but I'm starting to wonder
if something more (maybe an outdated APT repository) is part
of my difficulties.
On 22/06/2026 17:36, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:
Has anybody had success using librecad on Raspberry Pi OS?
I'm trying, and noticed that the about box reports:
Version: 2.2.0-alpha
Compiler: GNU GCC 12.2.0
Compiled on: Dec 26 2022
Qt Version: 5.15.8
Boost Version: 1.74.0
The compile date is four years from this past December, which
seems a long time ago for an -alpha version.
I'm having great difficulty making librecad work by tring to
follow the instructions, both in the librecad manual and in
online tutorials. If there's a good written (not video) tutorial
it might help quite a bit, but I haven't found one.
Part of my ineptitude is surely caused by first learning CAD
on a Macintosh (Ashlar Graphite), but I'm starting to wonder
if something more (maybe an outdated APT repository) is part
of my difficulties.
Thanks for reading, and any suggestions,
bob prohaska
Current version seems to be: librecad_2.2.0.2-3_arm64.deb
See https://packages.debian.org/sid/arm64/librecad/download
Rpi OS apt is often well out of date
Has anybody had success using librecad on Raspberry Pi OS?
I'm trying, and noticed that the about box reports:
Version: 2.2.0-alpha
Compiler: GNU GCC 12.2.0
Compiled on: Dec 26 2022
Qt Version: 5.15.8
Boost Version: 1.74.0
The compile date is four years from this past December, which
seems a long time ago for an -alpha version.
I'm having great difficulty making librecad work by tring to
follow the instructions, both in the librecad manual and in
online tutorials. If there's a good written (not video) tutorial
it might help quite a bit, but I haven't found one.
Part of my ineptitude is surely caused by first learning CAD
on a Macintosh (Ashlar Graphite), but I'm starting to wonder
if something more (maybe an outdated APT repository) is part
of my difficulties.
Thanks for reading, and any suggestions,
bob prohaska
I'm having great difficulty making librecad work by tring to
follow the instructions, both in the librecad manual and in
online tutorials. If there's a good written (not video) tutorial
it might help quite a bit, but I haven't found one.
Part of my ineptitude is surely caused by first learning CAD
on a Macintosh (Ashlar Graphite), but I'm starting to wonder
if something more (maybe an outdated APT repository) is part
of my difficulties.
Chris Townley <news@cct-net.co.uk> wrote:
On 22/06/2026 17:36, bp@www.zefox.net wrote:
Current version seems to be: librecad_2.2.0.2-3_arm64.deb
See https://packages.debian.org/sid/arm64/librecad/download
Rpi OS apt is often well out of date
How would I go about using that repository? I've always used
sudo apt install (packagename).....
Thanks for posting!
bob prohaska
TBH when I just want 'scale drawing' rather than parametric CAD, I
use Inkscape.
That's been good enough for accurately drawing things to be laser
cut, and it works much more like a traditional vector drawing
package ...
Another parametric CAD program I found easier to use is SolveSpace ...
On Mon, 22 Jun 2026 19:33:01 -0000 (UTC), bp wrote:
How would I go about using that repository? I've always used sudo apt
install (packagename).....
The easiest way is to go to the site, download the deb, and then 'sudo apt install librecad_2.2.0.2-3_arm64.deb'
Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
bp@www.zefox.net wrote:
I'm having great difficulty making librecad work by tring to
follow the instructions, both in the librecad manual and in
online tutorials. If there's a good written (not video) tutorial
it might help quite a bit, but I haven't found one.
What's not working?
Seemingly, everything 8-)
That points strongly to me being the problem, and it's at
least partly true. I just managed to draw, save and open a
rectagle using a tutorial at https://docs.librecad.org/en/latest/guides/dwg-edit.html
but all layers display all the time, the response to clicks
seemed one click late and the resulting line is dash-dot,
not continuous.
I find LibreCAD a bit awkward. I think it's designed as a clone of AutoCAD,
which means it inherits the AutoCAD way of doing things - that's often backwards to how other 'design' packages do it.
