If the software behaves unreasonably, check the manual - there's always a learning curve, and beginners often stall, crunch gears, indicate with screen-wipers and jump red lights. Actually, they have to be driven a bit differently. With CAD packages, it's easy to get hung up expecting them to work just like the last one. Most of the time AUTO gets it right but total control is available whenever necessary.
In addition to stopping the free version they are stopping support for Linux and MAC. I now see that it was updated in July 2018 **LINK** I was originally put-off a little by seeing that the CAM add-on was rather old, and compatatively expensive. It's been a while since I tried QCAD, but it does look very promising Even if I buy a new version every three years, it would still only cost 1/3 as much as Draftsight.
QCAD Professional will open and save DWG, so I'm about to bite the bullet and pay EUR 33 + VAT for a lifetime licence and a year's updates. Having done some testing, QCAD free opens the DXF files with a few linetype issues
Having done some testing, QCAD free opens the DXF files with a few linetype issues, but FreeCAD doesn't seem to handle the dimensions and text. I have just used ODA File Converter (formerly Teigha) to convert everything to DXF (remarkably simple as it does a complete folder as a batch job) so I can guarantee access to them whatever I do. I will put AutoCAD R14 on hold for a bit as Longbow doesn't work on dongled versions, and I am not that keen on going back too far on Windows.
Can I just alter the clock on my PC so that we never get to 31/12/19? I'm slowly learning Alibre, and prepared to pay their one off price, but $99/year is a big ask Can't blame them - they are not a charity. Sooner or later they are going to want some cash from you. "Heaven help the Fusion 360 users if Autodesk pull the same stunt" Glad I did not invest to much time in THAT one. I've deleted with win 10 uninstaller but ioUninstaller reported lots of rubbish left behind and it very kindly deleted it all for me. I'm pretty sure I can dig out my dongle and a spare XP licence to run it on. Looks like I will have to hurry up and convert all my drawings back to AutoCAD R14.
Time to trial QCad & LibreCad for basic 2D, I think. I have downloaded DesignSpark Mechanical, but now find that requires a £500+ "upgrade" to get 2D. I use DraftSight for the odd drawing I need to do mainly for maintenance purposes, but with the odd project. I am using DS 2018 X64 SP3įusion 360 no use in my working environment, I'm afraid Brian. Just opened mine and cannot see a message - is it hidden somewhere?Ī pop-up window down the RHS of mine headed "DraftNews" & then in red "Important Notice" appeared when I opened the program.
I've managed to draw a couple of parts for my next project, the support is terrific and it really does get easier. Looks like I will have to get to grips with DesignSpark Mechanical sooner than I thought !įor free to hobbyists, Fusion 360 is the way to go in my opinion, not that it's easy to learn but Lars Christensen videos are a great way to start. The least expensive version will be DraftSight 2019 Standard edition at $99 a year. I had reason to open Draftsight today & there is a message informing that all free versions of Draftsight will cease functioning at the end of this year.