Asya Karapetyan
Content marketer, who specializes in Mac how-to guides
September 21, 2023
7 minutes to read

The SketchUp program allows you to create 3D models of anything you like. You can easily install it and add different plugins depending on your needs. However, if for any reason you want to uninstall SketchUp on your Mac, read on to find more about it. In this post, we want to highlight the steps to entirely uninstall SketchUp on your computer, including its service files and plugins, such as the popular V-Ray for SketchUp.

Removing SketchUP

Contents:

  1. How to remove the SketchUp license.
  2. How to uninstall V-Ray for SketchUp.
  3. How to uninstall SketchUp manually.
  4. How to uninstall SketchUp on Mac using an uninstaller tool.

How to Remove the SketchUp license?

You can install your SketchUp license on up to two of your computers. However, you cannot run SketchUp on both devices simultaneously. Therefore, you should remove your SketchUp license if you want to use it on another computer, or if you want to uninstall SketchUp permanently on your Mac. So, complete these simple steps to remove SketchUp license: launch SketchUp → choose the License section in the Welcome Window → click on the Remove License button.

SketchUp Welcome Window - License section


How to uninstall V-Ray for SketchUp?

V-Ray is a third party plug-in, which is popular among the SketchUp users. However, if you want to uninstall SketchUp on your Mac, you should first remove V-Ray from SketchUp. Unlike the SketchUp extensions, you cannot manage or delete V-Ray in the SketchUp Extensions Manager. To uninstall V-Ray for SketchUp on Mac, you should use its native uninstaller. For this, follow the next instructions:

  1. Quit SketchUp.
  2. Open the Applications folder → select ChaosGroup → V-Ray → V-Ray for SketchUp → uninstall → uninstaller.app → enter admin’s name and password and click OK

    SketchUp Uninstaller application in FinderIn the window that appears, select the V-Ray for SketchUp program and click UninstallChaos Software Lister window with V-Ray for SketchUp ticked

  3. In the next window, confirm the V-Ray for SketchUp deletion by clicking on Uninstall → in the next moment, you will be informed that the program has been successfully removed.

How to uninstall SketchUp manually?

After you have removed your SketchUp license and V-Ray for SketchUp, you can begin the SketchUp application removal. Be aware that the manual method of uninstalling may take some time. This is due to the fact that every application creates service files on your computer for its proper performance.

To entirely uninstall SketchUp on a Mac, you should remove not only the executable file from your computer, but also all of SketchUp’s service files. To delete SketchUp on your Mac manually, take the following steps:

  1. Quit SketchUp.
  2. Open the Applications folder → click on the SketchUp 2018 (*your version) folder → select SketchUp.app → right-click on it and select Move to Trash. 
    Finder Move to Trash command for SketchUp
  3. Now you can delete the SketchUp app’s service files step by step. First, remove the SketchUp folder from the root-level Library folder. For this, open Finder. In the Finder’s left pane select Macintosh HD. In the Finder’s right pane, choose Application Support → select the SketchUp 2018 folder and delete it. SketchUp Application Support folder in Finder window
  4. The rest of the service files are usually stored in the user’s Library folder, which is hidden by default. Therefore, to get access to it, open Finder → in the menu bar, click Go → Go to Folder → type ~/Library → press Enter.
  5. Go to Folder Finder window

  6. Within the user’s Library folder, find and delete all useless service files and folders related to SketchUp. For this, check if there any leftover files remaining in the following directories and remove them:

    • ~/Library/Application Support/SketchUp 2018 SketchUp Application Support items in Finder window
    • ~/Library/Application Support/Trimble Connect for SketchUp SketchUp Application Support folder in Finder window
    • ~/Library/Caches/com.sketchup.LayOut.2018
    • ~/Library/Caches/com.sketchup.SketchUp.2018 SketchUp Caches folder in Finder window
    • ~/Library/Preferences/com.sketchup.LayOut.2018.plist
    • ~/Library/Preferences/com.sketchup.SketchUp.2018.plist
    • ~/Library/Preferences/com.sketchup.StyleBuilder.2018.plist SketchUp Preferences files in Finder window
  7. Remember to get rid of deleted files completely by emptying the Trash.

How to uninstall SketchUp on Mac using App Cleaner & Uninstaller?

We could agree that each user may use the same app in his or her own manner. So, depending on how long you were using the app or which plugins you installed on it, an app may create lots of service files on your Mac. Because of this, it may be hard to detect and delete all useless files manually. Therefore, we recommend that you use an uninstallation tool, like App Cleaner & Uninstaller. It helps to entirely remove more than 1,000 applications on a Mac, including their leftover files.

With App Cleaner & Uninstaller, you can delete apps with just a few clicks in less than a minute. To uninstall SketchUp on a Mac using App Cleaner & Uninstaller, complete the following steps:

  1. Quit SketchUp.
  2. Launch App Cleaner & Uninstaller.
  3. Tick SketchUp in the list of Applications and then click the Remove button.
  4. Review the items you are going to delete and confirm the removal.
  5. Empty the Trash bin to delete SketchUp completely.

Chaos Software Lister window with V-Ray for SketchUp ticked
As you can see, App Cleaner & Uninstaller has also detected the V-Ray for SketchUp files (with the black V icon), which are related to the SketchUp application. In this way, you can uninstall the plugin separately as well.


Conclusion

As shown above, uninstalling the SketchUp application using the manual method requires careful removal of each file step by step. At the same time, App Cleaner & Uninstaller can completely remove SketchUp and all its service files automatically and quickly. So, we recommend using App Cleaner & Uninstaller each time you want to remove an app from your Mac.



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