An introduction to extensions and plugins

We have mentioned throughout this book, and at the beginning of this chapter, that extensions or plugins can be added to SketchUp that will accelerate how you model. We must tell you, our new friends, that plugins and extensions are game-changers!

Let’s first address the words plugins (or plug-ins) and extensions. These two words are used interchangeably when discussing third-party applications that can be added to SketchUp. When plugins were first introduced to SketchUp, they were called rubies, rubiz, or ruby plugins. This is because the file extension for SketchUp plugins is .rbz (RBZ). (Are there any old-school SketchUp modelers among you who remember the ruby stone icon that used to be the link to the Extension Warehouse? We remember, too!) When the Extension Warehouse rolled out with SketchUp 2013, things changed for us old-school modelers, as we did not have to download every RBZ file from the web and then move each file to...