StarDestroyer.Net BBS

I'm currently involved in designing a project where I need to created sketches of the geometry of the system involved (specifically, laser beam paths reflected from a mirrored surface, though these are only representative diagrams - I don't need something accurate like a ray-tracing program). I need something which will allow me to draw the system and then insert dimensions for the lengths and angles involved, so long as I can replace the numerals in the dimensions (since these are representative, not accurate sketches) with my own text (preferably allowing the use of Greek letters, though that's hardly crucial).

I've tried doing this with Powerpoint, but it doesn't have dimensioning capabilities and AFAIK I can't use it to make a colored fill for anything that isn't an Autoshape, which I need (since I want the laser beams to have a colored fill, but they have the shape of a trapezoid since they don't impact the mirror at 90 degrees). Solidworks does most of what I need but some of the functions are available only for parts while the fill/hatch commands are available only for drawings, and the transition is giving me some problems (and Solidwork's bias towards 3D parts isn't helping).

Can anyone suggest software for this kind of geometry sketching?

Well, if you're up for paying some money, I suggest you get Adobe Illustrator. It has everything you need for shape & vector based 2D graphics.

AutoCAD?

I've found Corel Draw to be somewhat easier for geometric sketching than Illustrator. If you're not going to be using it for an extended period I think you can download a 30 day trial.

Thanks for the suggestions - I'll see if I can scrounge any of them around the university

There's also Inkscape.