Table of Contents

Frequently Asked Questions

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

Graphical User Interface issues

DWG/DXF import issues

Printing/exporting issues

LibreCAD release/build

Host User Manual Locally

Contribute on GitHub


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 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.

Host User Manual Locally

How can I use User Manual Offline?

Purpose:

Install:

Run:

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 (term to offer a change). 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.

Hints

Many GitHub files are in a special format, for example, the User Manual uses reStructuredText. Codes are used to format the document so a simple search in the browser will only find text formatted the same (and Chrome would search the file but Firefox would only search the screen). If the change is simple you might be able to stay within existing formatting, try a blank line before/after the change 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 request just open up your repository 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