52 new features on master, 1–15 October 2026

[ispyisail]

The new features merged into master since #1193, grouped, newest work first within each group. Bug fixes, translations, tests and build changes are left out. All of these landed between 1 and 15 October 2026, so they are in the current development builds but not yet in a release.

Two changes you will notice straight away:

• Save now writes a .qetz file next to your .qet, and says so once. Your .qet is never overwritten. A released QElectroTech cannot open a .qetz, so to send a project to someone on a release, use File > Save a copy for an older QElectroTech.
• Ctrl+arrow now does the fine move on a folio, as it already did in the symbol editor. Alt+arrow aligns a text group.

Thanks to everyone who contributed: @bhangart, @Kellermorph, @arummler, @jp2images, @saschbe, @IBSYSLevi, @scorpio810, @ispyisail.

Opening and saving

• Zipped project file (.qetz) with the project database inside, now the default save format. A 136-folio project is 2.2 MB instead of 17 MB, and opens in 3.5 s instead of 23 s (Add the zipped project format (.qetz) as a save option #1462, Save as .qetz by default, with the project database as the source of truth #1472)
• Big projects open faster: each folio is built only when you show it (Speed up opening big projects with lazy folios #1468, @scorpio810)
• Folios with photos open faster: pictures are decoded in parallel (Speed up opening folios with photos: decode pictures in parallel #1477, Speed up opening .qetz projects that hold large pictures #1470)
• Older projects open faster (Speed up opening older projects: work out the project uuid in place #1476)
• Save and load only part of your settings to a file (Add saving and loading only part of the settings #1410)

Drawing

• Arc tool, with a handle to pull a half arc in or out (Add an Arc tool, with a handle to pull a half arc in or out #1202)
• Fillet: round the corner between two drawn lines (Add a fillet tool to round the corner between two drawn lines #1212)
• Hops where wires cross, as an option (Add optional hops where wires cross (#436) #1200)
• Mirror a symbol horizontally or vertically on the folio (Add horizontal and vertical mirror for symbols on a folio (#1335) #1354)
• Keep the texts of turned symbols horizontal, as an option (Add an option to keep texts of turned symbols horizontal #1355)
• Generic device: a box symbol with terminals on any side, for devices you rarely use (Add a generic device: a box symbol with terminals on any side #1418)
• Paste element information: copy one symbol's details onto others (Add Paste element information: copy one symbol's details onto others #1376)
• Ctrl+Shift+V pastes at the original position; Ctrl+V still pastes under the cursor (Ctrl+Shift+V pastes at the origin point, Ctrl+V keeps pasting under the cursor #1208, @Kellermorph)
• Limit the number of wires per terminal, with extra wires chained terminal to terminal instead of in a star (Add an optional limit on wires per terminal (discussion #1158) #1272, Wire terminals in a chain, not a star, under a wire limit #1273)
• Paper sizes A0–A5 in the folio dimensions (Add paper sizes A0–A5 to the folio dimensions #1362)
• View > Show to hide texts, shapes or pictures (Add View > Show to hide texts, shapes and pictures (bugtracker #301) #1268)
• Smaller resize handles: ×0.25, ×0.5 and ×0.75 (Add smaller resize handle sizes #1398, @saschbe)
• Ctrl+arrow for the fine move in both editors (Swap Ctrl/Alt arrow shortcuts in the diagram editor #1395, @IBSYSLevi)

Texts

• Free texts keep the width they wrap to: set it in their properties or drag a corner (Let free texts keep a width they wrap to #1320, Add corner handles to change the width of a text box #1321, Set the width of free texts in their properties #1341, Resize free texts by dragging a corner #1342, @bhangart)
• Resize symbol text fields by dragging a corner in the symbol editor, with "Auto" shown in the width box (Show "Auto" in the width box of element editor text fields #1322, Keep an element editor text field in place when its width changes #1323, Resize text fields in the element editor by dragging a corner #1343, @bhangart)
• Static texts in symbol files can be anchored on their alignment, for symbol authors (Add anchor="alignment" for static texts in element files (#1251) #1404)

Pictures

• Drop picture files from the file manager onto a folio to add them; several are laid out in a grid (Drop picture files on a folio to add them #1416, @bhangart)
• Crop a picture directly on the folio: double-click it, drag the crop bars, press Enter (Crop a picture directly on the folio #1432, @bhangart)
• Imported pictures keep their colours on a dark theme by default (Preserve imported image colours by default in dark mode #1349, @saschbe)

