Installing SU Podium V2.5 Plus for SketchUp

Please read the following instructions if you're installing for the first time or upgrading to SU Podium V2.5 Plus:

1. Introduction - Why V2.5 Plus? Best for SketchUp 2014/ 2015/ 2016

SU Podium V2.5 Plus has a major new feature which makes processing scenes much faster than previous versions of SU Podium such as V2 Plus or V2. In addition it has several new improvements. Read about it here.

Upgrade to V2.5 Plus for SketchUp 2016, 2015 or SketchUp 2014. Purchase here.

  • If you are an existing V2.5.x Plus user, the upgrade to V2.5.5 is free. Please read what's new here.

  • If you are an existing V2 Plus or V2 user the upgrade is $39.95 USD. If you are wonder why you need to purchase the very low cost (USD) upgrade, please read here.

  • You must purchase the upgrade to obtain a completely different license code for V2.5.x Plus. V2.5.x Plus can not be activated with a V2 license code. The very large gain in speed makes this very low upgrade cost more than justifiable. Please purchase here.

  • SU Podium V2.x owners who have SketchUp 2016, please read here.

How to Download V2.5.x Plus

  • First, uninstall previous versions of SU Podium V2 or V2.5 if you have a previous verson installed. You can not run two versions of SU Podium on the same SketchUp.. Read below how to uninstall.

  • Go to the Free Trial page or go to the Version2 Download page. Download the free evaluation version of V2.5.x Plus and activate the trial version with your V2.5.x Plus license code.

  • Free Trial version users - You will not receive a license code. Instead, ignore the License Manager dialog box that comes up, requesting you to enter a license. Your evaluation period will be for 30 days.

Which SU Podium version do I need?

  • SketchUp 2016, 2015 or 2014, you need V2.5.x Plus. The per license price is the same as V2. However, there is a small upgrade fee for V2Plus and V2 users. If you are using SketchUp 2016, 2015 or 2014, use V2.5.x Plus.

  • SketchUp 8, please download and install SU Podium V2 Plus, (version V2.18.940) from here. The major difference between V2.5 Plus and V2Plus is the vast speed difference in processing scenes.

SU Podium V2.5.x Plus SketchUp and Operating System Requirements

  • Windows 7, 8, 10. SU Podium V2.5 Plus requires SketchUp 2014 or 2015 or 2016 for Windows. It does not support SketchUp 8 or 2013. Supported OS are Windows 7, 8 or 10. If you have SketchUp 2014, 2015, 2016, please use SU Podium V2.5 Plus.

  • If you are using SketchUp 8, please download and install SU Podium V2 Plus, version V2.18.940 from here. The major difference between V2.5 Plus and V2Plus is the vast speed difference in processing scenes and also the new Panorama feature in V2.5 Plus.

  • Mac. SU Podium V2.5 Plus for the Mac requires 2014, 2015 or 2016. It will require Maverick or Yosemite or El Capitan.

  • If you are using SketchUp 8 for the Mac, please download and install SU Podium V2 Plus, version V2.18.940 from here. The major difference between V2.5 Plus and V2Plus is the vast speed difference in processing scenes and support for 360 Panoramas. Read about V2.5 Plus here.

Hardware specifications

  • The SU Podium V2.5.x Plus rendering engine is multi-threaded, meaning it will take advantage of all your CPU core's. The more cores you have the better. You also need a reasonable amount of RAM to hold 3d scene data. The more RAM you have, the more complex models you can render. We highly recommend 64 bit Mac and Windows operating system. Mac is a 64 bit OS. SketchUp 2015 also supports 64 bit operating systems now. However, we do have versions that support Windows 32 bit.

  • How can you tell what SU Podium version I am using? : You can tell what version you are running by going to the Plugins pull down menu in SketchUp. Then go to SU Podium V2 and select About. Version 2.5.x Plus has a version number that is 2.5.xx or greater.

2. First time installation - License and resolution questions

We often recieve the following questions from both trial and paid users installing SU Podium for the first time:

  1. Q. Free Trial users - Why does license manager pop up and ask for a license?

    This is simply a reminder to display how many days are left in the free trial. Free trial users can dismiss the license manager.

  2. Q. First time installation (paid customers) - Resolution is greyed out and the info bar is still in the image.

    After activating your license you must restart SketchUp to get out of trial mode.

3. Installing or Upgrading to V2.5 Plus for SketchUp 2014/2015/ 2016
Windows - Installing V2.5 Plus on Windows for SketchUp 2014/2015 or 2016

V2.5.00x users, the upgrade to V2.5.x is free. But first uninstall V2.5.00x before installing V2.5.x. See below for uninstall instructions. Then go here to download. Use the same license code. But please make sure you uninstall, your previous version.

Previous SU Podium V2 and V2 Plus users must purchase an upgrade to SU Podium V2.5 Plus for SketchUp 2014/2015/ 2016: Buy here. You will receive a new license code that is different from the V2 license code. This license code will only work with V2.5.x Plus.

  1. If you are upgrading from SU Podium V2 to V2.5 Plus, First purchase the Upgrade here. Make sure you have your previous V2 or V2 Plus license code. After purchasing, you will receive a new license code that is different from the V2 license code. This license code will only work with V2.5.x Plus.
  2. Uninstall Previous Versions. If you are upgrading from SU Podium V2 to V2.5 Plus for SU 2016/ 2015 or SU 2014, you must uninstall previous versions of SU Podium V2 first, if previous version were installed. Choose the SU Podium uninstall program that matches the version of SketchUp you're using, either SU 2014, SU 2015 or SU 2016. If you do not uninstall, you risk crashes.

