There are three drawing tools that Designer does not have that I was hoping it would so that I could ditch my other CAD packages:

1. Create and move points relative to a specific origin.
2. Extend lines to a specific boundary.
3. Variable multiple offsets.

1) When drawing things with precision, it's rare that you need/want to know it's coordinates on the page - you normally want to know how far it is from a specific line/object or another part of the drawing: where it is on the page is irrelevant until you have actually drawn the object.
The new "coordinates" docker is a step in the right direction, but all of the coordinates listed are from the page's origin. I would like to see a drop-down that would allow you to see/change the values in relation to

• - Page Origin (bottom left corner of page)
• - Ruler Origin (normally the same as the page origin, but it can be changed when the rulers are moved)
• - Defined origin (click a point or drag the existing point - snaps work when dragging)
• - Shape Centre point (the x in the middle of the shape)
• - Shape Start Point (the first node in a shape)
• - Shape End Point (the last point in a shape)
• - Shape Rotation point (normally the centre point, but it can be moved)
• - Last point (Last node that was either put down or moved)

The relative origin would be a global variable that would hold for all coordinates on all objects in all dialogues and toolbars.

If a 3D plane is active, then all the coordinates should now be projected onto this plane (ie X=4 and Y=0 would specify a point on the skewed/relative X rather than the true X of the page)

If this were implemented, then the coordinate docker's usefulness gets multiplied by a factor of ten.

2) As a quick way to draw things, guidelines are often dropped on a page at a specific point and lines are extended to touch them.
I would like to see an "Extend" tool that would allow you to select a line, shape or guideline and then click on lines within the drawing. The selected line would be extended until it touches the target shape. If it doesn't touch, then nothing happens.
Straight lines are easy to work out, as are ellipses. Curves I would expect to follow the curvature set between the penultimate node and the end one, then add a node on the intersection with the target shape, joining with the last node.

3) I draw architectural surveys quite a bit. The easiest method of getting the initial sizes down one vertices onto the page is by off-setting (duplicating) a single line  by a specified value, then changing the value and off-setting again.

•     I would really like to see a floating dialogue with two double fields X:Y and Angle:Distance. Entering values in one set would change the other.
•     It would have a tic box for duplicating the selected object (on) or moving it (off).
•     It would have a "sticky lock" on it - if the lock is on, then every time the duplicate is applied, the duplicate becomes the new 'source'. If it's not on, then the original source remains the selected object to duplicate.
•     Perhaps a "clone" button to make each duplicate a 'clone' of the source?
•     And a "go" or "apply" button (hitting <return> from within a value field would do the same thing, and then select the value just entered so that a new value could just be typed in again.

Values remain in the dialogue, so another object could be selected and the same offsets applied to it.

I would like to be able to use this dialogue on objects and guidelines.

4) Not as vital for me, but I would like to see layer and page specific defaults for fills, outlines and fonts. If set, I would imagine the following precedent:

1. Page layer default (First)
2. Master layer default
3. Page default
4. Master default (Last)

If it had the top three things on this list, then it would be worthy of being a separate entity to Draw, but as it stands... it's for playing with objects/models/drawings that have been created in other packages. And I can't see anything in it that can't be done in whatever package used to create it or from within Draw.

(The "improved connector lines" look quite cool for generating sysmbols, but that's an area that really lacks insight in Draw just now.)