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I would love to switch completely to Linux, but the Engineering software I use is specific to Windows and their certified drivers (Solidworks). However, my home computer may get the switch sooner than later! I love how well SteamOS works and now I want it on my main machine.
Tried FreeCAD?
Unfortunately I have and there is currently not any Foss alternative to solidworks. The number of extensions and features and ui automation options is crazy. I would suggest cracking it but that might not make an employer comfy
Edit: on my home computer I have been using manjaro and endeavor exclusively for a few years. I am an advocate of Foss and Linux. I hope something does become available.
I've also tried a number of free alternatives and none of them work like Solidworks. Plus, I have so much automation I've built into it that it's really hard to migrate. I use VBA scripts and Excel to drive PDF export options, all driven from a custom properties tab. So much automation that I've hand-built that I wish I could just drop into Linux and be in my way :(
Would it work to install the program using bottles/wine and then run it using proton in steam by adding the executable as a non-steam game?
I've done that with a few software, just not any cad programes
I might try with my home machine, one day. I just know what happened when I tried to use the wrong driver version for my GPU. It wasn't one that was certified by Solidworks, so lots of weirdness happened - configurations in assemblies kept reverting to other configurations, and things didn't seem to "stick." Switched to a certified driver, and problems went away. Well, most of them. It is still Solidworks, keep in mind.