47 new features on master, 15 October – 1 November 2026

[ispyisail]

The new features merged into master since #1485, grouped. Bug fixes, translations, tests and build changes are left out. All of these landed between 15 October and 1 November 2026, so they are in the current development builds but not yet in a release.

Changes you will notice straight away:

• Texts and the pointer behave differently. A text kept at a fixed width is now outlined and clicked only where it is written, not over its whole box (Texts are outlined and picked where they are written #1558). The pointer is a four-way arrow over anything you can move, and with the crosshair it jumps to the grid point under the mouse (Pointer: four-way arrow over what moves, on the grid with the crosshair, caught by handles #1608).
• Double-click on a folio report's arrow now goes to the other end, with a pointing hand and a highlight where it lands. It used to open the report's properties; they are still in the context menu and the properties panel (Jump between folio report ends with a pointing hand and a highlight #1554).
• The status bar now shows the grid step, a snap magnet and a zoom button, and names the item under the mouse (Status bar: the grid step, a magnet for snapping, fixed zoom steps #1655, Status bar: name the item under the mouse, or the selection #1627).

Most of the rest only appears when you use it, or sits behind a setting.

Thanks to everyone who contributed: @DaTweety, @Kellermorph, @itseogo, @elevatormind, @neitri, @frakbenparker, @victorienea, @spodri-lab, @Neira12, @ispyisail.

Opening and saving

• One-file project, .qetdb (experimental, off by default): the whole project in a single SQLite file, from Settings > General > Projects (Add saving a project as one database file, .qetdb (experimental) #1642)
• History of saves inside a .qetdb: who saved, when, and what each save changed. Open a project as it was at an earlier save, compare two saves, keep only the last N, and export a copy without the history for a client (Add a history of saves inside a .qetdb, off by default #1659, Add opening, comparing and limiting the saves a .qetdb keeps #1664)
• Repair data in a .qetdb: a file damaged by a disk, a USB stick or a sync tool opens as it was saved (Add repair data to a .qetdb, so damaged files open again #1675)
• Recover a crashed project as it was after its last edit (Add recovering a crashed project as it was after its last edit #1634)
• Faster opening and saving of .qetdb projects, and damaged ones are refused instead of half-read (Speed up opening and saving .qetdb projects, and refuse damaged ones #1647, Speed up saving a .qetdb after opening it #1687)
• Older projects open faster (Speed up opening projects saved by older versions #1641), and scripts read the folios of a big project faster (Speed up scripts reading the folios of a big project #1622)
• Previous versions of a project are kept each time you save (Add keeping the previous versions of a project each time it is saved #1501)
• A damaged project offers its previous version, or what can be read of it (Add recovering what can be read of a damaged .qetz project (--recover) #1504, Offer a damaged project's previous version, or what can be read of it #1505)
• Warning when someone else has the project open, and before saving over changes made by someone else (Ask before saving over a project someone else changed #1506, Add a project lock: tell a second person the project is open #1507)
• Reopen the projects of the last session at start, and switch off the backup offer, in Settings > General > Projects (Projects of the last session reopened at start; the backup offer can be switched off #1637, @DaTweety)
• Read many projects at once with SQL: qelectrotech --query "SELECT label, article FROM qet_devices" a.qet b.qetz c.qetdb [--json], with four views whose names and columns stay the same between versions (Add reading many projects at once with SQL (--query) and stable views for other tools #1649)

Drawing and viewing

• View > Dark mode: a black sheet with coloured lines, and light lines on any dark custom sheet colour (View > Dark mode: a black sheet with colored lines; light lines on any dark sheet #1604, @DaTweety)
• Dimensioning tool (linear and chain) for cabinet layouts, and a tape measure in the symbol editor (Feature/dimensioning #1666, @itseogo)
• Element text format painter: copy one symbol's text styling and layout onto others without changing the texts (Add Element Text Format Painter tool #1465, @itseogo)
• Grid snap on and off (Ctrl+Shift+G) and a fine, medium or coarse grid step (Grid: snap switched on and off, and a fine, medium or coarse step #1607, @DaTweety)
• Grid hidden when its dots crowd, at a distance you set (Grid hidden when its dots crowd, at a distance you set; zoom in the status bar #1603, @DaTweety)
• Folio-wide crosshair under the mouse, from the Display menu (Folio-wide crosshair under the mouse (Display menu) #1559, @DaTweety)
• Crosshair on the dragged symbol's terminal, around the symbol being placed, and after the arrow keys (Crosshair on the dragged symbol's terminal, around the symbol being placed, and after the arrow keys #1654, @DaTweety)
• Terminal help lines from a dragged symbol can be switched off (Terminal help lines: a setting to switch them off, on by default #1656, @DaTweety)
• Side panels fold away with a bar beside the drawing, as in LibreOffice; docks can be made as narrow as you like (Side panels: a bar beside the drawing folds them away, as in LibreOffice #1645, Docks can be made as narrow as one wants: texts wrap, the rest scrolls sideways #1606, @DaTweety)
• Custom dash lengths for dashed wires (Add custom dash lengths for dashed wires #1678)
• Colour and section as a slanted stroke across a wire, with the two values beside it (Conductors: colour and section at a slanted stroke across the wire #1646, @DaTweety)
• Upright symbol texts read from bottom to top, also in the DXF export (Upright symbol texts read from bottom to top (a setting, off by default) #1657, DXF export: upright symbol texts read from bottom to top as drawn #1674, @DaTweety)

