Using LibreCAD's tools on GIS vector layers

Hi, I'm a Quantum GIS user. I'm doing a preliminary study in order to find the best solution to use LibreCAD's advanced editing tools on GIS vector layers. Actually I'm exploring two possibilities:

- Create a "LibreCAD Plugin" for QGIS, to have the LibreCAD tools available inside the QGIS GUI.
- Create a "LibreCAD driver" for georeferenced vector file (using existing libraries like GDAL), in order to open some vector file formats (i.e. shapefiles, spatialite or postgresql layers, etc) from LibreCAD.

I think that the second solution should be the easier to implement, but I'm asking your opinion. I'd like to know if some portions of the LibreCAD source code (that I'm exploring in these days) are strongly bound to the dxf file format, or there is a sufficient level of abstraction to easily add support for other file formats.

Thank you,

Diego Gnesi

diegognesi wrote

- Create a "LibreCAD Plugin" for QGIS, to have the LibreCAD tools available inside the QGIS GUI.
- Create a "LibreCAD driver" for georeferenced vector file (using existing libraries like GDAL), in order to open some vector file formats (i.e. shapefiles, spatialite or postgresql layers, etc) from LibreCAD.

I think that the second solution should be the easier to implement, but I'm asking your opinion.

Second possibility has been accomplished. In LibreCAD 2.x Beta, there is plugin to import shape file.

Read at:

 https://hsrai.wordpress.com/2013/03/27/librecad-using-plugins/

Diego:

I am a licensed Surveyor/Mapper in Florida,  any additional GIS functionality with LibreCAD I will follow closely.

I am currently developing long term priorities for myself.  One is to put Land Surveying COGO (coordinate geometry) routines and functionality into LibreCAD,  would be great to have it available within QGIS with your Plugin.

Keep Posting your progress.

Thanks,
Joe O'Connor

Hi hsrai,

I've seen the plugin, but it seems to me that the plugin allows only to import shapefiles, not to save them. In a shapefile, each geometric feature is associated with a record in an attribute table. If I load the shapefile, save it in dxf and then convert the dxf to a shapefile, I loose data.

Hi Joe,

now I'm trying to change LibreCAD's source code in order to open and save shapefile data within LibreCAD. I think it's the shortest way to use advanced editing tools on shapefiles. Once done this first step, maybe I'll try to integrate QGIS and LibreCAD via QGS plugins, but it's a more complex and long task.
I'll post my progresses to this mailing list.

Diego