Change colour or type mid-line

Is it possible to change colour or type mid-line?  Does one have to use different
line segments?

How does one typically break a line into separate segments and assign properties
individually?

Hello!

Usually colours and properties of a line are defined in layer attributes. Layer list is by default in the lower right.

Any entity can be divided using + -menu from the left vertical panel/Explode.

I'm using LibreCAD 2.20 on a linux computer.

Modify->Explode is the tool to separate a Block or Polyline into its single entities.
To divide a straight line, arc or circle into multiple segments, to change the attributes of only a part, use Modify->Divide tool.

Modify entity attributes is possible, but the recommendation is to use different layers instead of changing entity attributes. That makes bulk changes much easier.

Of course you have to break a line into separate segments and assign properties individually.
Use Tools - Modify - Divide. Having Snap on Entity on may be useful.

Oh, LordofBikes has been quicker.

Some time after v2.2.0 a new [undocumented] modify tool has appeared: Break/Divide. I don't think it works.

It's also confusing with: Divide.

Version: v2.2.1.2
Compiler: GNU GCC 12.2.0
Compiled on: Jul 13 2025
Qt Version: 5.15.2
Boost Version: 1.87.0
System: Windows 10 Version 2009

How does one use divide exactly?  After choosing Tools-Modify-Divide and
selecting the line, how can I make the cuts?

Look what the command line asks you to do next:
Specify entity to cut
specify cutting point   >  so click on the entity at the desired point, take care to have a proper snap enabled. It is advisable to have FreeSnap enabled together with others in most cases.

flywire wrote

Some time after v2.2.0 a new [undocumented] modify tool has appeared: Break/Divide. I don't think it works.

Hopefully a dev will comment.

Usage: makes selected object disappear.

Name confusion: any comments about two Divide commands? This comment really needs to be considered in terms of consistency of new and old features.

Well, these are two completely different commans.

1) Divide - breaks the entity in specified mouse position. The user should define on point.

2) Break/Divide - works based on points, where the entity intersects with another entities.  The user should defined segment of the entity.

As it names states, the command allows to the user

1)  identify SEGMENT of the entity between two intersection points using mouse
2)  either

a) Remove segment(s) of the entity, that is either WITHIN or OUTSIDE of these two intersection points, so the original entities is broken on several segments.  

b) Break the entity by segment endpoints (intersection points) - i.e - like Divide command applied for eash intersection point

And here is the video demo: https://youtu.be/_UHawUJXZe0

P.S as for disappering entity after Break/Divide - that's intentional behavior requested by the one of the users, if "Remove Segments" options is checked - the entire entit is considered as one segment and so it's removed.

You’ve clearly put a lot of work into those videos, and clearly the intention is to keep them language‑agnostic. I watched that one before though and honestly had no idea what it was doing.

The video just isn’t very clear, the interface is too small to see properly. Maybe simplify the layout and show a smaller window at a larger scale to make things easier to follow. Repeating the same command ten or more times doesn’t really help if someone still doesn’t understand what’s happening after the first couple of tries. If viewers have to stop and freeze frames to see what’s going on, the video probably isn’t working as intended.

Also, the command naming needs looking at, Break/Divide doesn’t make sense when there’s already a Divide command. The set Divide, Break/Divide, Trim, Trim Two really needs a review and some rationalisation to avoid confusion.