User Interface

SketchUp toolbar

The Rayscaper toolbar in SketchUp gives you quick access to the render window and light creation tools.

Button	Description
Start Render	Opens the Rayscaper render window and starts rendering.
Add Point Light	Creates a point light in your scene.
Add Spotlight	Creates a spotlight in your scene.
Add Directional Light	Creates a directional light in your scene.
Add Area Light	Creates an area light in your scene.
Lock Camera	Stops camera sync with SketchUp. Use this to navigate your model while keeping the current render angle. Only available while rendering.
Match SketchUp Viewport	Syncs the Rayscaper camera with SketchUp’s viewport and matches the render resolution to the SketchUp aspect ratio. Only available while rendering.
Show License Dialog	Opens the license dialog. Only shown when SketchUcation Tools is installed.
Show Documentation	Opens this documentation website.

The Composition Guide isn’t on the toolbar; you’ll find it in the Extensions > Rayscaper menu.

I lost my toolbar

If the toolbar isn’t visible after installing Rayscaper, go to View > Toolbars… in SketchUp:

Tick Rayscaper in the list and click Close:

Composition Guide

While Rayscaper is running, an orange rectangle in the SketchUp viewport shows exactly what will be rendered. You can add guide lines on top to help frame your shot.

Pick a guide via Extensions > Rayscaper > Composition Guide. Your choice is saved with the model.

• Rule of Thirds: A 3×3 grid — place subjects along the lines or at intersections.
• Golden Ratio: Similar grid using the golden ratio (38.2% / 61.8%).
• Diagonals: Corner-to-corner lines for diagonal compositions.
• Center Cross: A crosshair through the center for symmetrical shots.
• Disabled: No guide lines, just the orange camera frame.

Rule of Thirds

Golden Ratio

Diagonals

Center Cross

The overlay also shows the camera type, resolution, and autofocus status below the frame. If SketchUp and Rayscaper use different projection types, a warning will appear.

Render window

The Rayscaper render window is where you view your render and adjust settings.

#	Area	Description
1	Toolbar	Save the render, pause rendering, pick modes, zoom, and toggle denoising, auto exposure, light overlays and panels. See Toolbar.
2	Viewport	Shows your render in real-time as you make changes.
3	Status Bar	Displays render progress, sample count, render time, resolution, and scene statistics.
4	Asset Manager	Browse HDRIs and materials. Drag assets directly into the viewport or material editor. Filter by category or tag.
5	Scene Editor	Adjust scene and render settings. Click an icon in the rail on its left to open a section: Camera, Environment, Lights, Materials, Scatter, Render or Post Processing. The Lights section only appears once the scene has lights.

Toolbar

The toolbar at the top of the render window, from left to right:

Button	Description
Save	Saves the render to disk. See Saving a render. Available once there’s a render result.
Pause / Resume	Pauses or resumes the current render.
Material pick	Click on the render to select and edit the material at that point. See Pick modes.
Focus pick	Click on the render to set the depth of field focus distance to that point.
Info pick	Click on the render to see information about that pixel (color, depth, material, …).
Zoom in / out	Zooms the render viewport in or out.
Zoom fit	Zooms to fit the whole render in the viewport.
Denoise	Toggles AI denoising.
Auto exposure	Toggles automatic exposure based on scene brightness.
Light overlay	Shows or hides clickable light icons in the viewport.
Scene	Shows or hides the Scene Editor.
Assets	Shows or hides the Asset Manager.
Help	Shows the keyboard shortcuts and a link to this documentation.

Menu bar

Menu	Items
File	Save… (saving a render), Render Animation… (animation guide), Settings… (settings), Reset Window Layout (shows both panels again and resets their sizes).
Tools	Zoom (In, Out, to Fit), Show Light Overlays, the pick modes, and Reload All Materials from SketchUp.
Assets	Reload Assets, Import Materials…, Export Selected Materials…, Favorite Selected Materials and Delete Selected Materials. See Assets.
Help	Open Documentation…, Get Help… and About Rayscaper… (shows the version).

Pick modes

Pick modes let you click on the render to act on what’s under the cursor. Turn one on from the toolbar or the Tools menu; it stays on until you turn it off again.

• Material Pick (Ctrl+M): selects the material under the cursor and opens it in the Materials section of the Scene Editor.
• Camera Focus Pick (Ctrl+F): sets the depth-of-field focus distance to the point under the cursor.
• Info Pick (Ctrl+I): shows details about the pixel under the cursor.
• Near Clip Depth Pick (Ctrl+J): sets the camera’s near clip distance to the point under the cursor.

Reload All Materials from SketchUp

Tools > Reload All Materials from SketchUp rebuilds every Rayscaper material from its SketchUp material: color, opacity and, for SketchUp PBR materials, metallic, roughness and normal map.

Caution

This replaces the changes you made to materials in Rayscaper, and it asks no confirmation. To reload a single material, use the Reload button in the material editor instead.

