QCAD.deb?

Post your question about installing or upgrading QCAD.

Moderator: andrew

Forum rules

Always indicate your operating system and QCAD version.

Post one question per topic.

Post Reply
metricus
Newbie Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2023 4:24 pm

QCAD.deb?

Post by metricus » Fri Jan 20, 2023 5:24 pm

First of all, THANK YOU, for creating this software and mostly for making it available for Linux.
I have been using the Pro version for some years now. I don't make money on it but it has been a lifesaver.
I run Kubuntu (whatever latest release there is)

One issue I have is that the installer only installs in the home directory. In this process, it creates an ~/opt/ directory that sits there just for QCad. It would make sense if one installs the "Trial" version but not the production one. With time, I grew annoyed by that directory.

As I see it, this process gives Qcad a temporary feel, like it somehow it is "not worthy" of sitting among the serious apps.

I looked around the forum and I was not able to find posts in this regard. (Pardon me if I missed something). Is there a good reason for this?

One way I was able to go around this (don't laugh..) was to run the installer so it creates the mimetypes and the .desktop file. Then I used mc in sudo mode to move the entire directory in /opt among other non-native apps like Signal and Chrome. Then I edited the desktop file to point to that executable. (also chown the entire directory to root).

I could just use the tar.gz archive but I don't know enough to create my own integration with the system (ex: mimetypes) to have it run smoothly.

My question: Is there a procedure to install it system-wide? As the title implies, I would love a DEB file but in the absence of that what is the "next best solution" for system-wide installation?

Thank you,

User avatar
petevick
Premier Member
Posts: 392
Joined: Tue May 19, 2020 9:34 am
Location: North Norfolk coast UK

Re: QCAD.deb?

Post by petevick » Fri Jan 20, 2023 7:00 pm

metricus wrote:
Fri Jan 20, 2023 5:24 pm
........
As I see it, this process gives Qcad a temporary feel, like it somehow it is "not worthy" of sitting among the serious apps.
........
My question: Is there a procedure to install it system-wide? As the title implies, I would love a DEB file but in the absence of that what is the "next best solution" for system-wide installation?
I've never looked at it that way, I use Linux Mint and it woundn't bother me whatever the install folder was called. I just see the opt folder as a container for various Qcad versions. If their was a deb installer presumably there would only ever be one version installed, just like there is in Qcad for Windows.

I'm not sure what you mean by 'system wide', I've always used the .run install files.
Pete Vickerstaff
Linux Mint 21.2 Cinnamon, Qcad Pro 3.29.6

User avatar
andrew
Site Admin
Posts: 9037
Joined: Fri Mar 30, 2007 6:07 am

Re: QCAD.deb?

Post by andrew » Fri Jan 20, 2023 7:39 pm

Thank you for your kind feedback.

You can specify the target directory the installer will use as follows:

Code: Select all

./qcad-3.x.x-pro-linux-x86_64.run --target /path/to/installation/directory
If you run the installer with sudo, you can install wherever you prefer:

Code: Select all

sudo ./qcad-3.x.x-pro-linux-x86_64.run --target /path/to/installation/directory

metricus
Newbie Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2023 4:24 pm

Re: QCAD.deb?

Post by metricus » Fri Jan 20, 2023 8:29 pm

petevick wrote:
Fri Jan 20, 2023 7:00 pm
I'm not sure what you mean by 'system wide',
Sorry for the confusion, I mean for all users. At this time afaik one has to install another instance for each user. Maybe I'm wrong?

I do not use it this way but my question was on how to install it on the system and the example I used was how SIGNAL app is installed.
Most other "non-ubuntu" apps are installed in /opt/

I will try Andrew's suggestion and see how it goes.

Thank you for the prompt replies.

User avatar
petevick
Premier Member
Posts: 392
Joined: Tue May 19, 2020 9:34 am
Location: North Norfolk coast UK

Re: QCAD.deb?

Post by petevick » Fri Jan 20, 2023 8:36 pm

metricus wrote:
Fri Jan 20, 2023 8:29 pm
Sorry for the confusion, I mean for all users. At this time afaik one has to install another instance for each user. Maybe I'm wrong?
As I see it the Pro licence is for any number of installs for one year for the user who purchashed the licence, so your scenario would be breaking the licence agreement, if it was possible to install for all users.
Pete Vickerstaff
Linux Mint 21.2 Cinnamon, Qcad Pro 3.29.6

metricus
Newbie Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2023 4:24 pm

Re: QCAD.deb?

