Installing on Windows without admin rights
Both Windows installers need administrator rights: the .exe installer asks for them outright and installs into Program Files, and the .msi installs for every user of the machine. On a company PC where you are a standard user, neither will run.
You don't need them. Every release also comes as a portable archive: a folder you extract anywhere you're allowed to write, and start from a launcher script inside it. It is the same program as the installed one.
Which file to download
| Version | Where | File |
|---|---|---|
| 0.100.0 (latest stable) | Release 0.100 | qelectrotech-0.100.0+git8590-x86-win64-readytouse.7z |
| 0.200.1 (development, Qt 6) | Nightly build | qelectrotech-0.200.1-qt6+git<number>-x86-win64-readytouse.zip |
Take the name ending in -readytouse, not Installer_…exe or ….msi.
On the nightly page, files with -qt6 in the name are the current build. Files without it are the last Qt 5 build, kept frozen and no longer updated.
The stable .7z opens in Explorer on recent Windows 11 (23H2 and later). On Windows 10 you need 7-Zip; if you can't install that either, use the nightly .zip, which Windows opens natively.
0.200.1 is a development version. It is what most new work goes into, but it is not tagged as a stable release yet (see issue #1112). If your company only allows released software, use 0.100.0.
Installing
-
Unblock the download. Right-click the downloaded file → Properties → tick Unblock at the bottom of the General tab → OK. Without this, Windows marks every extracted file as "from the internet" and SmartScreen warns about each one.
-
Extract it to a folder you own, for example:
%LOCALAPPDATA%\QElectroTech(paste that into Explorer's address bar; it expands to
C:\Users\<you>\AppData\Local\QElectroTech).Documents\QElectroTechor a USB stick work too. AvoidProgram Files, which you can't write to. -
Start QElectroTech with the launcher in the top folder:
Version Launcher 0.100.0 Lancer QET.bat0.200.1 Lancer QET_qt6.bat("Lancer" is French for "launch".)
-
Optional: right-click the launcher → Send to → Desktop (create shortcut). That needs no special rights either.
If SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC", click More info → Run anyway. The builds are not code-signed, so this warning is expected.
Always use the launcher, not bin\QElectroTech.exe
The launcher tells QElectroTech where everything in the folder is. Run the .exe directly and it can start without its symbol collection, title blocks or translations.
What the launcher does:
| Step | Effect |
|---|---|
cd to its own folder |
The paths below work wherever you extracted it |
attrib +r elements/* /S /D |
Makes the shipped symbol collection read-only, so it can't be edited by accident |
--common-elements-dir=elements/ |
Shipped symbol collection |
--common-tbt-dir=titleblocks/ |
Shipped title block templates |
--lang-dir=lang/ |
Interface translations |
--config-dir=conf/ --data-dir=conf/ |
Your own symbols, title blocks, logs and config files stay in conf\ inside the folder |
Anything you add after the launcher's name is passed on to QElectroTech. So a project file dragged onto the launcher opens in QElectroTech.
Where things are stored
| What | Where | Needs admin? |
|---|---|---|
| The program, shipped symbols and title blocks | The folder you extracted | No, it's your folder |
| Your own symbols, title blocks, logs | conf\ inside that folder |
No |
| Preferences (the Settings dialog) | Registry, HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\QElectroTech\QElectroTech |
No, it's your own part of the registry |
Your projects (.qet) |
Wherever you save them | No |
Nothing goes into Program Files or the machine-wide part of the registry.
Opening .qet files by double-click
The archive includes register_filetypes.bat, which makes Windows open .qet projects, .elmt symbols and .titleblock templates in this copy of QElectroTech when you double-click them.
It registers them for your account only, which needs no admin rights. This works in builds newer than the git10275 nightly (PR #1149, merged 29 September 2026). In 0.100.0 and in nightlies up to git10275 the script is broken; see Older downloads below.
- Run
register_filetypes.batfrom the top folder. - It should say "Les associations de fichier ont bien ete crees." ("the file associations were created"). Press a key to close it.
The associations point at this folder. If you move or rename it, run register_filetypes.bat again.
