RealCADD on Linux

2D CAD software for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux
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backwoodsman
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:49 am

RealCADD on Linux

Post by backwoodsman »

This is for the benefit of others thinking of purchasing RealCADD for
Debian or Gentoo installations.

I am an experienced cad user, recently using mainly qcad for 2-D drafting.
I was intrigued to discover RealCADD, and saw a lot of promise in its wide
feature set and ability to import dwg format (in which a lot of trade
drawings are released). After trying the demo, I decided to buy the
professional version and give it a serious examination. I have spent an
interesting few hours with it on a generic 64-bit pc, under both debian
'wheezy' in i386 mode and under gentoo in amd64 mode.

Regrettably, I am abandoning the experiment. However, I thought I should
post my summary for others who may have more time to spend ironing out
problems.

========================
RealCADD - A quick test

===
pro
---
  • an extremely good range of drawing and editing functions
  • some excellent time-saving methods
  • handles polylines
  • tries to optimise screen real-estate
  • scripting! I have not tried it but I expect it is possible to create
    parametric elements. A huge advantage.
  • May be a pro point for many users (I am so used to working in unscaled
    model space and only scaling for the purpose of output to print that I
    am unsure whether this is an advantage for me): RealCADD works in
    drawing space at a predetermined scale, so you can always see where you
    are on the virtual paper. The dimension tool knows the scale, of course.
  • It is apparently possible to have different scales on different layers,
    so it should be possible to inset sections of drawing at different
    scales. I have not tried this, but it is very useful if I am right.
===
con
---
  1. jumble of windows (pallets) dumped in a useless layout and hidden
    under the working window. Positions chosen by the user are not saved
    apparently
  2. "pallets" not resizable, so some info invisible (eg. scale of layers
    shows "1:1..." which could mean 1:100 or 1:100.000 or even 1:1.000.000!)
  3. import of drawings from qcad (dxf format) only partial:
    1. all line styles, thicknesses and colours lost (at least when defined
      as "by layer" -- others not tested)
    2. most curves, particularly ellipses are displaced, rotated,
      dimensionally altered.
  4. It is possible to select a default colour for each layer (and the
    defaults are successfully imported from qcad drawings too), but new
    lines in the layer are all black anyway. But it is not possible to
    select a default linestyle and thickness for the layer.
  5. I do not see any way to select "all entities on layer x" so as to modify
    them all at once (to correct for problem 4 above)
  6. woeful lack of use of the right mouse button. Other CAD applications
    use it to finish a command and to step back through the commands open
    (usually parallel to use of the escape key).
  7. mouse scroll wheel not adjustable for user preference. Many programs use
    scroll wheel to zoom, shift-scroll for right and left, ctrl-scroll for
    up and down, and it is normal to allow reconfiguration to the user's
    accustomed arrangement (Gimp, Qcad, Inkscape, etc all have customisation
    for this).
  8. Even after registration, drawings cannot be saved. Saving generates:
    An exception of class IOException was not handled. The application
    must shut down. Exception Error Number: 2
    This is apparently caused by the program trying to write to a file named
    "Saved Files 01_12_2012" (with spaces and american date order!) which is
    located incorrectly in the installation directory (which will most
    likely be /usr/local/realcadd/RealCADDx86). Obviously, running as an
    ordinary user, this directory should not be writable, and normal usage
    or the FHS would put user information in the user's home directory. The
    file should probably be $HOME/.realcadd/saved-files-20120112.

    The quick solution is the very undesirable chmod -R 777 {install
    directory}, or if one user only is using RealCADD, chown the whole
    directory. Alternatively RealCADD could be run with a user group to
    which users who need to use the programme are added and appropriate
    permissions changes made to the install directory. permissions problem:
    the realCADD is running as user and the directories are writable, as
    demonstrated also by other applications being able to write to them.

    The unsaved drawing reappears on startup, together with the default
    blank drawing and a complete duplicate set of tools, but the unsaved
    drawing is also complete with its exception and must be closed, after
    which it is completely lost.
  9. If one does not respond promptly to an automatic backup reminder, the
    application has a tendency to hang. This may be because the pop-up
    window asking for confirmation of the save has disappeared behind an
    active window, but sometimes it is impossible to find one, even after
    searching all the virtual desktops.
[/list]
=======
summary
-------
The above list is not complete -- a couple of hours of testing is only a
sample. Enough to show the application can be made to work. It needs some
modifications to bring it into line with FHS -- or even to make it run 'out
of the box'. It could also benefit from better documentation and some
improvements in IO and in customizability. For me, the advantages probably
do not outweigh the simplicity of qcad. It is true that qcad has lost
functionality and has become quirky and inconsistent in use with recent
"improvements", but it is simple stable and reliable and faster with
large amounts of data. RealCADD will probably remain a rather expensive
DWG-DXF converter.
Eric Pousse
Posts: 1064
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2011 12:31 pm
Location: Tours - France

Re: RealCADD on Linux

Post by Eric Pousse »

Bonjour Richard (if it is you),

First, I have uploaded a beta of next version of RealCADD for Linux, here : http://www.adx-online.com/RealCADDx86.zip
There is only principal files. So you must put them into your RealCADD folder.
I have changed the place where preferences are saved and I have disabled the logs.
So, you must be able to save your drawings without special authorizations.

For other points :
3) import from qcad : can you send me some files which causes problems?
This is strange because RealCADD opens pretty well dxf or dwg files from many softwares.
4) on layer's pallet, check button C (color) of layers on which you will color by layer. Linestyle and thickness by layer is not possible.
5) Two ways :
a) made this layer active (A), uncheck "Selection on all visible layers", select all
b) made this layer active (A), mask all other layers alt+clic on V of another layer, select all
7) shift+scroll do an horizontal scroll and alt+scroll do a zoom in or out
8) This happens only if RealCADD is not allowed to write in its folder but is fixed with the new beta.

Generally, don't expect to have RealCADD working the same way as qcad or AutoCad clones.
RealCADD is first a Mac software made by a Mac user.
Personally I cannot understand qcad or AutoCad clones and I have many difficulties to work with them.
But this Mac heritage causes maybe some troubles on Linux.
There is so many different distributions of Linux that I can't test on all and I am not a Linux expert.

Thank you very much for your time and this detailled post.
Eric Pousse
backwoodsman
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2012 11:49 am

Re: RealCADD on Linux

Post by backwoodsman »

Thanks Eric.

I shall look at the beta.

I haven't had a lot of time to experiment, but here is a drawing extract in dxf http://paste.pocoo.org/show/534818/ and the main part of the same drawing as seen in qcad, and as imported into realcadd are shown in screengrabs here http://paste.pocoo.org/show/534819/. The problems are (a) the lack of transfer of line colour, thickness and style; (b) the ellipse just above one of the sample washbasin library elements (top left corner) -- this is attached to the washbasin; (c) the inversion of one section of the curve inside the w.c.; (d) the addition of spurious characters in the text -- perhaps a problem of characterset?.

Regarding item 8, my note was not clear. My point was that the three functions (zoom, pan vertical, pan horizontal) ought to be user-configurable, as they are in many applications, so that a user can choose the same configuration that he/she uses in other graphics applications.

BTW, I notice the import dialog comes up with some phrases in english, some in german and some in french. Two out of three, I can understand :-)
Eric Pousse
Posts: 1064
Joined: Sat Dec 03, 2011 12:31 pm
Location: Tours - France

Re: RealCADD on Linux

Post by Eric Pousse »

Your dxf file (534818) causes problems also with DraftSight but less than with RealCADD.
I can't open your second file (534819).
Eric Pousse
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