Installing QtDraw

Installing QtDraw#

QtDraw can be installed from PyPI using pip on Python 3.11 or later.

Requirements#

  • Python ≥ 3.11

  • [Optional] A MultiPie is recommended for using crystallographic symmetry operations.

Installation#

  1. Set up a Python environment

  • macOS

    • Install Homebrew (if not already installed):

    • Install Python:

      brew install python@3.13

    • Add Python (and LaTeX, if needed) to your .bashrc or .zshrc:

      export PATH=/opt/homebrew/opt/python@3.13/libexec/bin:$PATH

    • If you use a virtual environment (e.g. ~/.venv), prepend its bin directory to PATH.

    • Restart your shell.

  • Linux

    • Install Python using your distribution’s package manager or from source.

    • Add Python (and LaTeX, if needed) to your shell configuration file (e.g. .bashrc or .zshrc):

      export PATH=/path/to/python/bin:$PATH

    • If you use a virtual environment, ensure its bin directory appears before the global Python path.

    • Restart your shell.

  • Windows

    • Install PowerShell and Python by following the instructions at: https://microsoft.com/PowerShell

    • Ensure that Python is added to your system PATH during installation.

  1. Install QtDraw

    All required dependencies will be installed automatically. In order to use MathJax rendering for LaTeX, install playwright browser such as chromium.

    pip install qtdraw
playwright install chromium  # for Linux use `playwright install-deps chromium` instead.

  2. Install MultiPie

    Install the symmetry operation tool MultiPie:

    pip install multipie

  • Linux (Ubuntu 22.04.4 LTS on WSL2)

    • Add the following line to your .bashrc:

      export QT_QPA_PLATFORM=xcb

    • Install required system libraries:

      sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade  # optional, but recommended
sudo apt install libxcb-cursor0

  1. Associate QtDraw file (.qtdw) to the application

    It is useful to associate with the following application with .qtdw, .cif, .vesta, and .xsf extensions.

  • MacOS

    • Download and extract QtDraw_MacApp.zip, and move it into Applications folder

    • Associate extensions with QtDraw.app

    • (Note) QtDraw.app is created by Automator with the following script:

      source ~/.zshrc
if [ -z "$1" ]; then
    nohup qtdraw &> /dev/null &
else
    nohup qtdraw "$1" &> /dev/null &

      automator.jpg

  • Windows

    • Associate extensions with qtdraw.exe in Scripts folder or QtDraw_WinApp.zip

    • Scripts is found usually under C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Programs\Python\Python<version>\

Shell Commands#

QtDraw provides the following command-line utilities:

  • qtdraw [filename] : Open QtDraw file.

  • conv_qtdraw3 [ver1_file.qtdw] : Convert Version 1 .qtdw file into this version (Version 3).

See the Getting Started guide for examples.

Source Code#