Older downloads: in 0.100.0 and nightlies up to git10275, the script doesn't work for a standard user. In the 0.200.1 nightlies it stops at once; in 0.100.0 it tries to write to the machine-wide part of the registry. With those, open a project like this instead:
- use File → Open inside QElectroTech, or
- drag the
.qetfile onto the launcher (Lancer QET_qt6.batorLancer QET.bat).
Don't use Open with → Choose another app → bin\QElectroTech.exe: that starts the program without the launcher, so it can come up without its collection (see above).
Updating
- Extract the new version to a new folder, next to the old one.
- Copy the old folder's
conf\into the new one, so your own symbols and title blocks come with you. Preferences are in the registry, so they carry over by themselves. - If you registered file associations, run
register_filetypes.batin the new folder. - Delete the old folder when you're happy.
Removing it
- If you registered file associations, double-click
qet_uninstall_file_associations.regin the folder and confirm. (In builds newer than git10275 this also removes the per-user entries.) - Delete the folder.
- Optional: remove your preferences. Run
regeditand deleteHKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\QElectroTech. If your company blocksregedit, you can leave the key: it's only settings.
When it still won't run
| Symptom | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| "Windows protected your PC" | The build isn't code-signed | More info → Run anyway, or unblock the download before extracting |
| "This app has been blocked by your system administrator", or nothing happens | The company allows only approved programs (AppLocker or similar) | Only your IT department can allow it. Point them at the release page. |
| The symbol collection is empty | QElectroTech was started as bin\QElectroTech.exe |
Start it with the launcher |
register_filetypes.bat says "…Lancer QET.bat n'a pas été trouvé" |
Bug in nightlies up to git10275 | Use a newer nightly, or open files as described above |
See also
- Downloads — every platform and package
- FAQ — general questions
- Preferences reference — what the settings stored in the registry control
- CLI Reference — the command-line options the launcher uses
Getting Started
🌐 Languages — English · Français · Deutsch
Windows without admin rights — the portable archive, no installer
Guides
Conductors — wire properties, what feeds which export, cables, and hops where wires cross
Wires per terminal — limit the wires on a terminal, list the crowded ones (partly pending)
Printing and exporting — paper, PDF, images, and what each path does differently
Linking elements — master, slave, terminal
PLC modules — I/O tables and linking a wire to a specific point
Using the element editor — drawing tools, saving, checks
Grid size and element size — why symbols aren't all the same scale
Preferences reference — what each settings page does
Keyboard-only control — mouseless QET, and what still needs a mouse
Mouse modifiers — what Shift, Ctrl and Alt change while you drag
3D mouse — SpaceMouse pan, zoom and buttons
Aligning items — snap symbols back to the grid, or line them up
Pictures on a sheet — labels, crop, transparency, what they cost in the file
Arcs and curved wires — the Arc tool, pulling an arc in or out, rounding a corner with a fillet, dashed arcs for lighting layouts
Grouping items — select, move and copy several items as one
Finding your place on a sheet — go to a cell like B13 or 4-B7, keep the headers in sight, show the cell limits, zoom and pan
Drawing faster — place without dragging, the S shortcut bar, command search, gestures
Managing collections — folders, writability, building your own shortlist
Templates — reusable multi-element blocks, and why clicking one does nothing
Search & Replace — bulk property changes
Building a nomenclature query — the BOM/summary table builder
Linking wires across pages — sheet reports
Variables & formulas — %f, %{label}, sequences
Auto-numbering — schemes, sequences, freezing
Terminal strips — strips, levels, bridges
Title block templates — the .titleblock format
Importing EPLAN parts (.edz) — EPLAN Data Portal
DXF import & export — two unrelated features, one format; command-line export and layers
The project database — the in-memory SQLite cache
Development
Automating QET — CLI, XML formats, external tools
CLI Reference — command line usage
JavaScript Scripting — --run, geometry editing, undo
MCP server — let an AI assistant read, verify and edit projects
Connecting an AI assistant — setup for Claude, Copilot, Gemini, Codex, Cursor, LM Studio
Script buttons — stored scripts with an icon, by hand or by an assistant
Live mode — an assistant working in the open project while you watch
Macro recorder — record a task by hand, for an assistant to script
Vision — proposal, under discussion
