With a significant performance improvement and new features

Sep 23, 2009 13:19 GMT  ·  By

Google may be best known for its online services but it is now a huge company with interests in all sorts of markets and technologies. Even so, 3D modeling software isn't exactly the first thing you think about when you say Google, but the company does this as well with SketchUp, which just made it to version 7.1. The new version comes with some new features as well as improved performance, being more than just a minor release.

“Even though we're calling this a "point" release (you lucky Pro 7.0 users will get this update for free!), Google SketchUp 7.1 includes a lot more than just minor tweaks and bug fixes. We've added a batch of new features and functionality that make SketchUp (and LayOut 2.1 in SketchUp Pro) even more useful for everyone,” John Bacus, SketchUp product manager, wrote.

For users working on large models with a high polygon count the update brings a significant improvement in performance. Most operations are now faster and smoother but Google says that this is still very much dependent on the hardware and an underpowered machine won't see much of a difference. Still, for the average user there should be a noticeable bump in performance. There is also better integration with other Google products like Maps and Street View, which also makes it easier to create models for them. One new feature allows users to texture their models using the photos Google has gathered for its Street View program.

Another interest in the new release is for open data standards, in tune with Google's larger move towards data interoperability between different software and services. SketchUp uses the COLLADA format for the 3D models, which is based on open standards. And for the models that include geolocation data, the product uses KMZ, also a standard format.

Users of the paid version of the software, SketchUp PRO, also have a lot of things to be excited about, as it also brings some interesting new features and, because this is just a .1 upgrade, they won't have to pay for it either. “We've given SketchUp Pro a big upgrade in this release; it's specially targeted at those of you who need to make professional design documents to communicate your work to clients and partners. LayOut 2.1 (included in SketchUp Pro 7.1) now includes a simple but surprisingly powerful tool for dimensioning models and creating dimensioned drawings,” Bacus added.

Google SketchUp 7.1 is available for download here.