Auto Make Unique Multiple Components in SketchUp

When multiple components (com) are copied from one original, to edit 1 com without changing others you need to make it unique. However with many coms, making unique for each one takes a long time — use the auto make unique tool to process multiple SketchUp components at once.

A little-known point: when you select multiple instances of the same definition and click SketchUp’s native Make Unique command, the entire selected group becomes ONE new shared definition — not a separate definition per com. This means editing one com in the make-unique group still changes the others in that group; they have simply separated from the unselected instances. For each com to be completely independent you must make unique each one individually — this is exactly the time-consuming task the tool automates.

Another important limitation: SketchUp’s Make Unique does not recurse into nested child components — child coms still share the original definition, so after making the parent unique you can still accidentally edit nested coms in other copies. When working with deeply nested structures, check each level. In Entity Info, new definitions get a #1, #2… suffix so you can easily see which coms have actually been separated.

Note: since 2020 SketchUp switched to a named-user subscription model; no perpetual licenses are available. Current line is SketchUp 2026. Make Unique behavior described here is consistent across recent versions.

How to Auto Make Unique Multiple Components in SketchUp — Video Tutorial

Steps by steps:

• Select the components to make unique – click the auto make unique multi-object tool in SketchUp
• All selected coms are made unique instantly
Auto Make Unique in SketchUp

Nguyen Huu Khanh

Architect turned developer