Google Launches New Version of SketchUp

By Chris Crum - Mon, 11/17/2008 - 3:00pm.

Lots of New Features

Google has announced the release of SketchUp 7. SketchUp is software you can use to build 3D models for any number of project types, including Google Earth projects. In version 7, Google has added a whole slew of new features.

The new features basically all have to do wtih making the program quicker and more reliable, more intuitive and powerful, or sharing and collaboration with other users. In the department of "More Intuitive and More Powerful," features include:

- Crossing lines break automatically
- Scale without stretching
- Configure objects with Component Options
- Introducing the Interact Tool
When it comes to new sharing and collaboration features, SketchUp 7 includes:
- Search the 3D Warehouse
- Download Models Locally
- Take (and give) credit
- Custom Templates
That's just the free version. The Pro (or paid) version has even more, which you can learn about here. The new features for SketchUp will hopefully have a direct impact on the quality of projects in Google Earth. As I noted the other day, these projects are already showing an improvement in quality, and as SketchUp gets more features to make it faster and easier to use and collaborate, I don't see why we won't witness an increase in the frequency in which we see high quality Google Earth projects surface.