Dia questions, problems...HELP!

[arvevans earthlink net]

Dia developer group

Recent attempts to use Dia for electronics schematic drawing have led to some questions, some problems, and possibly some suggestions for future enhancements.  I am runing SUSE Linux 9.0 on a 733 MHz CPU with 256 M memory, 1024 X 768 screen under KDE (not Gnome).

  1)  When I enter text using the text object element, the result is text that is so small that it cannot be read.  I have tried several ways to enlarge this text but nothing seems to work.  What am I missing?  If there is a secret to using text entry then that information probably should be documented in the help section.

  2)  The line size for graphics needs to be pre-settable in the user preferences section.  Without this it is necessary to double-click on each object as I add it and set the line size down to zero.  On mid-sized schematics this is problematic as there may be over 1000 objects involved.

  3)  When printing, even though I set the page definition to "letter" Dia still sends an "A4" sized sheet to my HP Laserjet printer.  This is printable by pressing "ALT/CONTINUE" on the printer but having to do so is a minor frustration.

  4)  The pre-defined object-set for "circuit" drawings are marginally adequate.  I need objects for FET, LED, Varicap, etc., etc.  This raises the question of "how does one generate and add more objects to existing libraries?  I am willing to attempt this myself if someone can point me in the right direction.  My past experience includes a little C-language, some TCL, and a bit of Pascal so although my skills are a little out-of-date it might be possible for me to do something useful.

  5)  In making up my own temporary objects for missing pre-defined graphics, it is easier to construct these elements on-screen in larger size than will be used in the final drawing.  However, when the individual lines for these 'made-up' items are grouped the size then cannot be adjusted.  Dia needs to support adjusting the size of grouped objects.

  6)  From the keyboard I am unable to perform CUT, COPY, and PASTE using "CTRL-X, CTRL-C and CTRL-V".  If this were added to the hot-key functions for editing it would make things much more efficient.

In general, I like the layout and methods used in Dia.  It seems to have potential to be the graphics editor of choice for electronics hobby and Ham Radio enthusiasts in the area of schematic generation.  The only negative areas are the limited help pages and the items I have mentioned above.  The system is intuitive enough that the abreviated help pages would not be a problem if the little hinderances I mentioned were resolved.

Thank you for your consideration and assistance,

Arv 
<arvevans earthlink net>