A few suggestions

[koosjr]

I am using QCAD for quite a while now for engineering work. Only 2D stuff needed as we are working on building services. I use v 2.2.1.0 on a Linux as well as a WinXP box.

In terms of easy drawing, QCAD is great and it is one of those packages where one can just start drawing. This is the main reason why I use it. It draws very quick and in general, I have very few problems with QCAD.

I have a couple of suggestions.

1. Memory management could be improved a lot. I now work on projects with very large DXF files and above about 10 MB, QCAD fails to open the files. Sammler files does open, but it takes a lot of time.

2. The drawing area can be increased a lot by having the option to use the Layer and Block boxes as drop-down boxes in the top toolbar. This is a must on small screens like laptops - we do use them on site!

3. Are there perhaps a 64-bit version in the pipeline?

Some problems I have:

1. The PDF export does not work good when the drawing gets a little big. with drawings smaller than 2 MB I generally don't have problems.


Then some serious wishes.

1. Is there ANY chance that QCAD can be made to use ACAD DWG formats - 2000, 2004 and 2007 are more than good enough. I am willing to pay 10 times more for QCAD if this can be done! I absolutely HATE ACAD for the pathetically clumsy UI, but unfortunately it is one of the most used programs and a problem that we often have.

2. The new packages also use Sheets. Is this difficult to add?

3. Support fro true-type fonts? I often get text outputs that are a lot different on QCAD than on other packages. The fonts are often much wider and this is a problem in title blocks.

I bought a package called BricsCAD. It is a pretty close ACAD clone which means the UI is just as bad. It reads all ACAD formats until 2007. Bought it for about Euro 250. If QCAD can do just do the ACAD formats and sheets I won't even blink to pay the same.

QCAD really don't need much more drawing functions now. The tools that are there are good enough and draws very quickly. If there are no more improvements in QCAD on drawing functions, I would happily live with that, but DWG and sheet support would probably make it the best 2D CAD on the market.

My 2c

[andrew]

1. Memory management could be improved a lot. I now work on projects with very large DXF files and above about 10 MB, QCAD fails to open the files. Sammler files does open, but it takes a lot of time.

Memory usage and performance are among the top priorities for QCad 3.

2. The drawing area can be increased a lot by having the option to use the Layer and Block boxes as drop-down boxes in the top toolbar. This is a must on small screens like laptops - we do use them on site!

Thanks for the suggestion. It sounds like a good idea for an application option.

3. Are there perhaps a 64-bit version in the pipeline?

Not at the moment. There will be 64bit binaries at one point, but that's not scheduled at the moment.

1. The PDF export does not work good when the drawing gets a little big. with drawings smaller than 2 MB I generally don't have problems.

Can you please be more specific about this? Is there problem with the generated PDFs of with PDF generation in general?

1. Is there ANY chance that QCAD can be made to use ACAD DWG formats - 2000, 2004 and 2007 are more than good enough. I am willing to pay 10 times more for QCAD if this can be done! I absolutely HATE ACAD for the pathetically clumsy UI, but unfortunately it is one of the most used programs and a problem that we often have.

QCad 3 will use the OpenDesign libraries to offer improved DXF support and optionally also DWG support.

2. The new packages also use Sheets. Is this difficult to add?

I'd have to look into that. Not sure what sheets are.

3. Support fro true-type fonts? I often get text outputs that are a lot different on QCAD than on other packages. The fonts are often much wider and this is a problem in title blocks.

Not sure if TTF will make it into QCad 3. TTF support is certainly on the list of future features.

Thanks for your input.

[koosjr]

Can you please be more specific about this? Is there problem with the generated PDFs of with PDF generation in general?

Andrew, I tried a couple of drawing this morning and it all worked! Can't get it to give met the problem. I think it might be an internal Linux problem then as I am now using Mandriva 2008.1. The problem could be on the earlier versions. If I have the problem again, I will send it throug.

QCad 3 will use the OpenDesign libraries to offer improved DXF support and optionally also DWG support.

That is great news!

I'd have to look into that. Not sure what sheets are.

It works just like sheets on a spreadsheet. You can have separate drawings on separate sheets in one file.

Not sure if TTF will make it into QCad 3. TTF support is certainly on the list of future features.

Thanks! When will the new version be out? My money is ready!

