DraftSight FREE CAD Software Download

     For years in my professional life I used the industry standard for drafting, AutoCAD, and also had it installed on an old home desktop, but when I wanted a drafting program on my laptop, I was no longer able to install AutoCAD. Fortunately I discovered the free version of DraftSight (they also have a professional version for a fee). 
     The first thing I noticed was that it is very similar in appearance and function to the AutoCAD with which I was familiar, so the learning curve was almost zero. You can access existing AutoCAD DWG files and create new ones so the old drawings of my house were available without having to redraw them. 
     DraftSight is a proprietary free 2D computer-aided design (CAD) software application developed by Dassault Systèmes. It lets users create, edit and view .dwg and AutoCAD DXF files. As mentioned, the user interface is quite similar to AutoCAD. 
     The standalone, single-user version of DraftSight is free until a user saves or prints a document for the first time. They will then be asked to activate the product within 30 days using a valid email address and reactivate after six months and thereafter at 12-month intervals. Activation email and industry sectors must be the same as when initially activated, or the installation becomes unusable and must be installed again. 
     Dassault is known for its 3D CAD software in the Aerospace industry and elsewhere. Extra productivity features and services are available for a low price with Packs and Plugins and it's available in 14 languages, including all the help files; you can switch from one language to another at anytime. It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Highly recommended.