How to Edit 3D Text on SketchUp

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The “Materials” window provides texturing tools for editing SketchUp’s 3-D text.

Google's 3-D design program SketchUp does not have a command for easy editing of existing 3-D text. However, you can still edit 3-D text by treating it as you do other 3-D objects in SketchUp: as objects you can move, rotate, scale, shape, and add other objects to. Once you take this viewpoint and become familiar with the 3-D operations just mentioned, you'll understand how to edit 3-D text in SketchUp. This knowledge will allow you to format, delete, and replace text to meet your design needs.

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Swap Characters

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Step 1

Click the toolbar's "3-D Text" tool. SketchUp will display a dialog box allowing you to type the text for the 3-D text object. You can also set the font, height and other characteristics of the text.

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Step 2

Type the text you want in the text box at the top of the dialog box then click "Place" to close the dialog box. SketchUp will create the 3-D text you typed and attach it to your mouse cursor.

Step 3

Click the text to anchor it to the drawing canvas.

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Step 4

Right-click the text and click "Edit component." SketchUp will display a black wireframe box around the text's characters, this indicates the 3-D text component is in the editing state.

Step 5

Triple-click any of the letters you typed then click the toolbar's "Move" command. You'll use this command to swap one character in the text with another character.

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Step 6

Click the selected letter then drag it a short distance away to a clear location on the canvas.

Step 7

Click the mouse again to release the letter.

Step 8

Triple-click another character as you did the first. Use instructions five through seven to move this character in the void left by the first character.

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Step 9

Use instructions five through seven to move the first character to the void left by the second character. This completes the letter swap, which is one way of editing 3-D text in SketchUp.

Formatting

Step 1

Click the toolbar's "3-D Text" command then type some text you'd like to see in 3-D.

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Step 2

Click the "Place" button to set the text object on the drawing canvas.

Step 3

Right-click the text and click "Edit." This opens the text component for editing.

Step 4

Click the toolbar's "Rectangle" tool then click on the drawing canvas below the first character in your 3-D text object. You'll use the rectangle to create underlining for the text which is a type of text editing.

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Step 5

Drag the mouse to the last character in the 3-D text then click again to complete the underlining rectangle.

Step 6

Right-click the black wireframe box surrounding the text. Click "Close" to re-seal the text with its underlining.

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