Sketchup reload not working

Black.Mac · August 6, 2025, 4:33am

Hallo everybody. I’m using the newest versions of Sketchup 25.0.660, Livesync Plugin 1.6.0.0015 and D5 2.11.0.0603.
I’m using D5 Pro to create animations and I’m struggling with the workflow when updating the Sketchup Model. What I do:

Draw Model in Sketchup with components (hierarchy)
Export as .d5a file, import file in D5 (not using Livesync, because Livesync cannot handle components)
Apply and change materials
Create animation
This works great so far. But now I want to update the 3D model. How can I do this?
The “Reload” button is grayed out. I never used Livesync in this project.
If I import .skp files instead of .d5a files, then the “reload” button works, but I don’t see the components and hierarchy (I need this for the animations), because it’s not supported
If I use Liveview, then I don’t see the hierarchy, because hierarchy is not not supported
If I use “replace from local”, I have to apply all the materials again because of D5 restrictions
If I delete and import the updated .d5a object again, I have to apply all the components to the animation settings again

In my opinion, the reload button should not be greyed out in my case. I can reproduce the error at any time. All the files (skp, d5a, drs) are stored on the local drive. Any ideas?

Clov · August 6, 2025, 9:58pm

Hi @Black.Mac

You can only use the “reload” feature when you import the models directly.
If the models synced to D5 through the D5 Converter plugin need to be reload, you can use the sync feature of the plugin.
If you use the D5 Converter plugin to export .d5a files and import them to D5 (import directly) without changing their file path, you can use the reload feature. If you have changed the path the updated models, you need to use the “Replace from the local folder” and manually select the model files path during update

Black.Mac · August 8, 2025, 1:22pm

Hello Clov

Thanks for your answer. I know this page from the manual.
Option 1 and 2 do not work for me, because I need the layer structure in my project to animate the components, and the direct .skp import and the livesync do both not support hierarchy / group structure.

If you use the D5 Converter plugin to export .d5a files and import them to D5 (import directly) without changing their file path, you can use the reload feature.

This does not work in my case. What I do is the following:

Draw model in sketchup
select everything
in D5 Livesync plugin click “export”, “selected only”, “2 layers”, “export” → save .d5a file locally
in D5 render, “new project”, “file - import”, select .d5a file, klick model, place model in project
reload button is gray
replace .d5a file with new file (on same storage location, same filename)
reload button still gray

Thanks for your support.
Markus

Clov · August 11, 2025, 2:15am

Hi @Black.Mac

I think this is because of the 2 layered structure. You can use “Replace from Local” to reload your model, too.