I find LibreCAD _extremely_ awkward after learning to use Ashlar Graphite,
it really spoiled me 8-) but I can't justify the license cost now.
W dniu 22.06.2026 oÿ18:36, bp@www.zefox.net pisze:
but I'm starting to wonder
if something more (maybe an outdated APT repository) is part
of my difficulties.
How about updating to a recent AppImage?
<https://github.com/LibreCAD/LibreCAD/releases>
There is a LibreCAD-v2.2.1.5-aarch64.AppImage available. The online
manual is probably more closely aligned with this version as well.
W dniu 22.06.2026 oÿ18:36, bp@www.zefox.net pisze:
but I'm starting to wonder
if something more (maybe an outdated APT repository) is part
of my difficulties.
How about updating to a recent AppImage?
<https://github.com/LibreCAD/LibreCAD/releases>
There is a LibreCAD-v2.2.1.5-aarch64.AppImage available. The online
manual is probably more closely aligned with this version as well.
I messed with Inkscape a couple years ago and got it to work after a
fashion. The other day I opened it up again and my brain went blank
as the page.
All I really need is the ability to make simple drawing to
scale so they can be checked for interference between objects.
bp@www.zefox.net wrote:
Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> wrote:
bp@www.zefox.net wrote:
I'm having great difficulty making librecad work by tring to
follow the instructions, both in the librecad manual and in
online tutorials. If there's a good written (not video) tutorial
it might help quite a bit, but I haven't found one.
What's not working?
Seemingly, everything 8-)
That points strongly to me being the problem, and it's at
least partly true. I just managed to draw, save and open a
rectagle using a tutorial at
https://docs.librecad.org/en/latest/guides/dwg-edit.html
but all layers display all the time, the response to clicks
seemed one click late and the resulting line is dash-dot,
not continuous.
Ah, ok. Not sure what's up there. I wonder if it's something to do with
the graphics setup not being right? eg Wayland issues?
I find LibreCAD a bit awkward. I think it's designed as a clone of AutoCAD,I find LibreCAD _extremely_ awkward after learning to use Ashlar Graphite, >> it really spoiled me 8-) but I can't justify the license cost now.
which means it inherits the AutoCAD way of doing things - that's often
backwards to how other 'design' packages do it.
TBH when I just want 'scale drawing' rather than parametric CAD, I use Inkscape. That's been good enough for accurately drawing things to be laser cut, and it works much more like a traditional vector drawing package (I
used to use Acorn's !Draw, a long time ago). You can export DXF if you really need AutoCAD compatibility, eg for the laser cutter.
I only really use parametric when 3D printing, and often I find I'm fighting FreeCAD more than drawing so often end up using OpenSCAD instead (which is more like 'writing code' than 'drawing')
(FreeCAD has got a lot better recently, but typically the problem is I know how to express what I want parametrically, but run into problems with constraint conflicts)
Another parametric CAD program I found easier to use is SolveSpace - I
threw in a bunch of room dimensions and it produced a house plan, working
out how thick all the walls were and how they fitted together. Again it's not really for drawing, it's useful specifically because it's trying to
solve your pile of constraints. I only used it for 2D... perhaps I should look again at its 3D features.
On Tue, 23 Jun 2026 04:22:12 -0000 (UTC), RJH wrote:
I find Inkscape more of an illustration and drawing app.
Also has good design tools. And a Python API.
I find Inkscape more of an illustration and drawing app.
??Jacek Marcin Jaworski?? <jmj@energokod.gda.pl> wrote:
W dniu 22.06.2026 oÿ18:36, bp@www.zefox.net pisze:It's downloading now, how do I unpack it?
but I'm starting to wonder
if something more (maybe an outdated APT repository) is part of my
difficulties.
How about updating to a recent AppImage?
<https://github.com/LibreCAD/LibreCAD/releases>
There is a LibreCAD-v2.2.1.5-aarch64.AppImage available. The online
manual is probably more closely aligned with this version as well.
I'm totally clueless.
Thanks for writing!
bob prohaska
rbowman <bowman@montana.com> wrote:
On Mon, 22 Jun 2026 19:33:01 -0000 (UTC), bp wrote:
How would I go about using that repository? I've always used sudo apt
install (packagename).....
