QCAD.org Forum

Greetings,

I have just picked up QCAD and so far, I am very happy with it as it seems to have solved all of my qualms with LibreCAD's UI and then some.

I've been trying to find a way to prevent the current snap mode from being de-selected once I click on a tool for hours now. For instance, if I have Snap Grid selected then click on the Rectangle tool (or any tool, for that matter), it de-selects the snap mode.

The closest existing post I've been able to find is this one linked below, but the proposed solution of enabling Persistent Selection doesn't seem to have any bearing on solving this particular problem (I did try restarting the program many times).

https://qcad.app/rsforum/viewtopic.php?t=2104

I hope I didn't miss a obvious answer to this somewhere on here, if so please let me know.

Thanks.

QCAD 3.27.8.0 dea3962
Windows 10 64-bit 21H2 19044.2130

inertle wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 15, 2022 7:39 pm

I've been trying to find a way to prevent the current snap mode from being de-selected once I click on a tool for hours now. For instance, if I have Snap Grid selected then click on the Rectangle tool (or any tool, for that matter), it de-selects the snap mode.

Choose a snap mode (Grid in this case) and lock the Snap with SQ or Menu/Snap/Lock Snap. To unlock it hit SQ again.

Husky wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 15, 2022 8:10 pm

Choose a snap mode (Grid in this case) and lock the Snap with SQ or Menu/Snap/Lock Snap. To unlock it hit SQ again.

To your knowledge, is the snap lock option supposed to work with any of the snap tools? When I try to force Middle Manual to stay persistent, it always reverts back to Auto snap after one use, even if I have turned on Lock Snap.

ryancousins wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 15, 2022 8:35 pm

When I try to force Middle Manual to stay persistent, it always reverts back to Auto snap after one use, even if I have turned on Lock Snap.

Yep, that bother me too. Middle Manual doesn't behaves like most other snaps. E.g. if I launch "Line from 2 Points", chose snap "End" for the first point it will stay automatically in that mode also for the second point. If I do the same with "Middle Manual" I will loose that snap after the first point is set.
Unfortunately even "Lock snap" will not change that behavior.
Makes no sense to me but maybe it's only me? Oh, I see - it's you and me.

Sometimes we have to make such usability decisions in favour of beginners, against the more advanced users. For example being able to lock the snap to middle manual mode would generate a flood of e-mails from panicking users ("help, I cannot draw lines anymore, it worked just fine before, now it doesn't [insert various insults here]").

Always resetting to Auto Snap is the save option. Any options that allow the users to "break" their workflow needs very careful consideration because it can quickly turn into a support-nightmare. For example the option to draw rays or infinite lines with every line tool is still the cause for way too many support tickets. This option should also automatically reset to line segments, again potentially slowing down the more advanced users. The same applies for pasting at a scale or rotation, etc.

@Husky, I'm always a little relieved when someone who actually knows what they're doing with QCAD has the same problem as me!

@Andrew, I appreciate your explanation. I had not considered the ongoing technical support issues that your development decisions create. And I'm sorry to hear that you receive emails with [various insults inserted here]. We're talking about a program many people enjoy for free or at most the price of a weeks worth of fancy coffee. If nothing else that should earn you a little grace.

ryancousins wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 16, 2022 4:39 pm

We're talking about a program many people enjoy for free or at most the price of a weeks worth of fancy coffee. If nothing else that should earn you a little grace.

I'll second that thought