Ortho mode in command line

Hello everyone, I am a new user of librecad because I would like to use a free software rather than stay on Autocad.

Like everyone I have my habits when I work with autocad and I would like to find the same way to work on a CAD software. I'm drawing only 2D buildings plans.

I always draw my plans with the direct entry in ortho mode, this is to say that I create a line, I put the first point anywhere, I indicate the direction with my cursor and I indicate a number in the line control. It also works without the ortho mode but it is less convenient.
I only draw this way but I can not find an equivalence on FreeCAD could you help me ?
I know that I can draw with the relative coordonate but is so long when you need to draw a building.

sorry for my mistakes, I'm French
thank you

Hi Tomma,

To be honest, very hard for me to get your point. And another thing, this is LibreCAD, not FreeCAD. FreeCAD is a freeware 3D drawing while LibreCAD is 2D drawing.

My suggestion, please include drawing of what you want to ask. If you ask the equivalent tool of AutoCAD in LibreCAD, like what that tool in AutoCAD do. That will help us to understand you question.

But to be honest, this LibreCAD is very easy as long you have understanding in drawing. I myself I started from zero and I now may draw isotropic drawing. For example: if you want to draw horizontal line 20 units, than you need command line as below:
line (enter)
@20<0

That will do. And if you want to continue a vertical (positive) line from the edge of that previous line with 20 unit long, then you need to run this command:
line (enter)
@20<90

Where it will be started? The (x,y) coordinate is started from the left bottom corner which is marked with cross-red mark. There are started.

Links below will help you a lot.
https://wiki.librecad.org/index.php/LibreCAD_users_Manual
https://wiki.librecad.org/index.php?title=LibreCAD_users_Manual#Using_Command_Line
https://wiki.librecad.org/images/2/20/LibreCAD_Users_Manual_2.1.3.pdf

I think Tomma wants to avoid having to type in @20<90, instead just 20 and indicating it's vertically to the last point by positioning the cursor somewhere above that.
This is not possible in LibreCAD, at least I don't know about.

Sorry for my misunderstood. I actually don't know many about AutoCAD, especially compared to my knowledge to LibreCAD.

But is that possible to draw a line without explicitly provide the length and the angle? Isn't it a vector?

Hi Dellus, Tomma.

I am not sure that this explanation will help you. I did curious with that "ortho", so I searched over the net, and I found this explanation from AutoDesk and youtube. Ortho (orthogonal) means is that the cursor movements are limited to vertical or horizontal only, which is means cursor can only move either 0, or 90, or 180, or 270 degree only. Of course, there is tool for it in LibreCAD, three tools: Restrict Orthogonal (command: rr), restrict horizontal (command: rh), and restrict vertical (command rv). And to free all those restrictions, there is Restrict Nothing (command line: rn). The detail command for command line you may find them here: https://wiki.librecad.org/index.php/Commands

To activate that tool (in my LC 2.2.0 RC1), from "Widgets => Toolbars => Snap Selection"


https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad-lt/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2018/ENU/AutoCAD-LT/files/GUID-128AC5D7-72B0-498F-958D-7F619A73EC5F-htm.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vPFYNWFef_I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VS0RiQZCiwA

Sorry if this is not you want.

@ sunggus: you might have a look at DraftSight. It's commercial but they offer a free version. It has the feature Tomma wants. If you activate Ortho there you will see how it works.

OK Dellus. Sorry for my mistake.

SunGGus, thank you for your help.
I followed your instructions and "Restrict Ortho" is kind of what we're looking for but not exactly.  When drawing rectangular lines where as you say, the directions are restricted to 0, 90, 180, and 270, it is SO much more quickly done if you can start a line by clicking in a random spot, move the cursor roughly in one of the 4 cardinal directions, type a length, hit enter, move the mouse again in one of the four directions, type a length, hit enter, ...  I'd say it's a critical must-have feature.  It's also essential to be able to move objects in the same manner.

I was an AutoCAD user for years, then took a job in management with another company.  Haven't used CAD in a few years, and needed something at home.  Of course not wanting to pay $$$$$ for AutoCAD for no more than I use it, I looked at several free programs, and LibreCAD seemed like the best choice.  Now that I'm starting into it, I am SHOCKED that it doesn't have this feature (click start point, orthogonal direction, number entry, enter).  Am I guessing correctly that those who have worked on versions of LibreCAD have never used AutoCAD, therefore have never programmed this in?  Without the simplest, fastest methods of drawing, what's the point of using a computer?  I'm sure if you've never had this feature, you'd never miss it...but man...it would make drawings twice as fast.  /rant

Looks like the developers did not seek to mimic AutoCAD...

You can achieve the same result by:
1/ creating the ortho line first
2/ paralleling the ortho line with the number of instances
Step 2 takes less than 10 secondes more.

I think with number vweaver means the length of the orthogonal line, not the number of copies. No, sadly we don't have this feature in LibreCAD.

Hello, some one know if this function was created?

Press Restrict Orthogonal button at the bottom.