Get the community edition of QCad. It is in the Ubuntu repositories. I export my
drawings as .png files, then import them into Open Office Writer, set to scale
and print. You can save your OO.o file as a pdf and then print from Windows.

I don't know about drafting but PDF is not a problem. All you do is Print to
File from the print menu and choose PDF as the format by clicking the pdf
button (ps is the default). Just give it a name and you are in business.

Is there a way to change the default, maybe in some preference, I would
think
PDF is a better default but if it could be changed then it doesn't
matter which
is set by the developer.

There is a pdf icon on the menu right next to the printer icon..

Not sure who you are answering here me, Roy or Mike. But if me
I don't understand you comment. When I try to print it defaults to .ps
format. I prefer PDF and would like t set a preference for .pdf format.
I haven't been able to find one so I can only assume there isn't a
preference
setup for print to file format. It would also be nice to set a default
folder
for print to file selections, rather than to a printer.
Just some nice setup options. Maybe in a later release.

Sorry if I wasn't clear. I do not print from QCad. I export the drawing as a
.png image file. I then paste that into OpenOffice Writer and print from there.
You can also create a .pdf file from the OpenOffice menu. Hope that clears it
up.

When I select "print" (not "print to file") one of the available "printers" is
PDF.

You might need to install cups-pdf. In earlier versions of Ubuntu, it was part
of the basic installation.

I wasn't complete in my explanation, when I do a print to file it does
default
to .ps, it does have the choice to select .pdf which work fine. My
desire is to have
a savable setup in preferences to preselect .pdf as default along with a
location for
the files to be kept. So far I haven't found this setup.

I have DLed and installed QCAD.
Drew a small rectangle.
Printed it to a PS file.
When I opened it with Open Office Writer what I got was a bunch of control
text for creating a PS file or putting it onto a display.

Can you give me more details on how to convert it to a PDF

PS = postscript; PDF = page description file

Very different output.

You change this in the printer properties.

Export it from QCad as a png image and insert that into OO.o You can then save
directly to a pdf.

This is what I was doing wrong. I was tying to print to file in QCAD and the
only option is PS.

Doing the Export in QCAD, Open and Save as PDF using OO writer worked.

I still have a problem. The mechanical type drawing is suppose to be to
scale. I even tried to draw a square and it is not square. So I still have
some bugs to work out. I did tell Adobe Reader to print it to scale in two
different places to no avail.

If you have any suggestions or ideas they would be appreciated.

Maybe it will help if I give you a step-by-step account of how I do it. I use
QCad for designing wooden slingshots which I cut from plywood or mahogony. If
the object you are designing has left and right (like my slingshots) or top and
bottom mirror images, it is only necessary to draw one side. I export to .png,
then massage that image with Gimp. I copy and flip the left side, then paste the
two sides together to get a perfectly symmetrical image.That image is then
trimmed so that the top of the forks, the bottom of the handle, and the two
widest points are on the borders of the image. When I import that image into
OO.o I can then scale it to whatever size I want by right-clicking the pasted
image and setting the properties. Select "Picture", check "Keep Ratio", then set
either the width or the height to the desired setting. I cut the printed image
out, paste it to 1/4 inch plywood and cut my patterns from there.

PS = postscript; PDF = page description file

Very different output.

You change this in the printer properties.

I have known from the late 80's that PS stood for postscript and PDF was a
page description file for over 10 years. What I was wanting to know is how
to save/convert the QCAD drawing to a PDF. The version of QCAD I have, just
DLed it this evening, when I save it as a 'print to file' the only options I
have been able to come up with is PS.

I assumed you created the output by "printing" to a file. All the printer
drivers I use have a drop down box to the right of the output name which
lets me choose the format. That is the case when using the "print to file"
option but maybe that is not what you are doing.

I don't know your programme so perhaps someone else can be of more help.

QCad seems like a cumbersome program next to SketchUp or whatever that is
called. You might want to try that first. It is really easy to work with. Have I
got the name right, is it called SketUp?