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl + S	Save the render.
Ctrl + ,	Open the settings dialog.
Ctrl + =	Zoom in.
Ctrl + -	Zoom out.
Ctrl + 0	Zoom to fit the render.
Ctrl + M	Toggle Material Pick.
Ctrl + F	Toggle Camera Focus Pick.
Ctrl + I	Toggle Info Pick.
Ctrl + J	Toggle Near Clip Depth Pick.
Ctrl + drag	Pan the viewport.
Ctrl + scroll	Zoom the viewport.
Ctrl + click	Type an exact value into a slider.

Settings

Open the settings via File > Settings… (Ctrl+,). Click Save changes to apply them.

Group	Setting	Description
General	Interface scale	Size of the interface, 100–250%.
General	Send Anonymous Usage Statistics	Helps us improve Rayscaper. On by default. Crash reports are always sent, whatever this setting is.
Asset Library	Asset author	Filled in as the author when you save a material.
Asset Library	Thumbnail size	Size of the thumbnails in the Asset Manager: Small, Medium or Large.
Asset Library	HDRI resolution / HDRI format	Resolution (1K–16K, default 2K) and file format (EXR or HDR) of downloaded HDRIs.
Asset Library	Texture resolution / Texture format	Resolution (1K–8K, default 1K) and file format (EXR, JPEG or PNG) of downloaded textures.
CPU Rendering	Render threads	Number of CPU threads used for rendering. The default leaves two cores free for SketchUp.
GPU Rendering	Use GPU Rendering	Renders on your NVIDIA GPU; off by default. Tick the GPUs to use below it. See GPU requirements.

Saving a render

Save the current render with File > Save…, the Save toolbar button or Ctrl+S, and choose a file name:

• PNG (.png): the image exactly as you see it in the viewport, including denoising and all post processing. Use this for most renders.
• EXR (.exr): a high dynamic range image for further editing in other software. It contains the (denoised) render before post processing, so without tone mapping, exposure, bloom or glare.

Tip

Type the .png or .exr extension in the file name to pick the format; without an extension, Rayscaper saves a PNG.

Extensions Menu

Beyond the toolbar, Rayscaper adds several utility commands to the Extensions > Rayscaper menu.

The full Rayscaper menu under Extensions, showing render, light, sync, and utility commands.

Three commands sync Rayscaper with SketchUp’s own sun and environment. Each is a toggle: a check mark shows that it’s on.

Command	What it does
Use SketchUp Sun for Directional Light	Creates a Rayscaper directional light and keeps it in sync with the SketchUp sun. See SketchUp Sun.
Use SketchUp Sun for Nishita Sky	Lets the SketchUp sun set the direction and height of the sun in a Nishita sky. See Syncing with SketchUp Sun.
Use SketchUp Environment for HDRI	Uses the HDRI and rotation of the SketchUp environment in Rayscaper. Needs SketchUp 2025 or newer. See SketchUp Environment for HDRI.

The other commands that aren’t on the toolbar are described below.

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Create Archive

Packages your SketchUp model and all Rayscaper assets (HDRIs, textures) into a single .zip file. This makes it easy to share a project with someone else or move it to another computer without losing any referenced images.

1. Go to Extensions > Rayscaper > Create Archive.

2. Choose a location and filename in the Save Rayscaper Archive dialog. The default name is based on your model file (e.g. studio-scene_rayscaper.zip).

3. Click Save. Rayscaper collects all referenced images, converts absolute paths to relative ones, and packages everything into a zip file.

Create Archive in the Extensions > Rayscaper menu.

The save dialog with a default filename based on the model name.

When the archive is complete, a confirmation dialog shows the file path.

The resulting .zip contains:

• A copy of the .skp model with relative image paths
• An images/ folder with all referenced textures and HDRIs

Note

Create Archive is only available when the model contains Rayscaper data. Start Rayscaper at least once and save your model before using this feature.

Tip

If a texture file can’t be found on disk, Rayscaper attempts to extract it from SketchUp’s embedded textures. This means archives work even if the original image files have been moved or deleted.

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Clear Rayscaper Data

Removes all Rayscaper settings stored in the current model. This deletes the Rayscaper_Data attribute dictionary from the .skp file, effectively resetting the model to a clean state as if Rayscaper had never been used.

To use it, go to Extensions > Rayscaper > Clear Rayscaper Data.

Caution

This action cannot be undone. All Rayscaper scene data — materials, lights, environment settings, and camera configuration — will be permanently removed from the model.

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Export Logs for Support

Collects Rayscaper log files and diagnostic information into a .zip file that you can send to support when troubleshooting issues.

To use it, go to Extensions > Rayscaper > Export Logs for Support. Choose a save location, and Rayscaper will package:

• The main Rayscaper log (SUEX_Rayscaper.log) and rotated backups
• The Ruby extension log (SUEX_Ruby.log)
• The library loader log (SUEX_Rayscaper_LoadLibs.log)
• A diagnostic manifest with your Rayscaper version, OS, and SketchUp version

After saving, Rayscaper asks whether to open the containing folder, so you can quickly attach the file to an email or support ticket.

If the Rayscaper menu is missing, for example because the extension failed to load, collect the logs by hand: open %APPDATA%\Rayscaper in Windows Explorer (paste the path in the address bar), select the files that start with SUEX_, and compress them into a zip file.