To unhide a drawing or any hidden geometry in Sketchup, you first need to make the hidden objects visible, and then select and unhide the specific item.
The core process involves two main steps: showing hidden geometry and then using the context menu to unhide.
Step-by-Step Guide to Unhiding
Unhiding elements in Sketchup is a straightforward process that ensures you regain access to parts of your model you previously concealed.
1. Make Hidden Geometry Visible
The crucial first step is to make all hidden lines, faces, groups, or components visible on your screen.
- Navigate to the top menu, select View, and choose Hidden Geometry.
This action won't instantly unhide your drawing elements, but it will display them in a different appearance, typically as dashed lines, allowing you to see where they are located.
2. Select and Unhide Your Drawing
Once hidden geometry is visible, you can interact with the specific parts of your drawing you wish to unhide.
-
Select the hidden geometry: Click directly on the dashed lines or surfaces of the hidden drawing elements you want to unhide. You can select multiple items by holding down the Shift key while clicking or by using a selection box.
-
Right-click: With the hidden objects selected, right-click anywhere on one of the selected items.
-
Choose 'Unhide': A context menu will appear. From this menu, select Unhide.
- 'Unhide' will unhide the selected objects.
- 'Unhide All' (if available) will unhide all hidden geometry within the current context (e.g., within a group, component, or the entire model if nothing is selected).
Your selected drawing elements will now return to their normal visible state with solid lines.
Summary of Steps
For quick reference, here is a summary of the process:
| Step | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Show Hidden Geometry | Go to View > Hidden Geometry |
Hidden objects appear as dashed lines. |
| 2. Select Object(s) | Click on the dashed lines/surfaces of the hidden item(s). | Objects are highlighted (e.g., in blue). |
| 3. Unhide Object(s) | Right-click on selected object(s) and choose Unhide. |
Selected objects become fully visible again. |
Practical Tips
- Understanding Context: If you hide geometry within a group or component, you must be editing that specific group or component to unhide it using the right-click method. 'Unhide All' from the main model context won't affect geometry hidden inside closed groups/components.
- 'Unhide All' Shortcut: Sometimes, if you just want to reveal everything in the current context (outside of any group/component), you can right-click in an empty space while 'Hidden Geometry' is enabled and select 'Unhide All'.
- Toggle Visibility: Remember that
View > Hidden Geometryis a toggle. You can turn it off again after unhiding to clean up your view if the dashed lines are distracting.
By following these steps, you can easily manage the visibility of your drawing elements and other geometry within your Sketchup model.
