Make and export your first model

This walkthrough creates a block from a rectangle, confirms that the project reopens with its model, and downloads an editable SketchForge project. It uses the editor's visible controls and the default sketch extrusion settings.

For a follow-on task that edits the extrusion sketch before saving and exporting, see create, edit, save, and export a model. To constrain sketch geometry while editing, see constrain sketch geometry.

1. Create a project

From the dashboard, choose Create new 3D design. SketchForge opens a blank project in the editor.

2. Start an extrusion sketch

Choose the Sketch tab. In the Sketch toolbar, choose Sketch to 3D, then Extrude sketch. This starts a sketch on the selected workplane.

3. Add a closed profile

Choose Add sketch shape, then Rectangle. The rectangle is placed at the sketch origin. The shape menu also offers Circle, Triangle, and Hexagon. A closed profile is required for an extrusion.

Choose Finish sketch to create the solid. SketchForge builds the extrusion at its default height of 10 mm. The resulting shape appears in the scene list as Sketch extrusion.

4. Rename and confirm the project is saved

Edit the project name field at the top of the editor and press Enter. The editor saves project changes in this browser automatically. Reload the page while the project is open; the project name and extrusion should still be present.

Browser storage is local to this browser profile. To keep a portable project file, export the project in the next step.

5. Export an editable project

Choose Export. In the export dialog, select SKF: Editable project, then choose Save SketchForge Project. The browser downloads a .skf file named after the project. An SKF file preserves the editable project, including sketches and project data.

The same dialog can export mesh or CAD formats such as STL, 3MF, OBJ, and STEP. Choose STL or 3MF for a 3D-printing workflow; keep the .skf file when you want to reopen and continue editing the project.

Back up every project at once

Projects saved in the browser live in that browser profile's storage. The first time the dashboard is shown, SketchForge asks the browser to keep that storage persistent. It asks once per profile. Without persistence the browser may clear it when the device runs low on space. Some browsers grant the request silently, some ask you, and some decline it.

To check, open Workspace settings in the editor and choose Storage. The section shows whether persistent storage is on and how much of the browser's allowance is in use. When persistence is off, Ask the browser to keep projects asks again. Some browsers grant persistence only when you ask with a click. When projects are stored in a server directory, the section says so instead, because clearing the browser does not remove them. SketchForge does not ask for persistent storage in that mode.

On the dashboard, choose Export all projects. The browser downloads one ZIP named sketchforge-projects-YYYY-MM-DD.zip, holding a .skf file for each project. It includes all your projects, even those a search is hiding, and keeps the undo history autosave keeps. When another tab has saved a newer version of a project, the export uses that version. Entries named after a Windows device such as CON start with _, and leading dots are dropped, so the archive extracts on any system. Dashboard thumbnails are left out because SketchForge creates them again from the model. When Settings saves downloads to a folder, the ZIP goes there instead.

When the browser has used 80 percent or more of its allowance, the dashboard shows a warning with its own Export all projects button. To restore a project, unzip the archive and open its .skf file with Open SKF or import geometry. Open one .skf file at a time.

Keyboard shortcuts

Press ? in the editor to open the keyboard-shortcuts list. Press Escape to close it. The list includes the common edit shortcuts; selection visibility and locking use bindings that do not collide with macOS or browser-reserved keys:

• Shift+L locks or unlocks the selection.
• Shift+H hides or shows the selection.
• Alt+Shift+H shows all hidden shapes.

The ? key may require Shift+/ on keyboards where ? shares the slash key.

Verified workflow

The browser acceptance test starts from an empty dashboard, creates a project, adds the rectangle through the sketch toolbar, finishes the extrusion, renames and reloads the project, then downloads the .skf file. Run it with:

npm run test:browser

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Documentation version: 1.30.0 · Repository revision: 1cb9fee8dff4d394684c229dd67a21da539d167f · View source