QCAD Bugtracker

This is how I would implement this:

This would be a modification tool. Parts are selected, a toolpath is generated, and a dialog pops up to allow putting the tool path into an existing layer, a new layer, or replace all drawings in an existing layer.

This is how the toolpath is generated:

We iterate through all elements and explode everything but text into line segments. Then we connect the line segments into chains wherever the line endpoints are less than some tolerance away from each other. The chains can be very chaotic, but at least we have separate entities for now.

For every chain, we need to find the largest complete loop. A good drawing would only contain non-overlapping loops, but we can’t expect that. Everything that is not on this loop can not be defined as a part or as a hole, so we will merely create a tool path segment that is equivalent to the line segment. Every segment that *IS* on a loop is either an outside edge (part outline), or an inside edge (hole outline), (or overlapping, in which case it is neither, and we have an operator problem).

In a perfect world, we need to find exactly which shape is inside which other shape, and then create alternating tool offsets from the outmost loop (part edge) to the second outmost (hole), to the next (part) etc. .

In a simplified world, we can used the bounding box of the loop instead. This works OK for rectangular shapes, but a circle next to an “L” shape could be seen as inside the L’s bounding box, hence inside the L, wrongly accused of being a hole, not a part.

Now all that is left to do is to create a new loop, offset by the tool radius. Oh, and since we have the connections from line segment to line segment in the correct order already, we can use the opportunity to order all cutting loops from inner to outer, or from small to large, and order non-loop edges by travel distance.

The new drawing in the new layer can now be exported without further hassle to create a nice laser cut file.

PS: of course, a user could create multiple layers for marking, cutting, enraging, etc. . Additional Layer attributes for cutting speed and laser power (and a few more) would be needed.

It would be a nice feature to be able to define your own toolbar.

See: http://www.qcad.org/rsforum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=2393

Modify the “purge layer” tool to preserve empty layers with a locked status.
see: http://www.qcad.org/rsforum/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=2386

Windows
3.0.8
Application preferences > Graphics View > Appearance - Solid grid lines doesn’t change anything?

To add a new ‘Match’ properties tool.

For example, I have a large drawing with lots and lots of entities on various layers and I want to select some entities (say 500 or more) which are all on different layers and change all these selected entities to match the properties of one other particular entity - but, but I want the ‘Matched’ entities to remain on their own layers.

OK, of course I can use the property editor for this and this is fine in most instances but I would first need to determine the the layer data for the properties of the entity I would like to match to (Color, Line weight and Line type) in the first place and then I need to remember these attributes in order to change things in the property editor in order to change all of my selection to match!

As I say mostly the above procedure would be fine to use but for convenience it would be great to have a new tool to do all this for me and cut out a few steps in the process.

A new ‘Match’ properties tool procedure could be something like this:

1. Select Match properties tool.

2. Select all entities to be matched.

3. Select entity to match to.

4. Tick or leave un-ticked - move to same layer.

5. Complete process.

* Actually, while writing this I`ve just thought of another useful addition which could be added to the Info tool set, ‘Entity’ properties info!
Example - click on Info > Entity Properties and click on the entity in question and then the properties are displayed without going to the layer data for this!
Just an idea ;)

3.0.8.
Bug Report or Feature Request ..... I’m not sure!

If I use the mouse-pointer in the Scale tool I’m not able to do an inversely proportional scale.
x - y locked or unlocked doesn’t matter in combine with the mouse pointer ...

It would be very useful to have an extra option to only detect duplicates within a user defined area.

Would it be possible to make a Plug in tool for a Hatch generator, so custom made hatches can be saved as .pat files?

I have a lot of up and coming future projects that I would like to make my own ‘custom’ hatches for.

A ' Multi ' Breakout tool or added option to the existing Breakout tool.

For example see attached image.

An option to remove all segments within a chosen boundary would be good, in my example I want to remove all the hatching within the Red circle.

So after exploding the Hatch, currently I have to remove all segments singularly!

Of course I could have placed the circle first and hatched around it - but in this and most instances it is easier to design and to produce the Hatching first and then place my circle/shapes etc.

Would it be possible to add a feature which turns selected text into solid fill hatched polylines?

That would make it possible to migrate the drawing from one computer system to another without having to worry whether the used font is installed on both systems, like when sending a drawing to a manufacturer for laser engraving.

Right now I can do it by hand, letter by letter, and that is a rather labour-intensive task.

Not really a bug I suppose but the save as.dgn file format is missing in snapshot 3.0.8 release.

Will this be available again soon?

