Schematic/PCB packages in particular seem to take immense pride in paying absolutely no attention whatsoever to the UI standards of the platforms they run on.
Schematic/PCB packages in particular seem to take immense pride in paying absolutely no attention whatsoever to the UI standards of the platforms they run on.
And I'm very thankful that they don't - if they did they would be too cumbersome to use.
Specifically I'm talking about how the standard UI model of MS Windows works this way: Select object, then select operation.
Whereas in CAD this works better as it scales to multiple objects more simply: Select operation, then select object
Schematic/PCB packages in particular seem to take immense pride in paying absolutely no attention whatsoever to the UI standards of the platforms they run on.
And I'm very thankful that they don't - if they did they would be too cumbersome to use.
Specifically I'm talking about how the standard UI model of MS Windows works this way: Select object, then select operation.
Whereas in CAD this works better as it scales to multiple objects more simply: Select operation, then select object
Have you ever tried the PCB Elegance schematic editor? It works with the standard Windows model (noun-verb) and it's not cumbersome to use at all. One can select many objects and modify them all in a single action. One can copy and paste bits of schematic between different windows (as expected of any Windows software). It never bothers the user with a 'clarify selection' pop-up.
Whatever the reason for Kicad's UI quirkiness, it's not because it's necessary.
The general quirkiness of KiCad I am not arguing about, that is something different IMO. e.g. Lack of copy/paste is just a missing feature.
The general quirkiness of KiCad I am not arguing about, that is something different IMO. e.g. Lack of copy/paste is just a missing feature.
Pebkac?? There is a copy/paste, in Schematic and in PCB and in sch lib editor and probably in the footprint editor too, it's been there for years.
The general quirkiness of KiCad I am not arguing about, that is something different IMO. e.g. Lack of copy/paste is just a missing feature.
Pebkac?? There is a copy/paste, in Schematic and in PCB and in sch lib editor and probably in the footprint editor too, it's been there for years.
by copy/paste, I think we all think of something like : open two documents, select one item in a document, do copy, and paste it in the other document. it's been in our computer live for decades, but not in cad softwares and not in kicad.
FWIW I keep commonly used building blocks that I like to reuse in their own sheet with easy to remember names. conn.sch contains routinely used external connections, prog.sch has programming headers, UI.sch includes connections and support circuitry for commonly used displays with I2C pullups etc, and power.sch has various power regulators.
If you copy them to the folder of your new project and create a sheet using one of those names, KiCad says it's found a file with that name and do I want to use it...boom. Delete what you don't need, and you're away.
No where near as clean and neat as copy and paste between projects I grant you, but you can only have one KiCad project open concurrently so that may be more than just a trivial function to add or we'd have it already.
by copy/paste, I think we all think of something like : open two documents, select one item in a document, do copy, and paste it in the other document. it's been in our computer live for decades, but not in cad softwares and not in kicad.No I was thinking of making multiple copies of one section of a schematic or layout.
Documents? It's not a word processor.
If you want to copy stuff from another project, I think you just add the relevant file to your project and then you can copy out of it.
Also because it is text based you can just copy the appropriate text if you open both in a text editor. You can use a difference tool to find the appropriate entries.
I've done it both ways, definitely exists not simple but not a major issue.
I accept it would be useful if you could paste across application boundaries so I will look forward to the day.
Haven't used it, but if it works in the standard way it would require holding the Control key down while clicking on everything you want to change. Then chose the operation to perform.
One mistake and you lose all of your selections and have to start again. Personally I find that cumbersome compared to the non-standard methods used by e.g. Eagle and KiCad.
The clarify selection is an interesting one. In 'standard' Windows packages it can be difficult or impossible to select an object which is behind another object or which is overlapping. That is just KiCad's solution to that particular problem. Maybe PCB Elegance has a better solution to selecting objects which are close together/overlapping.
The general quirkiness of KiCad I am not arguing about, that is something different IMO. e.g. Lack of copy/paste is just a missing feature.
Pebkac?? There is a copy/paste, in Schematic and in PCB and in sch lib editor and probably in the footprint editor too, it's been there for years.by copy/paste, I think we all think of something like : open two documents, select one item in a document, do copy, and paste it in the other document. it's been in our computer live for decades, but not in cad softwares and not in kicad.
but yes there is some obscure mechanism with clic, and "C" to copy, or "M" to move, or right clic for a bloc, well, not what a simple text editor can do. but hey it's free so we cannot complain, just grab your C compiler and make kicad better !
Whereas in CAD this works better as it scales to multiple objects more simply: Select operation, then select object
Whereas in CAD this works better as it scales to multiple objects more simply: Select operation, then select object
You must have never used a standard vector-based image editing program in Windows/OSX/pre-OSX/Linux/et. al. Rubberband select or shift/control select to select multiple objects and then perform action. You're selecting the objects you want to edit and then telling the program what to do with them. This is an industry (graphics design) standard.
?? By definition, if there is no problem at this end there is no Pebkac.
Meanwhile, you're the one who can't copy and paste.
Specifically I'm talking about how the standard UI model of MS Windows works this way: Select object, then select operation.
Whereas in CAD this works better as it scales to multiple objects more simply: Select operation, then select object
Overall I quite like it, once you get your mind wrapped around the Netlist to push from one to the other.
...
Overall, I'll be staying here, because I like open source... It's a great package
Specifically I'm talking about how the standard UI model of MS Windows works this way: Select object, then select operation.
Whereas in CAD this works better as it scales to multiple objects more simply: Select operation, then select objectI guess this is extremely subjective and your idea of 'what is better'.
You're just using your keyboard the whole time like you're almost typing.
It drives me insane
It is my utopia using the keyboard all of the time like typing. One of the annoyances of KiCad for me is having to use the mouse so much for things which I could use the keyboard for. And I don't mean the 'MS Windows way' of keyboard use - that is not pleasant or efficient for me.
You have to draw lines and place the components with a mouse anyway.
In fact, the only time I use my keyboard, is to type messages (on forums ), fill in measures or formulas.
It is my utopia using the keyboard all of the time like typing. One of the annoyances of KiCad for me is having to use the mouse so much for things which I could use the keyboard for. And I don't mean the 'MS Windows way' of keyboard use - that is not pleasant or efficient for me.I guess everyone has his own utopia
Why not than use a mouse only interface? (or as close as possible)
It is my utopia using the keyboard all of the time like typing. One of the annoyances of KiCad for me is having to use the mouse so much for things which I could use the keyboard for. And I don't mean the 'MS Windows way' of keyboard use - that is not pleasant or efficient for me.I guess everyone has his own utopia
Why not than use a mouse only interface? (or as close as possible)
As per Karels post, because a good keyboard interface can be very fast and accurate (once it is learned).