Frequently Asked Questions

2024/09/15 21:58 1/5 Frequently Asked Questions

Wiki - https://dokuwiki.librecad.org/

Did you check the documentation ?

Please have a look at the LibreCAD User Manual. Since release 2.2, extensive work has been done to

improve the documentation to make it more readable, better organized and more

thorough.

FAQ sections

Below you will ﬁnd some of most frequent questions asked on forum organized by topics. If you do not

ﬁnd the answer to you issue, you can ask for support on the LibreCAD forum.

Drawing issues

Is the line width feature broken?

Is the unit precision broken? All the lines seem to have the same width.

Why do I not see the text associated with dimensions?

How can I copy a part of a drawing to another drawing?

Is there a library of drawing elements?

My drawing had some hatches. How can I see them?

Graphical User Interface issues

Some "tools" are missing. How can I get them back?

DWG/DXF import issues

Why does the DWG import fail?

The DXF import process failed, why?

Open Design Alliance File Converter

Printing/exporting issues

Why does exporting a PDF produce a blank page?

How do I print a drawing with dimensions to a speciﬁc scale?

LibreCAD release/build

Where can I ﬁnd the upcoming release of LibreCAD?

Host User Manual Locally

How can I use User Manual Oﬄine?

Contribute on GitHub

Can I easily contribute on GitHub?

Last update: 2020/04/01 12:44 usage:faq https://dokuwiki.librecad.org/doku.php/usage:faq?rev=1585745094

https://dokuwiki.librecad.org/ Printed on 2024/09/15 21:58

Drawing issues

Is the line width feature broken?

You might need to zoom in to see the width or increase the line width. The line width is not shown

when Draft Mode is enabled.

Is the unit precision broken? All the lines seem to have the same width.

If the issue is on the Status bar or the information given in the Command line window then check

Current Drawing Preferences → Units. If the issue aﬀects the dimensions, check Current Drawing

Preferences → Dimensions.

Why do I not see the text associated with dimensions?

You might need to raise the value of Current Drawing Preferences → Dimensions → Text Height. You

might also need to adjust the value of Current Drawing Preferences → Dimensions → General Scale.

If you see an empty rectangle where the dimension text should be, then check that View → Draft is

not active.

How can I copy a part of a drawing to another drawing?

See the How to section.

Is there a library of drawing elements?

Yes. There is a Library Browser which allows insertion in a similar way as for blocks. You can also add

elements to create your own library.

My drawing had some hatches. How can I see them?

If Draft mode is selected then hatches cannot be seen. Check that View → Draft is not active.

Graphical User Interface issues

Some "tools" are missing. How can I get them back?

First, determine the type of “tool” which is missing by check this image of LibreCAD GUI. The toolbars

and widgets are respectively activated through the menu Widgets → Toolbars and Widgets → Dock

2024/09/15 21:58 3/5 Frequently Asked Questions

Wiki - https://dokuwiki.librecad.org/

widgets. The Status bar can be activated by clicking in the menu View → Statusbar. You may refer to

the layout description for more information.

DWG/DXF import issues

Why does the DWG import fail?

The support of DWG format by LibreCAD is basic. If the DWG import fails, you can convert from DWG

to DXF format. Free converters are available on the web.

The DXF import process failed, why?

LibreCAD does not support all features of Autodesk DXF format. Currently, only the following DXF

formats are supported: R12, R14, 2000, 2004 and 2007. If you have issues to import some DXF ﬁles,

please report them on the LibreCAD forum.

Open Design Alliance File Converter

Try the Online Converter or download ODA File Converter, a freeware application for converting

between diﬀerent versions of .dwg and .dxf. Other Open Design Alliance downloads may help identify

ﬁle issues.

Printing/exporting issues

Why does exporting a PDF produce a blank page?

You need to select a paper format (e.g. A4) in Current Drawing Preferences.

How do I print a drawing with dimensions to a speciﬁc scale?

Make sure the Widgets → Toolbars → Tool Options bar is active and see the Printing guide.

LibreCAD release/build

Where can I ﬁnd the upcoming release of LibreCAD?

For most OS, it is possible to build the release under development with this proceedure.

Last update: 2020/04/01 12:44 usage:faq https://dokuwiki.librecad.org/doku.php/usage:faq?rev=1585745094

https://dokuwiki.librecad.org/ Printed on 2024/09/15 21:58

Host User Manual Locally

How can I use User Manual Oﬄine?

Purpose:

Allow Read the Docs ﬁles to be viewed oﬄine

Make edits to the docs themselves and render them locally so you can inspect changes before

pushing back to the fork

Install:

Python 3.7.6 - Note: current bug in v3.8

pip install Sphinx

pip install sphinx-autobuild

pip install sphinx-rtd-theme

Download https://github.com/LibreCAD/docs/archive/master.zip from a fork of your choice and

Unzip to a directory

Run:

Navigate to the directory in Explorer and on the address bar enter make livehtml to start the

local server

In your browser enter http://127.0.0.1:8000

If you make any changes to the local User Manual ﬁles they will be updated in the browser.

Contribute on GitHub

Can I easily contribute on GitHub?

Yes, with a simple pull request. You will need to register a GitHub account, login then go to the page.

For example, click the Edit on GitHub link in the top right-hand corner of any User Manual page to go

to the page.

Click the pencil button, make any edits you want and preview them to conﬁrm. Give the

proposed change a description up to 50 characters and optionally an extended description then

click the Propose ﬁle Change button.

If you're reading this you won't have write access to the repository so GitHub will create a copy

of the repository as a branch of a fork in your account. Click the Create pull request button.

Give the Pull Request a description and add any comments then click Create pull request.

Many GitHub ﬁles are in a special format, for example, the User Manual uses reStructuredText. If the

change is simple you might be able to stay within existing formatting or perhaps copy a similar

formatted section from elsewhere and change it. If you mess it up get help or submit it anyway and

let the repository owner ﬁx it.

Each contribution should have its own branch so just start again. If you missed something in the pull

2024/09/15 21:58 5/5 Frequently Asked Questions

Wiki - https://dokuwiki.librecad.org/

request just open up your repository fork branch, change it and commit a new change.

This process will only work for one ﬁle and you can repeat it for two. Complex Pull Requests involving

multiple ﬁles should be submitted using Git.

Managing ﬁles on GitHub

From:

https://dokuwiki.librecad.org/ - Wiki

Permanent link:

https://dokuwiki.librecad.org/doku.php/usage:faq?rev=1585745094

Last update: 2020/04/01 12:44