Dassault released an updated version for DraftSight

A new version V1R2.1 for DraftSight is available for download. Nothing special at all but the 2 very annoying bugs of the previous version ( No menus and toolbars when you install DraftSight on a system with different language than the supported and the segfault when there is no Internet connection available) have been fixed. So these are enough to update your current DraftSight installation.
Download the latest packages from here (32bit only both .deb and .rpm)

A TeighaViewer Update is available

TeighaViewer has just updated today in version 3.6.0. It has various new features like toolbars and some basic design functionality (you can now draw lines, boxes and spheres with it) but continues to have printing problems. You can read the full announcement, the changelog and download TeighaViewer for Linux from here.
Both deb and rpm files are available.

Lost in Support:Intro

The latest DraftSight V1R2 release was a disaster. Despite the localization bug this version also has some very annoying problems such as the crash when there is no Internet connection available. These problems gave me the idea for a series of articles that will evaluate, compare and rate the support level of the available Linux CAD applications.

Things to compare:
Installation/Installation Instructions
Active Bugs/Bug Fixes
Linux-related answers
Help/Command Reference
Development/Improvements/New features

Applications:
FreeCAD
LibreCAD
ARES CE
Bricscad
DraftSight
QCAD Pro
VariCAD

So how easy is for a Linux newbie and non experienced user to deal with these applications with only help the resources that the CAD vendors/developers provide?

How to install Bricscad V11 on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

Bricscad V11 has a syntax problem in the description field of the .deb file. This problem causes a failure during the upgrade to Ubuntu 12.04 but it also makes the installer unusable in clean installations of Ubuntu 12.04. The fix is quite simple and similar to the DraftSight on Ubuntu 12.04 64bit workaround.
You have to edit the control file inside the .deb installer. Here is the complete workaround:

DraftSight V1R2 is out but it's broken

A new version of DraftSight has been released but it's completely unusable with the new Ubuntu 12.04 LTS. The application seems broken and I get a segmentation fault when I try to launch it. Sometimes the application opens but pull down menus and toolbars are missing. I'll try to investigate if there is any way to fix that but I don't expect any solution about this.
Ubuntu 12.04 users have to be careful with this. Don't upgrade if you don't have a copy of the previous DraftSight V1R1.4 installer.

DraftSight V1R2 on Ubuntu 12.04. Disaster!!!

Update: DraftSight V1R2 doesn't have any GUI problems with CentOS 6.2 32bit, OpenSUSE 12.1 64bit and Ubuntu 12.04 64bit ???!!!(All these are VirtualBox installations). On my Ubuntu 12.04 32bit installation I finally got back the toolbars but the pull-down menus are still missing.

Update 2: Finally I got a working DraftSight V1R2 on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS 32bit. The problem is that DS tries to load missing or invalid CUI and Menu files when your system locale is not English.
To get a correct looking DraftSight you have to:
- type options on the command  line and navigate to File Locations--->Interface--->Customization File and then load the correct application.xml file. Save the changes

This will make the toolbars visible again.

After that:

-right click on a toolbar and select Customize Interface
Navigate to UI Profiles--->UI Profiles--->Menu Bar, then click to the button show menu explorer and then drag 'n' drop all the items into the Classic default entry. Save the changes again.

Finally DraftSight looks OK again

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New release for VariCAD

A new version of VariCAD has been released. According to the release announcement there are various new features and improvements:

This version contains new methods of profiles lofting and extrusions, more options for 2D drawing in 3D space, support of ISO228 pipe threads and improvements of 2D threads exported from 3D views. In 2D, the new version has rebuild layer management. There are further significant improvements in user interface. 

List of new features:

 - Multiple new possibilities of lofting of profiles 

- New options of profile extrusions, improvements in other methods of basic solid creation 

- New methods of 2D profile selection, including better diagnosis of problems 

- New possibilities of 2D drawing in 3D space 

- Support of ISO228 pipe threads 

- New methods of selections of 3D edges for blending 

- New 2D layer management 

- Additional options for data exports from BOM 

- Further improvements in user interface

The release announcement has also a more comprehensive description of the new features:

- Multiple new possibilities of lofting of profiles - allows you to loft one profile into another, without limitations given by type of profile segments 

- New options for profile extrusion, support of draft angle 

- Improved method of creation of helical surfaces and creation of rotation combined with lofting 

- New methods of 2D profile selection, including better diagnosis of problems. This allows you to easily detect forgotten overlaps, gaps, intersections etc. 

- New possibilities of 2D drawing in 3D space. You can comfortably draw a profile at a selected plane and then select method of solid creation, like profile extrusion, lofting, rotation etc. 

- Support of ISO228 pipe threads, and better option for thread selections. Threads exported from 3D into 2D are automatically detected during dimensioning. 

- New methods of selections of 3D edges for blending. You can select multiple edges, or optionally edges of entire outlines. Before blending, selected edges are sorted automatically. 

- New 2D layer management. This contains a possibility to modify automatic layer switching. 

- Improvements in user interface - new multiple options for dialog panel buttons, for solid translations or for 3D view rotations. Some panels are changed to be more legible. 

- Multiple new selection methods are available between commands. Press and hold Shift for edges selection or press and hold Ctrl + Shift for drawing plane selection. 

- New default settings for icons size. The icon size is now automatically determined according to screen resolution. There are new toolbar configurations, now different for small icon size and large icon size. 

- Additional options for data exports from BOM. You can optionally export headers, or to select text file formats and encoding.

VariCAD 2012-2.03 on Ubuntu 12.04 LTS

VariCAD provides .deb and .rpm installers for both 32bit and 64bit. Free trial versions are available after registration at application's website.

 

Customizing Ubuntu 12.04 LTS for CAD

Ubuntu 12.04 LTS is probably the best solution for a Linux-based CAD workstation. Supported for 5 years and easy to use, allows you to create a zero-cost reliable CAD workstation powered by Linux. In this article I am going to show some tricks that will make your life easier with your new OS.