There’s also a Paste-in-Place command, which makes it simple to move selections in and out of geometry as desired. More advanced drawing power comes through enhancements to its intersection capabilities, which can now be limited to currently selected objects or to the current group or component. SketchUp’s core drawing capabilities have also been made easier to use with new modifier keys that let you quickly create copies of objects and force the direction in which a line should be locked.

Most importantly, SketchUp now offers quicker handling – Google claims up to five times faster for some operations. By default, the main toolbar has been simplified, there’s a new Instructor palette, the Components and Materials browsers have been streamlined, and the new colouring of sky and ground planes plus the inclusion of a default figure in new scenes greatly helps orientation.

For this first major update under the Google brand, the SketchUp interface has been reworked to make it more accessible to its new wider audience.

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