I now use Sketchup 2017. I have upgraded a few times since version 8. All of the materials are still located in the version 8 materials folder. Does sketchup only install in one location? There is nothing in the materials folder from the 2017 file folders.
no, sketchup doesn’t install in one location.
On Windows, the Materials folder for SU2017 will be found in User/AppData/Roaming/SketchUp/SketchUp 2017/… You can direct SketchUp to look somewhere else for your custom materials if you wish by going to Preferences>Files and editing the folder location.
I put my custom materials in a folder that I created and that I can select in Preferences when I update to the next version of SketchUp.
You can copy your custom materials from SU8’s Materials files if you want.
If you’ve been keeping your custom materials/textures in the OEM supplied texture libraries, it would be wise to move them to their own folders. If you have some reason to reinstall SketchUp in the future, those OEM folders might be overwritten and you’d lose all of your added materials.