This page guides you through the installation of QCAD on your computer.
Contents
Getting QCAD
There are two ways how you can get the QCAD software:
- From a DVD you purchase from the QCAD website.
- As a file you download over the Internet after ordering your license online.
In either case, you will receive the same files that are required to install QCAD on the hard disk of your computer. Both the download site as well as the DVD contain multiple files for different operating systems. The following sections will explain which file to use for your operating system and how to install it.
Installing QCAD under Windows
This section is only for users of the Windows operating system.
Getting the Setup File
Finding out if your Windows is 32bit or 64bit
If you are not sure if you are running a 32bit or a 64bit version of Windows, please refer to the Windows web site to learn how to find out.
Installation from DVD or USB Drive
In case you have an external medium, insert it now into the DVD drive / USB slot of your computer. Then launch Windows Explorer to see the contents of the medium:
- Click the Start button in the lower left corner of your screen and navigate to All Programs - Accessories where you will find an application called Windows Explorer. Click on Windows Explorer to launch it.
- Navigate to the inserted medium.
- The file you need to install QCAD is called qcad-3.x.x-pro-win32-installer.msi or qcad-3.x.x-pro-win64-installer.msi and is located in the folder installation\3.x\windows\32bit or installation\3.x\windows\64bit. Note that 3.x is the version number in the file name, for example 3.27.
Installation from Download
If you have purchased the downloadable version of QCAD, use your browser to access your personal download area. You can find detailed instructions in the e-mail you have received after your purchase or in the customer area of the QCAD website. In your download area, download the file that is labeled with QCAD Professional Windows 32bit (Installer) or QCAD Professional Windows 64bit (Installer), depending on your operating systems architecture (see above). After the download has finished, use Windows Explorer to find the file on your hard disk.
Installation
Doubleclick the file qcad-3.x.x-pro-win32-installer.msi or qcad-3.x.x-pro-win64-installer.msi either from the DVD or from the folder to which you have downloaded it. Follow the instructions on screen to install QCAD. During the installation you can choose in which folder to install QCAD. All QCAD application files will be installed at that location. The default location is C:\Program Files\QCAD. It is not recommended to change this unless you are sure you want to install QCAD in a different location. When the installation has finished, there is no need to restart your computer. You can also remove the DVD from your DVD drive at this point.
Launching QCAD
To launch QCAD, doubleclick the QCAD icon on the desktop or click on the Start button and choose All Programs > QCAD > QCAD.
Uninstalling
To uninstall QCAD, please use the Software uninstall feature of Windows:
- Windows 7: Start > Control Panel > Programs > Uninstall a program
- Windows 10: Click the Windows icon at the bottom left > Click the cog wheel (Settings) > Apps > QCAD > Uninstall
Installing QCAD under macOS
This section of this page is only for users of the macOS operating system. If you have an Apple Macintosh computer, you are most likely using macOS. There are different versions of the macOS operating system. The file you need to install depends on your version of macOS.
For the sake of brevity, the version numbers in these instructions are indicated as 3.x.x. Replace this number with the actual version number of the downloaded / purchased QCAD release, for example 3.28.1.
Finding out your Version of macOS and Processor Type
First you need to find out what exact version of macOS you are using. To do this, please proceed as follows:
- Click with your mouse on the Apple icon at the top left corner of your screen.
- Click the item About This Mac. This will show a dialog which indicates the version number of the macOS system that is installed .
The version number is displayed right underneath or beside the label "macOS", for example 13.2. Memorize or write down the version number that is displayed on your system.
The processor type is indicated beside the label "Processor". This will either contain "Intel" or "Apple". Apple computers come with two different CPU types. Older Macs typically have an Intel CPU and newer ones an Apple M1, M2 or M3 CPU (also called Apple Silicon). Memorize or write down if your processor is an Intel or an M1/M2/M3.
Getting the Correct Setup File
Installation from DVD / USB Flash Drive
In case you have a DVD or USB Flash Drive, insert it now into the DVD drive or a USB port of your computer.
- A DVD or USB Flash Drive icon appears on your desktop. Double click on it to show the contents of the DVD or USB Flash Drive.
- If you have an Apple M1, M2 or M3 processor, you will need to install the file named installation/3.x/macOS/qcad-3.x.x-pro-macos-11-13-qt6-arm64.dmg.
- If you have an Intel processor, there are several possible installation files, depending on your macOS version:
- If your version number of macOS starts with 10.14 or your version number is 11.x, 12.x or 13.x, you will need to install the file named installation/3.x/macOS/qcad-3.x.x-pro-macos-10.14-13.dmg.