My system: Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 650 @ 3.20GHz and 8 GB of RAM and NVIDIA GT218 (GeForce 210)

For a normal drawing displaying it in all detail is a good thing and the performance of my quad-core system is more than adequate.

But I discovered (or rather experienced) that when putting a large collection of individual drawings of gears onto one big sheet (960 mm x 600 mm - preparation for laser cutting), the performance was so bad that I had to wait several seconds (>10 sec) for each step in the process of arranging all the parts on the layer.

Request: It would be a big help and performance booster if you could disable the detailed view of each part/layer and only draw a rectangle to visualize the outline of the part.

Please take this in consideration. Attached you find an example of how that could look like. (Actually when pasting a drawing from the clipboard you already do that.)

When working with the isometric grid (in any projection - Top, Right, Left) and drawing from ‘scratch’ as it were, without using the projection tools - I find myself using ‘Line from Angle’ the most.

It would be extreamly useful to be presented with two extra buttons when using this tool, a 30 degree button and a -30 degree button, this way I wouldn’t need to keep typing in the angle difference here.

Regards

Clive

It would be really cool to have a Note book tool for QCAD!

For example I am often working on a draft and at the same time scribbling notes down on a separate piece of paper relating to the drawing I am working on, could be anything e.g. add a block,add a dimension etc. etc... all sorts of things to remind myself about - all related to a particular drawing.

Of course I could use any number of other programs for this but a simple dedicated tool inside QCAD (could be called the ‘QCAD scribbler ;)) would be much better, especially one that can save the notes to a particular file, then when I open up my drawing again - my notes are there too!

If I work in QCAD only with Toolbars (and not with the “Cad Tools” there is nowhere a Button to find for “Create Block from selection”.
If I have to create a Block based on a selection I have to work with the Menu or have to activate the Cad Tools.

But, if I look at the Blocklist menu there is a function (+) to add an empty Block. It would be nice to have this button working for both situation - empty Block or depending on a selection to “Create Block from selection”.

Or alternative an additional Button ...

Anyway - in my opinion would that make the “Blocklist” complete.

- Switch isometric grid off
- Switch isometric grid on using drawing preferences
- Tool buttons don’t reflect correct status

I guess this is a case of wording and wrong expectations.

The polyline tool “Delete Segments between two nodes” removes nodes, but not segments as the title and the icon suggests.

I propose to rename it to “Delete Nodes between two nodes”.

A tool which actually removes line segments from a polyline, leaving gaps, could indeed be useful to some users.

I think of a straight polyline with several segments. Then I remove some segments. I end up with a polyline with “holes” in it. Now I could stretch that polyline and all the remaining segments and holes stretch proportionally. Could be handy some times.

Sometimes you end up with a straight line which is broken/split into several parts. It would be great to have a tool to merge/combine these segments into one.

That would be the opposite/complementary tool to the “Split Entities” tool.

To improve useability/efficiency I would like to propose the following changes/additions to the layer list:

1) Combining the show and hide button into one button.

Clicking once will hide all layers, clicking again will show them all again.

2) A “lock/unlock” button.

Clicking once will lock all layers, clicking again will unlock them all again.

Regarding the icons I suggest that instead of show both the black and grey version of the eye/lock, you could switch between them depending on the state the switch-button is in. Also the mouse-over-text could/should change with the state.

Most of our drawings have a Data sheet, parts List, cutting list, description etc etc on a pdf, world or excel file.

It would be nice to have a link possibility directly in QCAD to those files what will be saved with the drawing.
Like the bitmap function without displaying the files in the drawing ...

My task: To hatch an area.

Right now, if I want to fill an area with a hatch pattern, I have to select all the enclosing objects (lines, arcs) and then I can select the hatch tool. That can be under some circumstances a tedious task.
To illustrate this, I created a simple example (see Attachment 1: Hatching.png).

Step 1: Create a rectangle.
Step 2: Draw four vertical lines.
Step 3: Select the four lines surrounding the first area. –> Problem! The horizontal lines are too long.
Step 4: Divide the long horizontal lines of the rectangle where the vertical lines touch. Now the lines surrounding the three areas can be selected.
Step 5: Hatch the selection. Done.

Just for fun try recreating my second example (see Attachment 2: Hatching2.png)

Therefore I would like to suggest a far more simple approach.

Step 1: Select the Hatch Tool.
Step 2: Click inside the area you would like to be hatched. Done.

Of course that would mean that the hatch style is already pre-defined and can be changed later, if needed.

In this way productivity can be increased by ... [fill in you own estimate] ... times.

Example 2 would need only 13 clicks to hatch all the areas (including the hatch tool button).