My favourite software Google SketchUp has come with its latest version 7. A good number of new features is added in both the free and pro edition.
Before we jump into the new features, let us have a look what the programmers worked on for this release. As the newsletter describes:
More intuitive and more powerfulIf you're really interested in details, take a look at this article on the Help Center.
Crossing lines split automatically. When you draw a line that crosses another line on the same plane, both lines are split where they meet. Most folks think this is how SketchUp should have worked from the start. Well, now it does. Say goodbye to tracing over edges to make them split.
Scale without stretching. New Dynamic Components are special: they're programmed to know what they are. When you use the Scale tool on a dynamic staircase, it automatically adds or removes steps as you make it bigger or smaller. No more stretching, no more distortion.
Configure objects with Component Options. Some Dynamic Components are hooked up to the new Component Options dialog box. Instead of breaking out the modeling tools to make a change, just choose options and watch the component reconfigure automatically. It's modeling without the mess.
Introducing the Interact tool. Clicking things is fun – especially with the new Interact tool. Some Dynamic Components can perform animations, rotate, move, resize, change color or move to a scene in your model when you click on them with Interact.
Build components that know what they are (SketchUp Pro 7). With Google SketchUp Pro 7, you can turn any component into a Dynamic Component. Endowing your models with behaviors like animation and smart scaling makes them easier for you and everyone else to use. If you can use a spreadsheet, you can build Dynamic Components.
Custom attributes (SketchUp Pro 7). In SketchUp Pro 7, you can assign custom attributes to any group or component in your model. From tracking a part number to adding your company's website url to dynamically calculating a unit cost based on a model's current configuration, attaching metadata to your models is as simple and straightforward as using a spreadsheet.
Learn more about Dynamic Components »
Sharing and Collaboration
Search the 3D Warehouse. We've added Google 3D Warehouse Search to the Component Browser, which gives you access to jillions of models (give or take a zillion) right inside SketchUp. You can also save particular searches as Favorites, making it easier to find stuff quickly later on.
Download models locally. You can save anything you find on the 3D Warehouse to your local drive, making it easy to work even if you happen to be offline. Better yet, you can download models to local collections up to a dozen at a time.
Take (and give) credit. Tag your models with your nickname so that people will know who built them no matter where they end up. And since Credits automatically keeps track of the stuff you use to build your own models, it's easier than ever to give credit to your collaborators.
Custom Templates. You can include all of your organization's proprietary Styles, Watermarks and components in a custom Template so that every member of your team has everything they need, right from the start. In SketchUp 7, saving custom templates is a breeze.
Generate reports (SketchUp Pro 7). Use the metadata embedded in your components to create tabular reports. In SketchUp Pro 7, you can export detailed lists of every named entity and their corresponding attributes in either HTML or CSV format, for use in your favorite spreadsheet application.
And that's not all! We improved the inferences to make them more visible and easier to use. There's a new area of the Status bar that tells you more about your model. The VCB is now called Measurements, and you can change its location on your screen. You can make textures unique, and choose to edit them in the photo-editor of your choice. You can apply anti-aliasing to textures to make them look better from a distance.
LayOut 2: Create professional presentation documents, fast (SketchUp Pro 7)
Work bigger with Vector Rendering. LayOut 2, now out of beta, makes it easier to work with complex models and larger paper sizes. Switch to Vector Rendering when you want clean, resolution-independent drawings. If you want to tweak the line weights a bit, you can "explode" your model to vector edges and tweak it line by line.
Explode to vectors. Right-click on any placed SketchUp model and choose Explode. Depending on how it was rendered, you'll get vector lines, raster images, or a combination of both. It's the easiest way to get vector geometry to edit directly, hands-down.
Long live Measurements. You know the little text box in the lower-right corner of the SketchUp modeling window? The one you use to enter dimensions, angles and other stuff? Now you can key in numbers in LayOut just like you do in SketchUp. Be accurate to your heart's content.
Curves are fun again. Its boring name notwithstanding, LayOut 2's new-and-improved Line tool has superpowers. It's simple and intuitive, and it incorporates everything you already love about SketchUp's inference system. Try it and you'll see -- it's like taking off your mittens to tie your shoes.
Editable paths. Double click any shape in LayOut 2 to edit its control points. Drag any point onto an adjacent one to make the first one disappear. Hold down Ctrl (Option on a Mac) to add a point or make a smooth curve pointy. Reshape any curve fluidly by dragging its handles. Delicious, no?
Move, rotate and scale. We've completely redesigned LayOut's geometric manipulators to be easier to use and to stay out of your way. You can move, scale and rotate anything on your page without changing tools, and the new "heads-up" display helps with accuracy as you work.
Export to images. Need JPEGs or PNGs of your pages? LayOut 2 includes direct export to these formats, which saves you from having to use another tool to rasterize your PDFs. We suggest using your extra time to do something for yourself. Maybe buy a hammock.
In-place Group edit. Use the Select tool to double click a group to edit its contents. You can move, scale, rotate and copy/paste inside the group, then click outside to go back to the rest of your file. No more ungrouping and regrouping just to make a change.
Improved Text. For LayOut 2, we've fixed problems and added some new functionality for text. You can now create both bounded (confined to a box) and unbounded text, depending on your need. Text can be aligned to top, bottom, left, right or center within its bounding box, both vertically and horizontally.
And that's not all! We made improvements to almost every corner of LayOut in its first non-Beta release: Styles handling, text editing, layer visibility, toolbars, presentation mode, overall stability, view performance, memory management -- you name it, we made it better.
Learn more about LayOut 2 »
Style Builder: Make your own sketchy-edge Styles (SketchUp Pro 7)
Turn models into sketches. Showing a hand-drawn sketch does two things: It abstracts detail so you and your client can talk about what's important, and it communicates that your concept is open for discussion. With Style Builder, you can create personalized sketchy Styles that tell the story of your design.
Brand your models. The Styles you create with Style Builder are completely unique. When you apply them to your models, you'll have computer models that look like you made them. After thirty years of CAD, isn't it about time everybody's drawings stopped looking the same?
Use any medium at all. Your Styles can be based on any mark you make, in any medium. Marker, pencil, crayon, burnt stick, technical pen, ballpoint, gouache, smudgy finger, pen and ink, highlighter... You get the picture – anything.
Learn more about Style Builder »
It seems quite impressive to me. I have downloaded the free version, and its speedy than before and yeah, the new features are cool. I'm sure you'll love working with it.