Texts

• Place symbol texts at one of nine points: label and notes as one block, corner texts level with the symbol's body, and qet.placeElementTexts() for scripts (Place symbol texts: label and notes as one block, at one of nine points #1563, Place symbol texts: corners beside the symbol are level with its body #1635, Scripts: qet.placeElementTexts() places symbol texts at one of nine points #1636, @DaTweety)
• Symbol text width and height, each fixed or free (Symbol texts: width and height, each fixed or not #1561, @DaTweety)
• Text groups keep the point they are aligned on (Text groups keep the point they are aligned on #1564, Symbol text width handles: the point the text is aligned on stays in place #1555, @DaTweety)
• Bulk text formatting in the title block editor (Add bulk text formatting to the title block editor #1672)
• GOST ESKD title blocks (Russian standard GOST 2.104) (Add GOST ESKD title blocks (Russian standard GOST 2.104) #1547)
• Reports: %T for the target folio's title, and element information in composite texts (Reports: %T for the target folio's title, element info in composite texts #1525, @DaTweety)

Wires, terminals and folio reports

• Terminal strip bridges: draw them, carry the voltage over the sheets, copy and move them (Terminal strip bridges: draw them, carry voltage over the sheets, copy and move them #1651, @Kellermorph)
• Create terminal strips from the free terminals' labels (Terminal strip: create the strips from the free terminals' labels #1550, @Kellermorph)
• Terminal strip editor: automatic cable entry, plan order, target box and Target column (Terminal strip editor: automatic cable entry, plan order, target box, Target column and speed-ups #1577, @Kellermorph)
• The strip's label at its first terminal, and the editor's bridges between the terminals (Terminal strips: the strip's label at its first terminal, the editor's bridges between the terminals #1605, @DaTweety)
• Terminal labelling: draw label and number apart, and a Show name box (Terminal labelling: option to draw label and number apart, and a Show name box for terminals #1584, @Kellermorph)
• Phoenix Contact ST spring-cage terminals added to the terminal catalogue (Terminal catalog: add the Phoenix Contact ST spring-cage terminals #1527, @DaTweety)
• Projects with automatic connections: a second kind of project in which terminals in line connect by themselves and the wires follow when symbols move (Automatic connections: a kind of project in which terminals in line connect by themselves #1668, @DaTweety)
• Connections toolbar: corners, T-junctions, interruption points and cross-references with one click (Connections toolbar: corners, T-junctions, interruption points and cross-references with one click #1669, @DaTweety)
• Chained folio reports across three or more folios, with project preferences (Add configurable chained folio reports and project preferences #1599, @itseogo)
• Draw a cable across wires from scripts and the qet MCP server (Scripting and qet MCP: draw a cable across conductors #1526, @DaTweety)

Symbols and parts

• Edit the information of several symbols at once (Add editing the information of several symbols at once (#1439) #1534)
• Per-relay contact display: choose a cross or contact symbols, where they sit, and the line thickness for one relay (Add a per-relay display for its contacts #1684, idea from @victorienea)
• Grouped parts list export with identical parts added up (Add grouped parts list export with summed quantities #1680, idea from @victorienea)
• Nomenclature takes an element's place from its folio when the element has none of its own (Nomenclature: an element is where its folio is #1537, @DaTweety)

Projects and standards

• Project languages: add languages to a project, collect the words drawn in it, export and import them as CSV for a translator, and show a folio in any of them, with translated table headings and cells (Add project languages to show texts in another language #1690, Add translated table headings and cells for project languages #1696, idea from @victorienea)
• Order of columns and rows configurable in the project settings, with cross-references following it (Added: configuration of the order of columns and rows. #1497, @neitri)
• Find duplicate signals and components across a project, in the Project menu (Find duplicate signal/device labels #1551, @frakbenparker)
• Duplicate labels counted per plant and location in the qet MCP server (qet MCP: count duplicate labels per plant and location #1532, @DaTweety)

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The 52 features before these, from 1 to 15 October, are in #1485.

