SketchUp and CAD: importing and exporting DWG files

In SketchUp desktop, use File > Import to bring in a DWG, then File > Export > 2D Graphic for a flat drawing or 3D Model for a mesh going out. SketchUp isn't AutoCAD: the two exchange geometry and annotation through DWG and DXF files. Agree on the drawing unit before importing, and have the AutoCAD user measure the same known edge after export. Choose LayOut when the delivery is a set of sheets with tags and native annotations.

Choose the DWG your colleague needs

A plan view, a three-dimensional mesh and a drawing sheet need different exports. Ask what the recipient intends to edit, which AutoCAD version the file must open in, and what one drawing unit represents. For the teaching example below, the sender confirms a straight reference edge is 3000mm, and both people agree that one CAD drawing unit means one millimeter. Use a known length from your own drawing for the actual exchange.

Recipient's job	Export to choose
Work with a flat plan or elevation at real size	Desktop 2D Graphic, using a standard view, Parallel Projection and Full Scale
Work with the three-dimensional form	Desktop 3D Model, choosing a mesh type and the entity types to include
Receive drawing pages with sheet annotations	LayOut DWG/DXF, with separate files per page when needed

Pro includes the desktop modeler and LayOut; Studio includes Pro and is Windows only. The detailed desktop controls below refer to current SketchUp 2027 on a supported Windows or macOS device, which for 2027 means Windows 11 or an Apple silicon Mac.

Go can also exchange DWG and DXF through its paid Web and iPad apps. The Web file-type lists include both formats for subscribers; Free's listed formats exclude native DWG/DXF exchange. Choose Pro when you need the desktop workflow or LayOut, rather than buying it solely because a file ends in .dwg.

On iPad, use Import on the Main Toolbar and select the file in the browser. For export, use Export from the Main Toolbar or Scenes panel, choose the DWG/DXF File Type and its format options, then Export. The iPad supports 3D CAD import and 2D or 3D CAD export; 2D CAD export isn't available from Home because it needs the model's camera context. Use these iPad controls in place of the desktop dialogs below.

Import a CAD copy at its real size

Start with a copy from the sender. Ask them to remove unneeded layers and geometry from that copy, while retaining the original drawing. Decide together whether the drawing must keep a shared origin and orientation: SketchUp's import preparation guidance recommends geometry near the origin, but moving a coordinated drawing changes the reference the other files rely on. If the source is a BIM exchange, use the separate workflow for Revit models before choosing a CAD handoff.

1. Choose the file. In desktop SketchUp, select File > Import, locate the copy and choose AutoCAD Files as the file type. Click Options before importing.
2. Set Scale to the sender's unit. For the millimeter example, choose Millimeters. Use Model Units only when the model's unit agrees with the CAD file. Select Preserve Drawing Origin if the shared coordinates must remain; leaving it clear places the import near the SketchUp origin.
3. Keep the linework organized. Import Layers as Groups creates groups matching the CAD layers and keeps their tags. Use Import Linework Flattened only for deliberately flat data: it sets every incoming Z value to zero, including any real height.
4. Choose the cleanup that fits the file. Merge Coplanar Faces removes triangulated interior lines on flat surfaces; Orient Faces Consistently aligns face orientation. Import Materials brings material definitions in when you need them. For curved 3D CAD surfaces, pick a Tessellation Quality preset or adjust its values: a smaller Angular Deviation, lower Chordal Tolerance or shorter Max Edge Length gives a smoother, more precise mesh with more faces, while larger values keep the import lighter and coarser. Click OK, then Import.

Import Layers as Groups and Import Linework Flattened were introduced in the 2026.0 DWG improvements; Tessellation Quality and the Annotation section of the import options arrived with the 2027.0 DWG and DXF controls. Don't expect these options in older releases.

Before drawing over the reference, click the Model Info link in the Status Bar, then select Units. Set Format and Length so you can read the intended unit; for this example, Decimal and Millimeters. Those unit settings control measurement reporting. A change of displayed unit is separate from resizing the geometry.

Choose Tape Measure from the Tools menu and hover over the sender's known straight edge. Its length appears in the Measurements box. In the example, check for 3000mm before adding any model geometry. Hovering reads an edge's length; entering a new value after measuring invokes the resize prompt, so keep this check to reading the value.

If the size is wrong, I'd re-import the copy with the confirmed Scale before modeling over it, because that corrects the unit interpretation at the start. If you must resize an existing reference, limit the resize to that reference's group context. Don't resize an assembled model along with the CAD reference.

Make sure the incoming geometry has one outer group before it meets new edges. SketchUp automatically groups a CAD import when the model already contains grouped geometry; check rather than assuming an empty model received the same wrapper. If needed, select only the imported reference geometry and choose Edit > Make Group. Give the outer CAD group its own tag and leave it closed while drawing the new model outside it. For a standalone reference, align the plan with the drawing axes. For a drawing with shared coordinates, keep the agreed origin and orientation; coordinate any move or rotation with the sender.

Keep new loose edges and faces Untagged, and place visibility tags on their groups or components. Tags control what you see; the group keeps touching geometry apart. You can retain the imported tags and groups inside the reference wrapper without assigning them to new loose geometry.

If linework seems missing

Check the view before changing the file. Use Zoom Extents to locate the geometry and check the imported tags' visibility eyes. A drawing that appears blank may be away from the axes or hidden. If edges are present but a face won't form, gaps in the CAD linework may be the cause.

