LibreCAD, we will finally have a free CAD

I want to start by clarifying that it is not the same to say free CAD than free CAD but both terms are in the most frequent Google searches associated with the word CAD. Depending on the type of user, the basic drawing user will think about its availability without making a license payment or the temptation of piracy and hence it is called free CAD; the power user or developer looks to LibreCAD for the freedom it has to expand its capabilities.

And it is that the first stable version of LibreCAD has been recently released. It is one of the first in which we have high expectations who have seen Open Source as a business model that will break many paradigms in the way knowledge is democratized. In fact, in other fields such as web publishing platforms and Geographic Information Systems, free software has made very important advances, even surpassing proprietary tools with popularized brands, but a basic CAD (outside of Blender which is great but for mechanical design ) so far we haven't seen much.

Development is reusing some of the Qcad, Of which I spoke a while ago, although after various difficulties due to the type of license and some rights, it has almost been rebuilt from scratch, barely taking advantage of the functionality and some of the effort it took while the project was called CADuntu.

To date, it is still a fairly basic version, however the trend it is having and the acceptance it is having in the community, I dare to believe that in about three years we will finally have a CAD tool that competes with popularized software. As it is integrated into the geospatial ecosystem, LibreCAD will even be able to achieve greater achievements in the GIS environment since many things still need to be done from the CAD-style Line / trim / snap

What progress LibreCAD has

For now, LibreCAD's usability looks very practical. The user interface design is quite practical, with adjustable panels.

The handling of layers is quite practical, similar as it is in CorelDraw or MapInfo, with off, on in one click. In the lower panel the space for line commands in the AutoCAD style, although the contextual options are in a horizontal bar that can be at the top as default or floating anywhere. The following images show what the QCad interface was and how the similarity has been maintained in LibreCAD.

I like the logic of the LibreCAD command flow, avoiding so many bars that obstruct the workspace. The left panel is not actually a command panel but a command menu, similar to Microstation. To give an example:

• Choose the command line
• This causes the icons to be replaced by the line options (from two points, starting from a point (ray), bisector, tangent, etc.)
• And when you choose the line type, the snap

Also in this panel you can activate menus that do not occupy lower from the top bar, such as modify commands, sizing, selection or information commands.

Obviously it is a flow logic very practical, otherwise in other conditions would have to swim across the screen to make a line with a specific snap.

• It is also very practical, that as in Microstation, the used command does not die, unless another is going to be used.
• Similar to AutoCAD, it accepts text commands, with fairly similar names and abbreviations. Example, the line can be written: Line, L, ln; parallel can be written or, offset, par, parallel.
• It is very practical, that you can configure the language for both the interface and commands, that is chosen in Edit> application preferences.
• It has auto-saved, and can be configured every time it happens.

Most of LibreCAD's innovations are in the interface, although there are interesting commands, such as selecting all the objects in a layer, and it would be necessary to see if there are any other innovators. And although as a free solution it should redesign the way of doing things, in general they have given priority to the commands most used by proprietary programs, below I list a comparison of those that now exist with respect to the ones I used when I gave the AutoCAD course based on the 32 most common in the drawing of construction plans. Although there is a new RC, I am using the latest stable 1.0 from December 15, 2011.

1 Line Si Activating the line menu activates options such as: -Line from two points -Line from start and angle - Vertical line, horizontal line -Bisector line -Parallel -Etc. 2 Polyline Si Selecting the command activates options for editing the polyline such as adding or removing nodes or trimming segments. 3 Circle Si - Center point - Radio center -2 points -3 points 4 Boundary No Possibly can be done with the command hatch 5 Block Si The menu includes icons for renaming, redrawing, editing, ungrouping, or inserting 6 Arrangement No 7 Trim Si There is also a trim option for two lines, similar to what we do with the zero radio fillet. 8 Copy Si 9 MOVER Si The move command is in the copy and rotate commands, in a logic similar to the lisp known as I follow 10 Rotate Si 11 Climb Si 12 Mirror Si 13 Edit vertices Si 14 Exploit Si 15 Sweaters, Jerseys and Cardigans Si 16 bow Si -Center, point, angles. -Concentric -3 points 17 Polygon Si -From a center -From one side 18 Ellipse Si 19 Hole No There is no support for solid type stuffed objects yet 20 Rectangle Si 21 To stretch Si 22 Break Si The command is called divide, part the line at a specific point 23 Multiline No 24 Xline No 25 Hatch Si 26 Insert Block Si 27 Text Si You can ungroup text in letters, very practical panel for text attributes and common symbology insertion such as diameter, at, degrees, etc. 28 Parallel Si 29 Extender No Apparently can be done with the stretch or trim of two lines 30 Prolong Si 31 fillet Si 32 Delete Si There is a difference of commands between the delete and delete selected object

Limits of LibreCAD

I am not going to talk about the limitations, since the project is still tender.

For now the interface is quite slow and the mouse lacks many functionalities both when selecting objects and with the right mouse button. The snap options are more or less acceptable but the capture functionality still seems poor. It only supports 2D work, in the short term they will surely implement the isometric as qCAD did. There is no handling of layouts, the existing ones in a drawing are seen as blocks inserted in the file although they cannot be visualized, the printing is quite poor.

Obviously, as a result of being new, there is still no manual.

It also only supports dxf files in 2000 formats, then we expect dwg2000 support.

It will grow to the extent that it is prioritized on the wish list, in what community Will play a good role.

The biggest challenge of LibreCAD

Honestly, I do not look at difficulties in getting a fully functional interface and a good use of the computer resource.

In my opinion, the biggest challenge is to be able to open dwg / dgn files. While almost any low-cost program, such as those in the IntelliCAD line, Globalmapper, TatukGIS do, very mature programs like QGIS y GvSIG they have been unable to open the door to an agreement. It seems that the doors are not always open for free initiatives. In the case of Bentley Systems, the attempt would have to be made through the Open Design Alliance And dealing with the V8 format and I-model that we believe will be about 10 more years, in the case of AutoCAD is more complicated because after what everyone has been able to open (dwg2000) there are at least four new formats including the one that will bring AutoCAD 2013.

It is also a great challenge to think about scalability, since today talking about vectors is already obsolete, the future of CAD is in modeling (BIM), and for this LibreCAD will be a heavy burden if we consider that the majority of contributions are voluntary .

The other challenge is sustainability, which will surely find it as it is internationalized.

For now I get a good impression, than a program with an executable of just 12 MB.

Download LibreCAD