  3. Download SU Podium V2.5 Plus for SketchUp 2014, 2015, 2016 here: Download V2.5 Plus location. Choose the version that matches your SketchUp and Windows operating system (64 bit or 32 bit)

  4. Close SketchUp before starting the install. Unzip and/or double click on the install file you have downloaded.

  5. The installation program will start. The default install location for SU Podium V2.5 Plus for Windows SketchUp 2014, 2015 or 2016 is in this location:

    • C:\ProgramData\SketchUp\SketchUp 201x\SketchUp\plugins

    The installation will create a sub-folder in the above plug-ins folder called SU_Podium_V2.5. There will also be a ruby load file in the plugins folder called SU_Podium_V2.5.rbs.

  6. If you mistakenly installed the wrong version of V2.5 Plus, please read how to uninstall, and then download and reinstall the correct version.
Mac - Installing V2.5 Plus on Mac for SketchUp 2014/2015/ 2016
  • If you are an existing V2.5.00x Plus user, the upgrade is free. Please read what's new here or read the What's New monthly newsletter..

  • Previous SU Podium version users must purchase an upgrade to SU Podium V2.5 Plus for SketchUp 2014/2015/ 2016: Buy here. You will receive a new license code that is different from the V2 license code. This license code will only work with V2.5 Plus.

    1. If you are upgrading from SU Podium V2 to V2.5 Plus for SU 2016, 2015 or SU 2014, first purchase the Upgrade here. Make sure you have your previous V2 or V2 Plus license code. After purchasing Choose the V2.5 You will receive a new license code that is different from the V2 license code. This license code will only work with V2.5 Plus.
    2. Completely quit SketchUp 2016, 2015 or 2014 before starting.

    3. If you are upgrading from SU Podium V2 to V2.5 Plus, uninstall previous versions of SU Podium V2 first. Choose the SU Podium uninstall program that matches the version of SketchUp you're using.

    4. Download the SU Podium V2.5 Plus version that matches your OS and SketchUp version here: V2.5 Plus Download location.

    5. Double click on the .zip file that you downloaded and unzip using the Archive tool. This will unzip the install file into a .pkg file.

      Note: Make sure you unzip or unpack using the Macintosh Archive tool. Do not use Winzip.

    6. Double click on the install package file to start the installation. If you encounter a "unsigned developer" problem when installing SU Podium V2, please read here.

    7. Choose Install for All Users of this computer, if prompted.

    8. When the installation is complete, SU Podium V2.5 Plus is installed in the Macintosh HD\Library\Application Support\SketchUp 201x\SketchUp\Plugins\ folder.

    9. Open SketchUp. SU Podium V2.5 Plus will be in the SketchUp Plugins or Extensions pull down menu. There will also be Podium V2.5 tool bar.

    4. Troubleshooting Your Podium Installation

    Mismatching your V2.5 license with a V2 install or vice versa.


    Windows V2.5 Plus install trouble shoot

      Load Error issues

    1. I installed V2.5 Plus 32 bit on a SketchUp 2015 or 2016 , 64 system - load errors
    2. I installed 64 bit version of V2.5 Plus on a 32 bit Windows computer - load errors

    3. General install issues

    4. Make sure your Windows user account is Administrator
    5. There is no plugin or extension menu in my SketchUp pull down menus
    6. After installing, SU Podium V2.5 Plus is not in my SketchUp Plugins or Extension menu - top reasons

    7. Download Issues

    8. Anti-Virus, Firewall are blocking download and install or removing critical SU Podium files.
    9. Internet Explorer problem when download - unknown publisher
    10. Windows 8 Smartscreen is blocking SU Podium V2 Plus from installing.

    11. Crashing while running SU Podium issues

    12. Help Crash!! I did not completely uninstall the previous version
    13. Crashing, hang up, out of memory issues

    Mac V2.5 Plus install trouble shoot

    1. Unidentified Developer. Can not open the SU Podium V2 Plus pkg because I see a" ..Unidentified Developer" message? Click here for the solution.
    2. No Plugin or Extension menu in SketchUp. Click here for the solution.
    3. Do not use WinZip to unpack. Make sure you unpack the downloaded installation file with the Mac Archive tool. Do not use Winzip. If you unpack the install file with Winzip., you may find the installation program will not correctly install SU Podium V2.5 Plus.
    4. Mac Install Failed! Click here for the solution.
    5. Crashes. Installation was fine but Podium crashes when rendering. Please read here.
    5. Uninstall Previous Versions
    6. SU Podium for previous versions of SketchUp (8 and 2013)
    7. Help Resources
    8. Podium Browser Help Topics

    Click here to review the Podium Browser Help topics.

    Podium Browser is a premium SketchUp component library containing over 12,000 high-quality, render-ready components optimized for use in SU Podium V2.5 Plus. The Paid content costs $59 USD.

    The Browser library contains an incredible variety of items, including physically accurate light fixtures, furniture for your interior and exterior scenes, high resolution textures and Podium Materials, architectural elements, and much, much more. Podium Browser Free content is installed with SU Podium V2.5. The Paid content requires the purchase of a license key and is $59.00. Paid content has new content and is automatically available as it is added monthly.

    Podium Browser Free includes over 850 free items, which will remain available even after your 30 day Podium trial expires. Read about it here.

    Click here to review the Podium Browser FAQ topics.

    Alternative page for Podium Browser FAQ

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