[victorienea]

Hello,

I am always impressed by the amount of work continuously being implemented. Congratulations!
I cannot test any software now, as I am on holiday, travelling, and on medical leave for a while. I can test again in 3–4 weeks.
I just hope that in the future I can get Claude in Opus mode and try to help by implementing new ideas.
For now, during my last days of Codex Pro Astra Ultra High, I have tried to fulfil a deep wish, but I am not so sure if it is bug-free and fully developed.
I have touched the "Holy Grail" of the software: AI implementation.
Up to now, we have the AI Assistant, which connects via MCP to various AIs. This is absolutely an awesome feature, as I have tested it myself.
But somehow, my expectations, probably unrealistic, were to have an AI chat window inside the software.
Why? And what for?
Well, in the existing AI Assistant implementation, the AI Assistant is more of an informative window than an interactive one where commands can be given to the AI to interact with the software or the project. All those commands must be given in the separate AI software/app or window/browser, so externally.
I wanted this internally, inside the software, without the need for an external app/window/browser.
One of the reasons was that we have to switch between AI and QET on a single monitor or laptop, which makes two monitors almost necessary. I use two monitors at work, but not at home or while travelling.
When you let AI take control of your project/PC via MCP, using the local project folder, there are also a few things that I do not quite like:
I do not know why, but in my case, it was slow. The same task could have been done in the AI cloud chat a lot faster.
Then it asks me too many times for approvals for different tasks and actions when I ask it to change something in my project. It also takes over my mouse and keyboard, even telling me that I should not touch them for a while to avoid disturbing the AI.
Honestly, all these things together are very annoying and take a lot longer than doing the same work in the AI chat and getting the result at the end.
In the end, I found the AI Assistant awesome as an implemented idea, but not very practical, or at least it does not suit my purpose as I expected. Or perhaps I just do not know how to use it properly.

Why would someone use AI with QET? What for?
In my case, the reason why I found QET absolutely awesome and extremely useful, the key point, the core of QET, besides the fact that it is free and open source, is that symbols and elements can be generated by AI from pictures, screenshots, DXF/DWG CAD files, PDF files with old schematics, and vector or raster scanned files.
Sometimes, depending on the case, even full pages can be generated.
And then all these are ready to use, ready to be imported into QET, which saves a tremendous amount of work time.
I found this to be the greatest feature of all: the fact that an external AI can prepare symbols, elements, or full pages ready-made, which perhaps need only certain corrections.
The other ECAD software programs that I know use encrypted symbols/elements in their databases, which an external AI cannot easily generate, or cannot generate at all.
I am quite confident that in the future, many of these ECAD software programs will also provide an AI bridge or AI Assistant, but as a paid feature, besides the AI usage fees.
One of the programs that I use, even though it is not CAD, is Siemens TIA Portal, which has an AI bridge/Assistant that helps with programming.

In our case, QET and the new AI features:
• A new window where different AI Assistants can connect directly, using existing login credentials, with login/logout functionality.
• Once logged in, it allows commands via a small chat window, lets you watch the activity, and import files to extract symbols or full pages.
• These can then be placed in the current project or a new project, or simply added or saved as elements in the existing custom database.
• You can select, zoom, and crop before conversion, then inspect the result before it is placed or saved.
All inside QET, with no external app/browser/window. Just log in to AI and do the job inside QET.
Maybe I aimed too high with my wishes, or perhaps it is not as practical or fast as I expected.
But here is the result, developed and implemented for Windows, unfortunately not aligned with the existing master branch:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19U5FWl23JSQwS1XgynAEH2W9SjO9HavZ?usp=sharing

[ispyisail]

Thanks, and get well soon.

Three of the things you ran into come from the AI app, not from QElectroTech:

• It took over your mouse and keyboard. The app was using its own screen control. QElectroTech's tools never move the mouse, so tell it to use only the qet tools.
• Too many approvals. Most apps let you allow the qet tools once. In live mode, press Always in QElectroTech's own Ask before running a script box.
• It was slow. QElectroTech answers in about 30 ms. The wait is the AI thinking.

Turning a picture, PDF or DXF drawing into a symbol, then checking it side by side or as an overlay, is a strong idea. Could you send it as a small pull request on master, separate from the rest?

[ispyisail]

You really need to use the offical branch for review. Making comments based on your custom version is not really fair

[ispyisail]

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