This is not a review of Sketchup, or even its latest version. I just want to draw attention to the significant fun that Google has added to downloadable components in this new release. A small set of these come with the basic install of the free version of Sketchup 7, and more can be downloaded from Google's 3D Warehouse.
A normal component is a model (such as a window or a car) that can be incorporated into the model you are building. The new models appear to be much the same, but when you grab the new "Interact" tool suddenly you find the bed model will transform into a king size or a single, the car will recolour from a palette you are offered and most fun of all, the car doors will open and close.
From my experiments to date it seems that the ability to create this functionality comes only with the "pay for" SketchUp 7 Pro, but the ability to tweak components you add to your models is much appreciated... this is a product that continues to amaze those who have not seen it before. The free version is fully functional and is the best way I know to quickly create 3D models of houses and DIY projects.
The free version is downloadable from http://sketchup.google.com.
Andrew Lack
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