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Adjusting a Components Insertion Point

A component has its own axis origin point, which determines the component's insertion point, or the point that's loaded onto the Move cursor when you place a component in your model.If the component is box-shaped (such as a dresser or cabinet), the insertion point is typically the front, lower-left corner, as shown in

Last updated 17 July 2026

A component has its own axis origin point, which determines the component's insertion point, or the point that's loaded onto the Move cursor when you place a component in your model.

If the component is box-shaped (such as a dresser or cabinet), the insertion point is typically the front, lower-left corner, as shown in the figure. That placement works great - unless you need to place the component against other components or otherwise work around existing geometry.

fg118_9.png

Whatever your reasons for moving the insertion point, here's how to reset a component's axis origin:

  1. Select the component in your model.
  2. Context-click the component and select Change Axes .
  3. With the Axes tool cursor that appears, reset the axis origin. See Adjusting the Drawing Axes for details about working with the Axes tool. The only difference is that you're setting the axis origin for a component, not the whole model.

3D Printing a Model

Before you print a model on a 3D printer, you need to make sure your 3D printer can understand your model data. Here's a quick overview of how to set up your SketchUp model for 3D printing:

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Adding an Environment to a Model

Environments allow you to add 360°panoramic backgrounds and image-based lighting conditions to your SketchUp models. The Environments panel is where you can add and manipulate environments, or import High Dynamic Range Image (HDRI) files or OpenEXR files to create a new environment.

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Adding Attributes

Attributes make components dynamic by telling SketchUp what to do. You can choose from predefined attributes or create custom attributes:

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Adding Premade Components and Dynamic Components

Components in SketchUp turn geometry in a model into reusable entities. For example, most buildings have at least one door and window. Instead of modeling these common objects, you can insert a component that you have already made, or even one made by someone else.Like all geometry in SketchUp, a component is still

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Adding Text, Labels, and Dimensions to a Model

In SketchUp, you can add four types of text:

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Still need help?

Technical support from our New Zealand team is available to customers with a current Procadsys SketchUp Pro Plus or SketchUp Studio Plus subscription. Self-help articles are public.

Contact SketchUp support