If specific source objects are absent, SketchUp identifies unsupported AEC objects as one cause. Have the CAD sender convert those objects into supported geometry on a copy. Don't start by exploding the only original drawing.

Export a flat view or a 3D mesh from desktop

Before export, return to Model Info > Units and confirm the model's unit with the recipient. For this example it remains millimeters. For a 2D DWG/DXF, SketchUp uses the model's current unit for translation; a familiar-looking dimension label doesn't replace the size check at the far end.

For a plan or elevation: 2D Graphic

1. Set the view. Choose Camera > Standard Views > Top for a plan, or Front for a front elevation. Then choose Camera > Parallel Projection as a separate menu action. A perspective view isn't to scale.
2. Choose the format. Select File > Export > 2D Graphic, choose a location and select AutoCAD DWG or AutoCAD DXF. Click Options.
3. Keep actual size. Choose an AutoCAD Version the recipient supports. Under Drawing Scale & Size, select Full Scale for an actual-size drawing. Click OK, then Export.

Two 2D export options in the same CAD guide affect the returned linework. Separate on a Layer creates a layer for profile edges; it doesn't promise a layer for every SketchUp tag. Clear Show Extensions when you want to avoid line extensions interfering with CAD endpoints and intersections.

For three-dimensional geometry: 3D Model

Choose File > Export > 3D Model, select DWG or DXF, then click Options. Set the AutoCAD Version and the entity types to include: Faces, Edges, Construction Geometry, Dimensions, Text and Materials. These are selectable entity classes; choose the classes the recipient needs.

Under Geometry, choose Flat-faceted (Polyface) for direct polygon editing. Choose Smooth (SubD) when the recipient needs a subdivision mesh; SketchUp specifies an AutoCAD version newer than 2010 for that option. Confirm with OK, then Export. Both choices deliver meshes. AutoCAD meshes have vertices, edges and faces, but a mesh has no mass properties, so agree on a mesh deliverable if the recipient had expected a native CAD solid.

If the recipient wants to open the SKP directly

Autodesk documents an add-on route for importing SKP into AutoCAD. AutoCAD LT does not support that route. Have the recipient check the add-on’s current AutoCAD and SKP compatibility before relying on it; the support article’s older version range does not establish support for every newer release. I would send the agreed DWG as the main handoff when the recipient has requested CAD geometry, and retain the SKP master for later edits.

Send LayOut pages as separate DWGs

Use the sheet route for a drawing set when the recipient needs page annotations and viewport tag organization. LayOut preserves SketchUp viewport tag names and exports dimensions, labels, circles, arcs, ellipses and tables as native DWG/DXF entities, along with proper AutoCAD text and hatch elements. Per-page DWG export and viewport tag preservation arrived with the 2026.0 release. Set up the views and annotations in your LayOut sheets before this export.

1. Open the export settings. In LayOut choose File > Export, choose the location and filename, select DWG or DXF in Save As Type, then click Save.
2. Choose the pages. Under Pages, select All or enter a Range. Export Each Page as a Separate File is selected by default; leave it selected for one DWG per page.
3. Check the receiving format and layers. Under Format, choose the agreed AutoCAD version. Review the Layers settings: by default LayOut creates layers matching the document layers and exports hidden layers too. A layer hidden on all pages stays hidden in the DWG; for a layer hidden on only some pages, LayOut exports only the visible entities.

Check overlapping viewports before delivery. LayOut's CAD export help adds that SketchUp viewports overlapping on a page also stack in the exported DWG model space. Per-page export separates the pages into files; check the model space in each file if several views share the same area on that page.

Be careful with Export All to Model Space: it exports all entities at the current paper size. Don't choose it as a shortcut to an actual-size model handoff. Agree whether the recipient wants sheet-sized content or actual-size model geometry, then finish the export with that purpose clear.

Check materials, components and annotation separately

Current CAD exchange supports more than bare edges. On import, the CAD guide lists nested blocks and materials among the supported entity types. The same guide offers Import Materials and includes Materials among the 3D export choices. That doesn't establish a lossless round trip for every SketchUp component definition, dynamic behavior or texture mapping. Keep the SKP master and use the DWG for the agreed geometry and annotation task. If the receiving task needs a different format, compare all SketchUp file types before converting.

For incoming text, the current Annotation options are Contours Only, Filled Meshes, Native SketchUp Text or None. Dimensions can become Contours Only or Native SketchUp Dimensions, and Hatch can come in as Linework or be left out with None. Choose the representation deliberately. In desktop 3D Model export, Text and Dimensions are separate selectable classes. Use the native annotation route in LayOut when the delivery needs drawing sheets.

Have the recipient inspect the annotation's appearance after opening the DWG. AutoCAD text styles control fonts and spacing, and missing fonts can be substituted, changing text length or wrapping. Check labels beside their geometry instead of assuming that native text also means identical typography.

Have the AutoCAD user measure the reference edge

Send the DWG with its purpose, drawing unit, origin decision and expected reference length. For the receiving check in AutoCAD 2027 on Windows, use Open on the Start tab to open the drawing itself. Dropping a DWG into the drawing area of an existing drawing inserts it as a block, adding a different context to the check.

Run DIST with object snaps between the endpoints of the same reference edge in the agreed drawing space, and read the distance in the Command window. For an actual-size geometry handoff with one drawing unit agreed as one millimeter, the example edge should read 3000 drawing units.

For sheet-sized LayOut content, check against the agreed sheet-size length instead. Correct a mismatch with the agreed target before the recipient continues editing the drawing.