Packages for older Windows versions (XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1) are still offered as legacy downloads. They are based on an older Qt version, do not receive new features and should only be used if the recommended package cannot be installed.
The download page offers several variants of the same QCAD release:
If you are unsure whether your Windows installation is 32-bit or 64-bit, open Start > Settings > System > About and check the entry System type.
For each variant, two formats are available:
.msi), which installs QCAD on your computer in the usual way.zip), which contains the ready-to-run application folder and can be extracted anywhere without installing anything, for example onto a USB drive (see QCAD Portable)The trial version of QCAD Professional and QCAD/CAM can be downloaded free of charge from:
The installers of the trial version are named according to the pattern:
qcad-<version>-trial-win64-qt6-installer.msi
qcadcam-<version>-trial-win64-qt6-installer.msiIf you have purchased QCAD Professional or QCAD/CAM, you have received an e-mail with a personal download link after purchase. Use this link to download the installers.
If you have lost or never received your download link, you can recover it at:
https://qcad.org/qcad-installer-recovery
The installers of the purchased version are named according to the pattern:
qcad-<version>-pro-win64-qt6-installer.msi
qcadcam-<version>-pro-win64-qt6-installer.msiQCAD does not use license keys, activation codes or online registration. The package you download from your personal download link is the licensed full version.
Windows or your browser may warn you that the downloaded file isn't commonly downloaded and that you should make sure you trust it before opening it. This usually means that we have recently released a new QCAD version and the new download has not yet established a reputation. You can safely ignore this warning or wait about two weeks.
To ignore the warning, click ... next to the warning and choose Keep. Then click the down arrow next to the Delete button and choose Keep anyway. You can then open the file from your Downloads folder or directly from the browser.
If you received QCAD on a physical medium, open the medium in the Windows File Explorer and navigate to the folder for your platform, for example installation\windows\64bit, and locate the .msi file there.
.msi file.The prompt shows the verified publisher RibbonSoft GmbH. All QCAD installers and program files are digitally signed, so this entry can be used to verify that the package you downloaded is genuine and unmodified.
C:\Program Files\QCAD (C:\Program Files\QCADCAM for QCAD/CAM). It can be changed in the setup wizard.The installer creates a start menu entry and a desktop icon, and registers QCAD as an application for .dxf and .dwg files.
If you do not have administrator rights on your computer, use the ZIP archive instead of the installer. It can be extracted into any folder you have write access to, for example into your user folder, and does not require an installation.
After the installation, QCAD can be started:
The application itself is qcad.exe in the installation folder.
When QCAD is started for the first time, a dialog is shown where the language of the user interface can be set (see User Interface Language).
The trial packages contain QCAD together with a trial of the QCAD Professional or QCAD/CAM add-ons. The trial runs for 15 minutes at a time and can then be restarted as often as you like.
If you decide not to purchase a license, you can remove the add-on running in trial mode and continue to use the free QCAD Community Edition: click Remove in the Trial widget and follow the instructions on screen.
To update to a newer version, download the new installer and run it. The previous installation is replaced. Your settings, drawings and part library remain untouched, since they are stored in your user profile and not in the program folder.
When switching between different variants of the same release, for example from the 32-bit to the 64-bit package or from the Qt 5 to the Qt 6 package, uninstall the previous version first.
QCAD can be uninstalled using the standard Windows tools. It is listed there under its full product name and version, for example QCAD Professional 3.32.9, published by RibbonSoft GmbH:
Uninstalling QCAD does not remove your personal settings. To remove these as well, see Resetting the QCAD Configuration.
The configuration file and the user data folder are stored in your user profile (where "username" is your login name):
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\QCAD\QCAD3.ini
C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\QCAD\QCADThe folder AppData is hidden by default. It can be reached by entering %APPDATA%\QCAD in the address bar of the Windows File Explorer.
Both paths are also shown in QCAD under Help > About.
A different configuration file can be used by starting QCAD with the -config command line argument. This is mainly useful for portable installations (see QCAD Portable).