Wires, terminals and numbering

• Edit several wires at once in the Selection properties panel (Edit several wires at once in the Selection properties panel #1205)
• Terminal grouping: one symbol can hold several separate terminals, each with its top and bottom linked (Reapply "Feature: Terminal potential grouping" #1396, @IBSYSLevi)
• Function separation on terminals: wire number, colour and section stop at the terminal, the voltage carries on (Terminal: rename potential separation to function separation #1456, @Kellermorph)
• All information fields for terminals, including size, quantity and type (Show all element information fields for terminals #1399, @IBSYSLevi)
• Drag free terminals onto a terminal strip (Add drag and drop of free terminals onto a terminal strip (#409) #1199)
• Setting for how cross-references stack at the bottom of a folio (Add a setting for stacking cross references at the folio bottom #1311)
• Leave junctions and contact blocks out of the parts list, as options (Add options to leave junctions and contact blocks out of the parts list #1318)
• Auto-numbering rework: rename a numbering and the elements using it follow, reorder its parts, apply a formula, more options for wires and folios, all undoable (Auto numeration: a lot of changes for elements, condutors, sheets #1282, @arummler)

Symbol editor

• Scale a symbol by a factor that keeps its connection points on the grid (Add Scale element to the element editor, keeping terminals on the grid #1378)

Export

• Symbols as DXF blocks, with their texts as block attributes and their part data as hidden attributes, as options (Add an option to export symbols as DXF blocks (#1339) #1351, Add an option to export symbol texts as DXF block attributes (#1339) #1352, Add symbol part data to DXF blocks as hidden attributes (#1339) #1353)
• Wrapped texts exported to DXF line by line (Export wrapped texts to DXF line by line #1324, @bhangart)
• Per-folio page orientation in the PDF export (Add per-folio page orientation to the PDF export (#1480) #1481)
• Repeatable PDF export: the same project gives the same file when SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH is set (Add repeatable PDF export when SOURCE_DATE_EPOCH is set #1257)
• SVG export option to store pictures smaller (Add an SVG export option to store pictures smaller #1478)
• Wiring list export: new Cable column, and the terminal index and uuid (Add a Cable column to the wiring list export #1197, Add terminal index and uuid to the wiring list export #1248)

Menus, toolbars and settings

• Customise window for toolbars, keyboard shortcuts and mouse gestures in one place (Add a Customise window for toolbars, shortcuts and gestures #1365)
• Choose what each folio editor toolbar holds (Add a page to choose what each folio editor toolbar holds #1363)
• Mouse gestures with your own commands, in 4 or 8 directions (Add a mouse gesture page: own commands, 4 or 8 directions #1364)
• Toolbars settings page: icon size, text beside icons, lock the toolbars (Add a Toolbars settings page: icon size, text with icons, lock #1327)
• Shortcuts page lists every command, with icons, menu locations, search by key and copy (Add the missing folio editor commands to the Shortcuts page #1325, Add icons, menu locations, key search and copy to the Shortcuts page #1326)
• Edit menu split into submenus (Fix #1336: split the long Edit menu into submenus #1346)
• Sharp SVG icons on high-resolution screens (Convert the toolbar and menu icons to SVG (#1063) #1207, Convert the remaining theme icons to SVG and drop unused PNGs (#1063) #1253, Finish the SVG icons and fix the icon licenses in ico/copyright (#1063, #1269) #1283, Sort the icon folders by source and redraw the convert-shape icons (#1269) #1308, @jp2images)
• English is now the source language of the interface, and the English interface says "sheet" instead of "folio" (Make English the source language of the interface text #1390, Rename "folio" to "sheet" in the English interface #1216)

Scripting and AI assistants

• Live mode can create, open and switch projects, print, save, close and check the layout (Add live-mode commands to create, open and switch projects #1312, Add printing, save/close and a layout check to live mode #1313, Remember live mode's start warning and "Always" across restarts #1314)
• A house style that every AI assistant reads before drawing (Add a house style that every AI assistant reads #1315)
• Layout check: score a drawing, straighten wires that jog, and place symbols so wires come out straight (Add terminalPosition() and conductorPath() to the scripting API #1264, Add qet_layout_check: score a drawing and fix wires that jog #1265, Add qet_edit operations that place symbols so wires come out straight #1266)
• Wire routing around symbols and paper size presets from scripts and AI assistants (Add wire routing around symbols to the scripting API and MCP #1245, Add paper size presets for folios to the scripting API and MCP #1250)
• Drawing checks for crowded terminals and folio reports (Add qet_check rules for crowded terminals and folio reports #1271)

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Script buttons, live mode and the macro recorder, from 2 October, are in #1230. The 50 features before these, from 19 to 30 September, are in #1193.