- If your version number of macOS starts with 10.10, 10.11, 10.12 or 10.13, you will need to install the file named installation/macOS/qcad-3.x.x-pro-macos-10.10-10.13.dmg.
- If your macOS version number is lower or higher use the appropriate installer which covers that version.
Note that '3.x.x' in the file names stands for the version of QCAD you have purchased, for example '3.28.2'.
Installation from Download
If you have purchased the downloadable version of QCAD, use your browser to access your personal download area. You can find detailed instructions in the e-mail you have received after your purchase. Most likely, you can simply click on a link in your e-mail application or web mail to go directly to the QCAD website and access your download area.
If you have an Apple M1, M2 or M3 processor, click the link named "QCAD Professional 3.x.x (f) for macOS Qt 6 11.x, 12.x, 13.x arm64 (M1/M2/M3, NOT for regular Intel Macs!)"
If you have an Intel processor, click the link that is labeled with the version of your macOS installation.
After the download has finished, use Finder to locate the file on your hard disk.
Installation
Double-click the file you have located in the previous section either from the DVD or from the folder to which you have download it. The file is a disk image that contains the QCAD application. By double-clicking on it, the contents of the file is shown:
Drag the QCAD Application icon on the left to the Applications folder that is shown at the right in the same Finder window for convenience.
Launching QCAD
QCAD is now installed on your system. To launch it, open the Applications folder and double-click on the application icon QCAD.
Uninstalling
To remove QCAD from a computer, simply drag the QCAD icon from your Applications folder to the Trash icon in your dock.
Installing QCAD under Linux Systems
This section of this page is only for users of the Linux operating system.
For the sake of brevity, the version numbers in these instructions are indicated as 3.x.x. Replace this number with the actual version number of the downloaded / purchased QCAD release, for example 3.28.2.
Getting the Correct Installation File
The installer for Linux Systems is called QCAD Professional 3.x.x for Linux 32bit (Installer) / file name qcad-3.x.x-pro-linux-x86_32.run or QCAD Professional 3.x.x for Linux 64bit (Installer) / file name qcad-3.x.x-pro-linux-x86_64.run, depending on the architecture of your Linux system (32bit or 64bit).
For modern 64bit Linux distributions such as Ubuntu >= 20, you might want to use the installer called QCAD Professional 3.x.x for Linux Qt 5.14 64bit (Installer) / file name qcad-3.x.x-pro-linux-qt5.14-x86_64.run instead which provides better compatibility with these distributions.
Alternatively, there are also tar.gz archives for advanced users who wish to install QCAD manually.
Installation using the installer (.run)
The recommended way to install QCAD on a Linux system is on the console. Please open a console application such as Konsole or xterm. If you have a DVD, insert it into your DVD drive and copy the correct file to your hard disk. For example:
cd /mnt/cdrom/installation/linux
cp qcad-3.x.x-pro-linux-x86_64.run /home/myname
Replace 'myname' with your login name. The exact location where your DVD drive is mounted might be different and depends on your Linux distribution.
Navigate to the location where you have copied or downloaded the installation file. You can use the command cd for that:
cd /home/myname
Now install the file by making it executable and run it:
chmod a+x qcad-3.x.x-pro-linux-x86_64.run
./qcad-3.x.x-pro-linux-x86_64.run
This will create the directory /home/myname/opt/qcad-3.x.x-pro-linux-x86_32 which contains the QCAD application.
Installation using the tar.gz archive
Extract the tar.gz file into any directory of your choice. For this example installation, we use /home/myname/opt:
cd /home/myname/opt
tar xfvz qcad-3.x.x-pro-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
Launching QCAD
Change to the directory /home/myname/opt/qcad-3.x.x-prof.linux.x86_32 where you have installed QCAD and launch QCAD from there:
cd /home/myname/opt/qcad-3.x.x-pro-linux-x86_64
./qcad
Troubleshooting
If QCAD does not run, you might not have all dependencies (required system libraries) installed.
You can check for unmet dependencies as follows:
cd ~/opt/qcad-3.x.x-pro-linux-x86_64
LD_LIBRARY_PATH=. ldd qcad-bin
If you get any "Not found" messages, you need to install the appropriate packages / libraries first.
If you get errors related to GLIBC, you might have to install the Qt 4 legacy package (with "qt4" in the file name).
Uninstalling
When using the QCAD installer, QCAD installs into ~/opt, that's the opt directory in your home folder, for example /home/user/opt if your user name is "user". To uninstall QCAD, simply remove the QCAD installation directory, for example ~/opt/qcad-3.28.1-pro-linux-x86_64.