Qcad documentation and training.

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Ingallpeter
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Joined: Fri May 13, 2022 9:35 pm

Qcad documentation and training.

Post by Ingallpeter » Wed Jun 08, 2022 9:10 pm

Hi, please take this comment as positive, I believe that the capabilities of Qcad go far beyond what the online help explains, many times with a single line not detailed. Especially for the pro version which is the one I use.
It would be very useful to have more videos with advanced concepts.
The program is excellent and deserves better support that is what I believe. The Free version of Nanocad for example has a lot of information of examples of use of more advanced commands on Youtube.
I don't know how many paid users the platform has and if it compensates the expense of a series of videos, from the point of view of cost benefit ratio. Another problem is when the person making the video, because of their high training skips or takes for granted the process in detail.
Regards

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Husky
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Re: Qcad documentation and training.

Post by Husky » Thu Jun 09, 2022 7:19 am

Hi,
Ingallpeter wrote:
Wed Jun 08, 2022 9:10 pm
It would be very useful to have more videos with advanced concepts.
there are a few videos out there but not many produced directly by Ripponsoft - however, maybe you like to start with this series ...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-5XpqW ... pTgoJnImB9

I can't tell anything about the quality - just check it out. Alternative search in youtube for QCAD videos ...
Ingallpeter wrote:
Wed Jun 08, 2022 9:10 pm
I believe that the capabilities of Qcad go far beyond what the online help explains, many times with a single line not detailed. Especially for the pro version which is the one I use.
I agree - QCAD became over the years a powerful CAD program. That can be overwhelming but we are running a forum for a reason. This forum is filled with knowledge and many members are more than happy to help other members. It is fast, it is free - what more could you ask for?

This said - to learn more about QCAD Pro with a "very" detailed step by step tutorials I would recommend the Official QCAD Book by Ripponsoft "QCAD - An Introduction to Computer-Aided Design". Preview pdf's are available below this link: https://qcad.org/en/documentation/the-qcad-book
Ingallpeter wrote:
Wed Jun 08, 2022 9:10 pm
The Free version of Nanocad for example has a lot of information of examples of use of more advanced commands on Youtube.
Well, Nanocad free is the version 5.0 build in 2007. Nothing has changed on this version in the last 15 years. 15 years is a lot of time to produce a lot of videos and I'm not sure how much sense it makes to learn technics which were used 15 years ago ... :wink:
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Ingallpeter
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Re: Qcad documentation and training.

Post by Ingallpeter » Thu Jun 09, 2022 4:48 pm

Dear Husky I think you have misunderstood my concept. Qcad is almost a SAS software because you pay an annual license. There remains here a gray zone issue, the bugs pending at the end of the period to resolve them, who paid, must pay another year. I am not talking about new skills but about pending bugs.
I have 40 years as a technology engineer in multinational companies and I have seen many business models, I say this with knowledge of the subject. A Forum is a collaborative tool and does not have the organic and structured model of a Formal Training.
A systems engineer is not the same as a self-taught person who studied through Youtube and forums than going 5 years to a university.
Honestly, the book you mention is more than two years old. Is this correct for a product that is continually updated? An obsolete book. Do you explain PDF import? To give an example.
As I said, I don't know your company structure, operating costs, ratio of investment in development vs marketing vs expected profitability. For sure it is profitable for you, so it is OK.
Please keep in mind that I dedicate this time because I like Qcad, at my age time is my scarcest resource.

Best regards

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andrew
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Re: Qcad documentation and training.

Post by andrew » Thu Jun 09, 2022 5:01 pm

Ingallpeter wrote:
Thu Jun 09, 2022 4:48 pm
An obsolete book.
The book is up to date. It deliberately does not cover all functionality of QCAD as it targets beginners of QCAD and CAD.
Ingallpeter wrote:
Thu Jun 09, 2022 4:48 pm
Do you explain PDF import? To give an example.
No. Such an addition is also not planned. The book is considered a complete and up to date resource for beginners.
Ingallpeter wrote:
Thu Jun 09, 2022 4:48 pm
As I said, I don't know your company structure, operating costs, ratio of investment in development vs marketing vs expected profitability. For sure it is profitable for you, so it is OK.
Note that the people here are neither employed or otherwise paid for answering forum questions. I'm the only person gaining financially from QCAD.

This forum is indeed the primary support channel. For beginners, the book is the recommended resource.

I have to carefully decide how I invest my time between software improvements, documentation, support and paid custom development. I think I found a pretty good balance. You might of course disagree as is your right. Naturally, as a user you would like to see more of all of the above. This is simply not possible as resources are limited and time is also my scarcest resource :wink:

Garball
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Re: Qcad documentation and training.

Post by Garball » Fri Jul 15, 2022 5:34 am

I think I understand what Ingallpeter is saying here and I feel the same. For example, I am a Qcad Pro paid user however my biggest hurdle has been with finding useful content on youTube. A software book is not a convenient way to learn software especially in a time sensitive way. Andrew has been great at answering questions however it just takes too long to go back and forth to deal with every issue I have. As a result, I've been investing my tine in Fusion 360 instead and am happy with the wealth of youTube content there.
However, having said that, I can't stress enough impressed I am with Qcad. It is far more polished and professional than what you expect for the money. I think there is a good niche for this product in the 2D world and feel it's highly under-valued. For example, in the plasma cutter 2D Cad space, no one I talk to have heard of Qcad. That's really interesting because there is really no great product in that space that can do both CAD and CAM. Speaking with the folks at Langnuir Systems for example, they've never heard of Qcad/Cam. SheetCam seem to be the main product to use and it's frankly old, amateur and poorly written but we're all stuck with it for now. Qcad/Cam, with some tweeking for the plasma operations in the CAM module would be an incredible product that thousands would invest in if it were available. Just my 2 cents.

CVH
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Re: Qcad documentation and training.

Post by CVH » Fri Jul 15, 2022 7:06 am

Garball wrote:
Fri Jul 15, 2022 5:34 am
Qcad/Cam, with some tweeking for the plasma operations in the CAM module would be an incredible product that thousands would invest in if it were available. Just my 2 cents.
Nicely put, I fully agree :P :!:

Regards,
CVH

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