Han wrote:
"John L. Poole" wrote in news:OTOrg.116838
:

snip

Maybe I'm missing something here. The Google Sketchup download page says
new version, but it appears still free. Of course they would like you to
buy the US$496.00 pro version, but it does not appear to be required.

Have you tried using the new version on old files?
Yes, and the new version worked with my file.