QCAD.org Forum

Husky wrote:Yes - that is only available in Pro. Here is a brief description about that feature:
http://www.qcad.org/doc/qcad/latest/reference/en/

Now that I'm looking into templates, I see this is a link to the manual, but the only place I find "template" is in "New from Template." (I really wish the manual HTML page had a "Search Manual" ability!) I can't find anything on creating templates. I can make an assumption, though.

When I go to "New from Template," it brings up a folder within the QCAD install folder tree. My guess is that if I saved a QCAD file in there, it would become a template. If that's the case, do I have to do anything special to it? Such as make it non-writable so I can't accidentally save over it when I use it or do I have to do anything special before saving a file as a template?

(I was thinking it might be good if I post this separately, as a new thread, and I can - but since this is where the conversation already existed, I started here.)

Tango wrote:When I go to "New from Template," it brings up a folder within the QCAD install folder tree.

Yes - that is how it works in QCAD Pro ...

Tango wrote:My guess is that if I saved a QCAD file in there, it would become a template.

Correct.

Tango wrote:... do I have to do anything special to it? Such as make it non-writable so I can't accidentally save over it when I use it or do I have to do anything special before saving a file as a template?

No - QCAD Pro will handle the proper administration of those files.

That is exactly the way I have worked for the last few years; I made a blank drawing with all the layers I need to start a new project. I use the run script command to make it a little faster. Heres my template as an example, you can update it easily according to your needs. Keep it in the template folder.

Thank you!

I'm glad it's so easy. I figured it was, but before I did it, I just wanted to double-check. Sometimes it's real easy to miss some small detail that's not as obvious as you'd think.

J-J wrote:...I use the run script command to make it a little faster. ...

Could you elaborate on this please? Why does this make it faster and do you mean you're running a specific script?

I use a small script that Andrew wrote a few years ago when I asked a similar question: automating a personalized start-up of QCAD. At the time, this was all included in the command line of my desktop icon. With this, every new session of QCAD always started with my preconfigured template. Then, some day, after an update, this feature would no longer work. The best I have found is to use the Runscript command made by Riverbuoy to activate the script manually. It takes a few more clicks than before but is quicker than using "New from template".
I know nothing on writing scripts, but I pretty sure that the script name could be included in the command to have it all automatic at the click of the "Runscript" icon.

Thank you! I'll play around with it.