[txsbaker]

Sheets are actually a little more complex than just multiple drawings. A sheet is a paper space that can be scaled and printed separately from the drawing. ACAD can have multiple sheets, each with different views, scales, paper sizes & title blocks, but all using the same original drawing. To do so it uses viewports that are freely re-sizeable/scaleable and can even be used in multiples on a single sheet. The viewports act as windows into the model space or drawing window. This system makes printing much easier for ACAD than most CAD apps. The drafter can draw a single 1:1 scale drawing in the model space, and then generate several different sections or views at several different scales and each with it's own different titleblock all in the same drawing file without having to alter or manipulate the original drawing. Paper space in ACAD now even supports the ability to turn off specific layers on a sheet-by-sheet basis, as well. I would love to see QCAD support paper space/sheets and DWG format. Hopefully native DWG format is possible with the OpenDesign libraries. Import/Export is not convenient for day-to-day use.

[rdohmeier]

"Pages" in AutoCad are called "Paper space", as opposed to "Model space" which is the "workspace" in which one draws at 1:1.
Paperspace is similar to the "print>preview" window in Qcad, with the additional feature of being able to assemble a number of "Viewports" onto one sheet.

Each viewports can be different, as follows:
1) They can have a different size / shape and scale.
2) One can select the layers that are switched on and off in each viewport.

This means one can have say a building plan, with text and dimension on a layer say "text48" for 1/4" scale, and details from the same plan with text and dimensions on a layer say "text12" for 1" scale. One can then assemble multiple viewports on the same sheet, one with "text48" on and "text12" off, and the others with "text48" off and "text12" on. The viewport with "text48" on will be zoomed out 48x, and the viewport with "text12" on will be zoomed out 12x.

In that way, one can assemble a sheet with drawings at different scales on the same sheet.

The way I do the same thing in Qcad is to create separate drawings, with different dimension and text sizes. Then I have to explode the dimensions. I then "Import" each drawing onto one blank drawing with a title block drawn at a scale of 1:1, scaling each block separately so that they are correctly proportioned on the sheet, and print the sheet at 1:1.

It is a bit of a nightmare and hokey and the regeneration time with all of the blocks assembled on one sheet is a problem in Qcad.

Despite the complexity of paperspace and viewports, the alternative "workarounds" are even more complex, and the AutoCad pages and viewports approach has proved the most resilient, and the only approach in the industry that has "stuck", and over the long term been refined, and adopted by other software vendors and the "way to go".

[ggsalas]

The way I do the same thing in Qcad is to create separate drawings, with different dimension and text sizes. Then I have to explode the dimensions. I then "Import" each drawing onto one blank drawing with a title block drawn at a scale of 1:1, scaling each block separately so that they are correctly proportioned on the sheet, and print the sheet at 1:1.

It is a bit of a nightmare and hokey and the regeneration time with all of the blocks assembled on one sheet is a problem in Qcad.

How to insert drawings? There is no menu "import".

The way that I know is: copy and paste or save it in the library of objects and to insert the object.

I hope Qcad3 not need to explode the dimensions.

Is there a way to select all the dimensions at the same time?

Greetings.

[rdohmeier]

How to insert drawings? There is no menu "import".

The way that I know is: copy and paste or save it in the library of objects and to insert the object.
Yes, I create blocks. Either I create the block and then copy and paste the drawing into the empty block, or I set my library path to the folder with the drawings and add the block that way.

Is there a way to select all the dimensions at the same time?
The only way I know is to have all the dimensions on one layer, and select layer.

Greetings.

[ggsalas]

How to insert drawings? There is no menu "import".
The way that I know is: copy and paste or save it in the library of objects and to insert the object.
Yes, I create blocks. Either I create the block and then copy and paste the drawing into the empty block, or I set my library path to the folder with the drawings and add the block that way.

Is there a way to select all the dimensions at the same time?
The only way I know is to have all the dimensions on one layer, and select layer.

Rdohmeier, i am happy to talk with you, because you use QCAD for Architecture. It would be nice to dedicate a section of the forums for that.

Take to ask: Do you know any way to draw a floor above the other?

I tried using blocks for each floor, but working within a block is not easy because you lose sight of the rest of the drawing and you can not see the list of blocks to insert

Thanks,
Gabriel

[usermarius]

THERE IS ONE MORE IMPORTANT THEN MENTIONED THING-

acording ISO in architecture arrows should look like 45 degree line like
/-/


it's the only reason why I am not using like the main program QCAD. And another reason I have no time to compile open source QCAD to use that looking arrows. So I have to stay on windows running another free software.
anyway you are not using that kinde of arrows

I looking forward for changes in comunity edition too

[andrew]

usermarius: Edit - Current Drawing Preferences - Dimensions - Style - Architectural Tick

PS: please do not double post the same question / message.