The easiest way is to go to the site, download the deb, and then 'sudo apt >> install librecad_2.2.0.2-3_arm64.deb'
The following packages have unmet dependencies:
librecad : Depends: libc6 (>= 2.38) but 2.36-9+rpt2+deb12u14 is to be installed
On 23 Jun 2026 at 08:21:57 BST, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
On Tue, 23 Jun 2026 04:22:12 -0000 (UTC), RJH wrote:
I find Inkscape more of an illustration and drawing app.
Also has good design tools. And a Python API.
TBH I haven't used it in a while - I'll take another look, thanks.
One of the more confounding things is learning to find and recognize
tool icons. It's mostly a matter of discovery and memorization, though
even the same tools can behave differently between CAD systems. Add
to that a menu higherachy and it gets confusing fast.
On Tue, 23 Jun 2026 00:20:11 -0000 (UTC), bp wrote:
I messed with Inkscape a couple years ago and got it to work after a
fashion. The other day I opened it up again and my brain went blank
as the page.
The default initial tool is the selection too. But of course you have
nothing to select, to begin with.
There are tools for creating shapes and drawing lines. Choose one, and click/drag away.
One of the more confounding things is learning to find and recognize
tool icons.
Another one that's surprising from other packages is that dimensions include line thicknesses. eg if you draw a 10mm wide box with thin lines, it's exactly 10mm. If you change the line thickness to 1mm, the width of the object is now 11mm. That's not wrong per se but means you have to include the line thickness in your calculations, while on some packages the dimensions of the object are measured from the centre of the lines not the outside edges - that means you can place everything on a 1cm grid irrespective of how wide the lines are.
On Tue, 23 Jun 2026 08:19:56 -0000 (UTC), RJH wrote:
On 23 Jun 2026 at 08:21:57 BST, Lawrence D?Oliveiro wrote:
On Tue, 23 Jun 2026 04:22:12 -0000 (UTC), RJH wrote:
I find Inkscape more of an illustration and drawing app.
Also has good design tools. And a Python API.
TBH I haven't used it in a while - I'll take another look, thanks.
Remember also that its native file format is SVG. There are lots of
other tools that can process/generate/consume that.
If by tooltips you mean the little pop-up windows that appear
when the mouse is dragged over an icon, they're on, and do help.
If you meant something more, please elaborate.
Part of my confusion may be order of operation issues. I just realized
that Librecad seems to reverse the order of selection and action that
I'm accustomed to.
Thanks for writing!
Although sometimes the webby nature of SVG shows through, eg the
default dimension is pixels rather mm or inches.
Also some packages mess up the scaling when importing SVGs - I think
Inkscape stores everything in the file in pixels and then they get imported with a different pixels per inch (PPI) setting.
Another one that's surprising from other packages is that dimensions
include line thicknesses. eg if you draw a 10mm wide box with thin
lines, it's exactly 10mm. If you change the line thickness to 1mm,
the width of the object is now 11mm.
The Nomad <nomad@the.desert.invalid> wrote:
On Mon, 22 Jun 2026 23:55:41 -0000 (UTC), bp@www.zefox.net wrote:
??Jacek Marcin Jaworski?? <jmj@energokod.gda.pl> wrote:
W dniu 22.06.2026 oÿ18:36, bp@www.zefox.net pisze:It's downloading now, how do I unpack it?
but I'm starting to wonder
if something more (maybe an outdated APT repository) is part of my
difficulties.
How about updating to a recent AppImage?
<https://github.com/LibreCAD/LibreCAD/releases>
There is a LibreCAD-v2.2.1.5-aarch64.AppImage available. The online
manual is probably more closely aligned with this version as well.
I'm totally clueless.
Thanks for writing!
bob prohaska
Just make the file executable (chmod +x "File_Name")
Then either click it (once or twice depending on how your desktop is
setup) or just run that filename from the CLI
bp@home$~/home/bp foobar.appimage
HTH
It does indeed help. Thank you very much!
bob prohaska
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