CAD comparison and opinions

Do you have a question you want to ask an existing QCAD user about QCAD and what you can do with it? Do you want to know if a particular feature exists? This is the place to ask.

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MEI
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Joined: Mon May 04, 2020 9:05 pm

CAD comparison and opinions

Post by MEI » Tue May 05, 2020 4:10 am

I use 2D and 3D Cad programs. I have tended to keep them separate as many of the old drawings we have (some velum) are in 2D and don't often need updating and it isn't worth the effort to create 3D models. I realize that needs vary, but am trying to see what opinions/knowledge are out there. I noted that Husky said he had done a lot of research before choosing Qcad.
I have used various versions/clones of Acad in the 2D. Draftsight recently stopped working. I got a bit more time because I don't let programs call home and so mine only recently stopped, right in the middle of a design.
I'm now looking for an alternative and am not inclined to rent. I thought this would be a good place for a note on the options as it might help others that are searching. I've read what I could find on this forum.

I’ve downloaded the trial for Qcad. I must say the 15 minute restart is quite annoying. If this doesn’t serve some significant purpose besides the obvious “don’t use it if you didn’t pay for it” I think it hurts Qcad more. About the time your digging into the functions of the software its time to restart. Sure you can restart it but I would guess that if you need more than 15 minutes to make a decision then how many restarts do you have to do. I’m likely to just remove the trial and not consider the paid version just so I can actually spend some time test driving.

Qcad seems to have a many of the functions I am looking for. I am not looking for 3D or CAM

I am not interested in subscriptions/rent, forced updates although would pay for an update I wanted it, non local files (cloud only). Even free software that locks up in X time without re-registering. There is no reason to put that in place unless you plan on using it as a hammer. For an update sure, but if not then why does it have to be redone ever year? Free bait till it looks profitable enough or some other thing.

The options I've found are Qcad, Librecad, Nanocad, Freecad, Designspark, Actcad, CMSintellicad.

Due to a note here it seems that Librecad is not updating. Although typically not a great issue for me with other options it isn’t worth pursuing.
Actcad and CMS intellicad look very similar. Maybe they come from the intellicad consortium? They have 3D capabilities. They are more expensive than Qcad.
Freecad has a decent following. It does 3D.
Designspark is an interesting one, but they seem to have the same model as draftsight and the program must call home every month or it stops working. That just smells of future pain and rental. So best to drop it out.
Nanocad also has a call home once a year.

Has anyone looked at these others and if so why Qcad?

Thanks

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andrew
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Re: CAD comparison and opinions

Post by andrew » Tue May 05, 2020 9:10 am

MEI wrote:
Tue May 05, 2020 4:10 am
I’ve downloaded the trial for Qcad. I must say the 15 minute restart is quite annoying. If this doesn’t serve some significant purpose besides the obvious “don’t use it if you didn’t pay for it” I think it hurts Qcad more.
It's always a question where to put the limit. Obviously this might put some people off. But we also know for a fact that it's not restrictive enough for other people who use the trial software for months in critical production environments which is absolutely not the intention. We know this from the panic-e-mails we're getting after the trial hits the hard limit. For us, the 15min limit has worked well. Of course QCAD is by all means a "take it or leave" it offer. For serious users, EUR 33 is a very low price for a CAD.

Rantanplan7
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Re: CAD comparison and opinions

Post by Rantanplan7 » Tue May 05, 2020 10:36 am

Just a quick one.
I'm working with QCAD now about two years and are very satisfied with it.
I'm a former Autosketch (from Autodesk) user and changed because they have discontinued the program a couple of years ago.
For 2D it is the best deal in general (in my humble opinion) and when you look at the price I think it is a no brainer to buy.
On top of that you get almost instant support if you have a problem and the program is getting many updates with new functions and bug fixes every year.
Best Regards

Sven

QCAD 3.27.6.0 / Windows 11 Professional 64-bit / 16 GB RAM, i5 [email protected], SSD
(former Autosketch 10 user)

