Drawing and planning

I've spent a lot of time searching for suitable software to create dimensioned drawings. All of the CAD programs that I tried were too complex. For the amount of use I would get from them it would not have been worthwhile putting in the effort to learn how to use them. For years I have used Powerpoint to create simple diagrams. I know how to use it and it is easy to make complex shapes by combining simple squares and circles. And, unlike any of the paint programs, I can go back and change shapes at a later stage, and move things around.

More recently I have been using OpenOffice which is a free equivalent of Microsoft Office and which works with Windows and Linux. As well as having the equivalent of Powerpoint it comes with a Drawing program which works very similarly to Powerpoint (with squares, circles etc) but also allows you to set the scale of drawings, to add dimension lines and to have different layers. This is an example of the layout of my saloon.

This is only a 2-dimensional drawing product, but it's so easy to use. I have used it to do some detailed drawings that show the construction of pieces of woodwork allowing for the thickness of the material. I particularly like the fact that it works with squares or rectangles that represent solid pieces that you can move to different locations.

And, of course, it is free! You can usually find a copy of OpenOffice on the free CDs that come with computer magazines.