What's New in version 8.0:

New Features:

• Scene Thumbnails
• Color imagery and more accurate terrain
• Model geo-location with Google Maps - We’ve built Maps right into SketchUp. Adding a geo-location to your model is now an elegant, one-app process.
• Match Photo improvements - For SketchUp 8, we’ve tweaked some things to make using Match Photo easier than ever.
• SketchUp, meet Building Maker - When it comes to modeling existing buildings, it’s hard to beat Google Building Maker for speed and efficiency.
• Back Edges - Turn these on to see your model’s obscured edges as dashed lines.
• Push/Pull pre-selected faces - Select a face, then push/pull; it works just like the rest of SketchUp’s modification tools.
• Calculate volumes - Entity Info now displays the volume of any solid in your model.
• Outer Shell - Automatically generate a shape that completely encloses two or more solids in your model.

What's New in version 7.1:

• Improved support for large models - We overhauled SketchUp's rendering engine to make it easier to work with big models. With the right setup, operations like orbiting, zooming and drawing can be quicker and smoother in 7.1.
• Photo Textures - se Google Street View imagery to add real-world photo textures to your geo-located SketchUp models.
• Nearby models - Use the Component Browser to search the 3D Warehouse for buildings located near the one you're working on, then download the ones you want directly into your model. No more hunting around to find the context you need.
• Direct Component upload - Upload individual components to the 3D Warehouse without first having to save them out to separate files. Split up large city models into buildings, preserve Dynamic Component functionality and more.
• Import and Export COLLADA files - COLLADA is a 3D file format based on open standards. The data you create is yours; it shouldn't be locked inside a proprietary file type. COLLADA makes it easier to move your models between different pieces of software.
• Import and Export KMZ files - Google Earth KMZ is the standard file format for packaging 3D models together with information about their geographic locations. The newest version of SketchUp gives you access to a world of geo-located 3D models.