MEI
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Re: CAD comparison and opinions

Post by MEI » Tue May 05, 2020 5:21 pm

andrew wrote:
Tue May 05, 2020 9:10 am
But we also know for a fact that it's not restrictive enough for other people to use the trial software for months in critical production environments which is absolutely not the intention. We know this from the panic-e-mails we're getting after the trial hits the hard limit. For us, the 15min limit has worked well. Of course QCAD is by all means a "take it or leave" it offer. For serious users, EUR 33 is a very low price for a CAD.
I am amazed. And I agree, with that price, why put up with it if you need it? People.... I'm more concerned with a program I can stick with. I contribute once a year to all the 'free' software I use, I don't expect something for nothing but also don't want to have to rent my car rather than buy it.
I'd have to think about the objective and if there was a better system for preventing abuse. I have to spend some time making sure it suits the needs. As much as I hate to suggest it have you thought of banners/ads that would generate some income from the people that are of the 15 minute per use mentality? I hardly even see them anymore so its just noise and wouldn't interfere as much with the use. I would rather have a banner till I paid for it or opted for the free. Although that would require internet which could be annoying. Hmmm tough question.
Or I don't know how feasible this is (I'm very mechanical, so not much on software) but you have the ability to inhibit paid features. Every 15 minutes inhibit the paid features for X (15) minutes + Y (5 or 10) each time till restarted or maybe each day. If you are exploring it doesn't hinder you that much and get progressively worse. If you abusing well I would think that might be pretty annoying. I'm not using a lot of the advanced features so not sure if that would be too much.
Rantanplan7 wrote:
Tue May 05, 2020 10:36 am
I'm working with QCAD now about two years and are very satisfied with it.
Thanks for the opinion Sven. Its always hard to sort through opinions and ranking on the rating sites because you have no idea the perspective the person has, engineer, or hobbyist, affiliate, or simply fake. I started on 13R or so and would use that if it would run. I like my worn comfortable cloths rather than the new latest fashion unless there is a functional need.

I've been playing with it more and it seems well thought out. Somehow it reminds me of the todolist I use. Epic if you ever need one. I use it more for project management and notes on those projects.
https://www.abstractspoon.com/
I spent some time trying to figure out why rectangles began at the point when I released the mouse button. Realized that you click once and then again rather than drag the rectangle to size. Spent almost an hour on something that simple and couldn't find any documentation on it. I understand why now, but the habits that get ingrained and are different between CAD programs can be time consuming.

Lol even the forum is timed. I write and have to copy what I wrote, resign in, and paste it because by the time I'm done it has logged me out.

D

Matfie
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Re: CAD comparison and opinions

Post by Matfie » Wed May 06, 2020 10:48 am

Hi

You can also remove the trial features and revert to the Community Edition in which case you can use it all day without any issues though of course you may be lacking some features that you find necessary. Andrew also generously makes the source code (for Community Edition) available and you can build it yourself.

I am not a professional user and I use the Community Edition because it suits my needs. I can't really think of the feature most lacking since the Pro version is not available on my OS anyway so am not able to make direct comparisons (splines perhaps)

I have tried LibreCAD and the fact that it is based on an older version of QCAD shows the hard work that Andrew put in to make QCAD better. Sure, LibreCAD added missing features but the rest of the program did not keep up in my opinion. It is clunky and does not work properly too many times.

MEI
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Joined: Mon May 04, 2020 9:05 pm

Re: CAD comparison and opinions

Post by MEI » Wed May 06, 2020 6:47 pm

Matfie wrote:
Wed May 06, 2020 10:48 am
I am not a professional user and I use the Community Edition because it suits my needs.
Thanks for the comment. I would donate with either version because I believe in supporting things that have value or often they disappear.

I'm trying to find a new program as rapidly as possible while still getting something that I can stay with rather than a very quick decision and having to switch again. Likely at the end of my search I'll write a note so anyone searching can at least have the snapshot of what I thought had value at this time.

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