Post by metricus » Fri Jan 20, 2023 9:09 pm

petevick wrote:
Fri Jan 20, 2023 8:36 pm
would be breaking the licence agreement, if it was possible to install for all users.
Well that's not my case and I you are completely missing my point.
What I understand from your answer is that, as far as you know, there is no solution. Thank you.

metricus
Newbie Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2023 4:24 pm

Re: QCAD.deb?

Post by metricus » Fri Jan 20, 2023 9:39 pm

andrew wrote:
Fri Jan 20, 2023 7:39 pm
If you run the installer with sudo, you can install wherever you prefer:
sudo ./qcad-3.x.x-pro-linux-x86_64.run --target /path/to/installation/directory
That definitely did not work. It actually made somewhat of a mess. It seems that it unpacked in /opt/qcad but it installed in /root/opt/qcad-3.x.x-pro-linux-x86_64/

The widget points to the executable in /root/opt/ which bounces because I have no access to root's home directory under normal usage.

To uninstall I had to once again run sudo MC so I can enter the root home folder and execute the uninstall script from there. The extracted files in /opt/qcad I deleted manually with MC bc they were not removed by uninstall.

Cheers,

metricus
Newbie Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2023 4:24 pm

Re: QCAD.deb?

Post by metricus » Fri Jan 20, 2023 10:57 pm

Upon further tries, it turns out that the argument "--target" does not have any effect on the installer because the setup.sh script is hard set on installing in the home directory of the user:

SETUP_INSTALLPATH="$HOME/opt/qcad-3.27.9-pro-linux-qt5.14-x86_64"

So when I installed with sudo it placed everything in root's home folder. No surprise.
When I try a different directory in home it only extracts in that directory but the installation is still placed in ~/opt/

As it stands, my initial jury-rigged solution to manually move the folder to /opt after installation sounds the better option.
It may be possible to leave the /opt folder in home but make it hidden (~/.opt) provided that the widget is modified accordingly.

So if anyone has any ideas I am open to try them.

Cheers,

metricus
Newbie Member
Posts: 6
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2023 4:24 pm

Re: QCAD.deb?

Post by metricus » Wed Jan 25, 2023 7:13 pm

I did further work on this subject and felt I should update the thread. To clarify:
OS: Kubuntu 22.10 with QCAD Version 3.27.9 - 64 bit, QT 5.14 (Wayland)

I maintain that a deb or other package type (snap) would be preferable in non-trial installations.

1. The home directory is dedicated to personal files and to settings/config files that are placed in hidden folders. I have used Linux since 2003 and, personally, I haven't seen any other app install itself in home folder. I am sure there are guidelines in this regard.
2. Installing QCAD in system directories (where everything else is) has benefits for ex that it cannot be deleted accidentally.
3. Having a deb or snap or whatever package file would ensure smooth upgrades.

In my case after various trials, installs uninstalls I decided to just use the tar.gz archive and place the contents in /opt/qcad/
Note that I renamed the folder from the string that includes the version to just qcad. Then sudo chown -R root:root /opt/qcad.
Having a unique folder name makes it easier with upgrades as I don't have to reconfigure the Desktop entry.

All I had to do next was to create the desktop icon using the KDE Menu Editor and then in System settings I associated the two EXISTING images vnd.dxf and vnc.dwg to the newly created QCAD desktop item. All works so far. Clicking a dxf/dwg file opens it in QCAD which is most important.

One problem I found is that Wayland support does not work. QCAD hangs at startup. I pasted the output below:
This situation is independent of where the package resides. It hangs even when in home folder.
I did not try the installer version in a Wayland environment so I can't report on that. I only tried the tar.gz version.

Code: Select all

xxx@xxx:/opt/qcad$ ./qcad
QCAD version  3.27.9
13:55:53: Debug:    loading plugins...
13:55:53: Debug:    RDwgPlugin::init
13:55:53: Debug:    RProScriptsPlugin::init
13:55:53: Debug:    RTracePlugin::init
13:55:53: Debug:    loading static plugins...
Warning:  Failed to load client buffer integration: "wayland-egl"
Warning:  Available client buffer integrations: ()
Warning:  No shell integration named "xdg-shell" found
Warning:  No shell integration named "xdg-shell-v6" found
Warning:  No shell integration named "wl-shell" found
Warning:  No shell integration named "ivi-shell" found
Warning:  Loading shell integration failed.
Warning:  Attempted to load the following shells ("xdg-shell", "xdg-shell-v6", "wl-shell", "ivi-shell")
13:55:54: Debug:    loading plugins...
13:55:54: Debug:    loading static plugins...
13:55:55: Debug:    loading plugins...
13:55:55: Debug:    loading static plugins...
Warning:  Wayland does not support QWindow::requestActivate()


metricus

Post Reply

Return to “QCAD Installation and Upgrades”