiple files at the same time, this converter may require a recent operating system.

4- Open Newer Sketchup Versions using Eneroth plugins (Win and Mac):

Eneroth extensions allow you to open newer Sketchup files on older Sketchup versions, there are two extensions, Eneroth Open Newer Version which is Windows only with a bit of technical issues, and the other Eneroth Legacy Save compatible with Win and Mac, both extensions work with all Sketchup versions from 2014 to 2023, and they open newer version up to SKP V2023.

Eneroth plugin is a good option to convert your SKP files to older version, it remains a question of choice and depends on the Sketchup version you are using not your operating system version.

5- Sketchup file conversion using online converters:

I left these to the last position because of their business model,  how they promote their garbage and sell their products, although they appear in the search results and give the impression that they offer free Sketchup file version conversion to waste your time at the end, that's why you are here reading this page. They are not that useful but it's worth to mention them

5.1- Dorchester 3D, Fabconvert, and AnyConv : 

They are almost the same online conversion tool, they will not convert or change the Sketchup file version, but can be useful to convert SKP format to other file formats like OBJ FBX STL and vice versa, they will save the converted file as 2023 version and they may not work as expected.

5.2- Modelo (paid) :

With more than 2 millions 100% AI generated articles about CAD and Design topics to spam the internet, this website is paid, and there is no free plan to test it, if you register a new account they will offer you 500MB of space to upload your 3d files, but you won't be able to convert your Sketchup files to lower version.

6- Other converters :

6.1- Automapki Autoconverter (Paid - Windows only):

Autoconverter will allows you to change the version of your Sketchup file and save it up or down to any desired version from V3 to V2021, it will also let you convert the SKP file to other file formats, you can download a fully functional evaluation copy that will work for 2 days, it will allow you to change and convert a maximum of 10 conversions, useful if need a quick one time file conversion job.

Conclusion:

Every year, almost any software available in the market releases a new version that does almost the same as the previous one, new users each year find themselves forced to upgrade, meanwhile old veterans constantly seek a way for lower version conversion.

If you are using an old Google Sketchup version 7, 8, a Trimble Sketchup Make versions 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 to 2017, one of the upsupported pro versions like 2018, 2019, 2020, or one of the versions that the support will end soon like 2021, 2022 and 2023, I guess the file conversion options listed in this article are more than enough to do the job, and keep will smith's wife's name, sorry I mean stay away from these online converters, they are only a waste of time.

If know you other ways to convert Sketchup files to lower versions please share them in the comments.