One of the major improvements of the new QCAD 3 is its new built in SVG export. QCAD 3 exports your drawings to SVG without loss of quality. QCAD 3 also transfers the geometrical information with exact coordinates across to SVG.
The SVG file format has become a de facto standard for vector graphics on the Internet and has been widely adapted in publishing systems as well (for example in the XML based XSL-FO).
Drawing tools with SVG support usually target users in the publishing industry which means that the result is not expected to be precise as long as it looks appealing. However, trying to produce accurate technical or schematic drawings with such software is frustrating if at all possible.
With QCAD 3, you can simply export your precise CAD drawing to SVG for inclusion in your publications or for further processing in your favorite SVG capable vector graphics editor (such as Inkscape). If you intend to use the SVG file for further processing or you require texts to remain editable as texts, choose the 'preserve geometry' mode in the SVG output dialog. If the visual appearance of the drawing is more important (e.g. for publishing), choose the normal export mode.
Let's have a look at our flange.dxf example drawing which comes with every QCAD 3 installation. The SVG at the top right has been exported using the 'preserve geometry' option (click on the image to view or download the SVG file).
The SVG at the left has been exported without the 'preserve geometry' option and is guaranteed to render exactly as in QCAD 3. Line patterns and texts in particular are rendered at exactly the same size, position and shape as in the graphics view of QCAD 3.
If you are working with XSL-FO, you can easily include such an SVG file in the output using the fo:external-graphic tag. And yes, in case you were wondering: the figures in the QCAD book have been produced in exactly the same way.
Andrew