Line drawing software

Help and Support
1

As my user name indicates, Refugee from WinWorld;
Asking for recommendations regarding relatively simple line drawing software (tried LibreOffice Draw… still a bit befuddled)
To wit:
Drawing colored lines and/or inserting text boxes on top of .jpg.jpeg images;
The images are black and white wiring diagrams for cars and motorcycles.
Previously, used Win Paint to “trace”/superimpose colored lines on top of the black circuit lines… simplifying following circuits.

Also used MS Office Word/Draw, as Draw allowed for "custom’ lines;
i.e. for a green wire, with black “tracer”, allowed drawing green line with black “slashes”… this allowed differentiating between wires that also has a “base” color of green. “Custom” lines were not available with MSPaint.
Could save the lines drawn, but, occasionally, the original .jpg image would disappear from the background.
Also, inserting text boxes could be cumbersome.

With Paint, selecting and copying/deleting section s of the original image was very simple.
Also, to adjust line width, simply held “cntrl” button and used + or - on numeric keypad… also, to “snap” a line drawn to page horizontal or vertical, held down “shift” key, while drawing… “snaps” to invisible grid, to keep alignments clean.
Really not interested in learning Autocad, or schematic drawing software (no need for the electrical/electronic symbols)
…just drawing lines, boxes, arrows and inserting text.

For those with experience, Thanks for any useful information.
John

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2

Switching from Windows to a Linux distribution like Ubuntu Zorin OS can indeed require some adaptation, especially when it comes to finding suitable alternatives for software you were accustomed to on Windows. For your specific needs – drawing colored lines and inserting text boxes on top of JPG images, particularly for wiring diagrams – here are some recommendations:

  1. GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program): This is a free and open-source alternative to Photoshop but can be used for simple tasks like drawing lines and inserting text. It supports custom brushes, which might be helpful for creating lines with specific patterns (like your green wire with black slashes).

  2. Inkscape: This is a vector graphics editor, which is more akin to Adobe Illustrator. It’s particularly good for line drawings and might be a bit more intuitive than GIMP for your purposes. You can easily create lines of varying colors and patterns, and text insertion is straightforward.

  3. Krita: Primarily known as a digital painting application, Krita also offers great tools for simple line drawings and text insertion. Its user interface might be more approachable for someone used to Microsoft Paint.

  4. Pinta: This is a more basic tool, quite similar to Microsoft Paint. It’s very straightforward for simple tasks like drawing lines, shapes, and adding text.

  5. KolourPaint: A part of the KDE project, this is another simple, Paint-like application designed for quick and easy image editing tasks.

  6. Xournal: This application is geared more towards note-taking and PDF annotation, but it’s quite good for simple line drawing and text insertion over images.

When choosing a tool, consider how complex your diagrams are and how much customizability you need in terms of line types and text boxes. GIMP and Inkscape offer the most flexibility but have a steeper learning curve. Pinta and KolourPaint are more user-friendly but might lack some advanced features.

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