Locating blocks in the Library Browser

I am a new user of LibreCAD v2.2.1.2. I have created a Block and saved it in a subdirectory of my regular drawing file directory.  In Application Preferences I input the path to that directory then closed and restarted the program.  I thought that I would be able to see the directory and block in the Library Browser but it doesn't show up.  I thought that I followed all the appropriate instructions.  What went wrong?

Can you locate the saved block as a dxf file?

Then, you can verify the library path in LibreCAD setting.

The setting takes effect after restarting the LibreCAD app.

paulno01 wrote

I am a new user of LibreCAD v2.2.1.2. I have created a Block and saved it in a subdirectory of my regular drawing file directory.  In Application Preferences I input the path to that directory then closed and restarted the program.  I thought that I would be able to see the directory and block in the Library Browser but it doesn't show up.  I thought that I followed all the appropriate instructions.  What went wrong?

Yes, the saved dxf file is in the subdirectory and the path is in the Application Preferences.  The software was restarted after the path was entered.
I went through the process again and still the same thing.

Can you see other libraries and parts?
Then just locate e.g. the misc folder of the default libraries and open one of the DXF files to see how it's working.

The library browser shows the folders and the files inside the folder. But the files there are regular drawings, not blocks!
You can try to insert the block inside your library file and explode it to have a drawing of basic entities. The block in the block list can be deleted, it just makes the the DXF file bigger.

thanks for your help!
It didn't work like I was expecting.  I put the block in:
C:\Program Files (x86)\LibreCAD\resources\library\misc
and I can get it there.
I thought that specificing the path in Application Preferences would tell the program where to get the block.
Thanks again

In your Application Preferences, "Part Libraries" should be set to

C:\Program Files (x86)\LibreCAD\resources\library\

Please note, that's the parent of the actual folder containing dxf files.

paulno01 wrote

thanks for your help!
It didn't work like I was expecting.  I put the block in:
C:\Program Files (x86)\LibreCAD\resources\library\misc
and I can get it there.
I thought that specificing the path in Application Preferences would tell the program where to get the block.
Thanks again

dxli wrote

In your Application Preferences, "Part Libraries" should be set to

C:\Program Files (x86)\LibreCAD\resources\library\

Off the top of my head this location is checked automatically, LibreCAD search this location OS dependent. That's why you can access the misc library, even when Library Path is empty.

The Libraries Path in Application Preferences is an additional location for user created libraries.
On Windows it is a bad idea to put user created content anywhere in C:\Program Files (x86)\.
This should only be possible with administrator permission and cause issues when adding parts or modifying user libraries.
The LibreCAD default libraries are used readonly and thus ok in this location.
There is also the risc of losing data. If new versions are installed, the user content might be deleted on deinstalling the older version, without further confirmation.

So your first intention is correct, to create your library somewhere in user space and add the path to Application Preferences.
If this hasn't worked out, there might be some issues with the path. And as already said, this setting needs a restart. So set the path and then close and reopen LibreCAD to apply it.

Maybe special characters or whitespaces in the path cause this? Try another location with a simple path, just to test it.
Or the path was too deep? The folder to appear in the library browser is not part of the path. The path ends with the parent folder.
My Library Path is /nas/armin/Projects/dxflibs where I have a bunch of folders containing the parts, no DXF file there, just the folders containing DXF files.

WOW!
Thanks a lot.  It's amazing how things work when you do them correctly.  I had entered the path like:
C:\Users\paulc\Dropbox\Basement dwgs\Parts_library\

but when I entered:
C:\Users\paulc\Dropbox\Basement dwgs\
it worked fine.

I really didn't like placing the block file in C:\Program Files (x86)\