Perhaps I'm missing the intent of the original question, but, is the question about finding the coordinates of an existing object relative to the global or world ('all the world's a stage...') coordinate system?
If it is, then why not use the query tool?
I haven't had many problems zooming in, but after zooming in and editing an object, SU seems to forget how to zoom back out. Many 'rolls' of the scroll wheel have no effect. I have to zoom extents, then work back to where I want to be from that position. It's annoying since building projects are generally large and zooming in to a detail is frequently done.
Has anyone run across a .rib exporter for SketchUp? This would allow the use of any renderman compliant renderer, if you are not familiar with this format.
Thanks