I have run into a very annoying KiCad bug multiple times now, and am surprised that I cannot find any references to it via Google. Have others encountered this? Am I doing something wrong?
It happens while I am entering a new schematic. At some point, apparently when I add a new type of IC for the first time, Eeschma messes up multiple other ICs which are already in the schematic: It changes their value, footprint, and datasheet reference to that of the part which I just added! The symbol library reference, and the graphical symbol on the sheet, remain intact.
At least that is when I believe it occurs. I have had this happen at least half a dozen times, in three different projects, but never noticed it immediately at the part addition, but only slightly later. Going back via "Undo" will not repair the mess; it needs to be fixed manually, which can be quite tedious when many ICs are affected. Not all existing ICs on the sheet are renamed, but if one IC type gets messed with, all its instances on the sheet are affected. I have only seen this happen to ICs, never to passives.
Given that I have observed this multiple times, and that it is a really annoying problem, I would have expected to find it mentioned on the Web -- but have come up empty. Any idea what might be wrong there? I am using KiCad 5.1.9-1 under Windows 10, 64 bit.
I don't know how you copied over the old sheets, but is some sort of linking going on, such that the file appears in more than one place and editing any link changes the original?
I've had issues like that when placing multiple units of a 74hc14 as well. Do you use hierarchical sheets? Are multiple sheets pointing to the same actual schematic file?
I don't know how you copied over the old sheets, but is some sort of linking going on, such that the file appears in more than one place and editing any link changes the original?
I just copied one of the .sch files (from the original hierarchical design) into the folder which KiCad had created when I started a new project. Renamed the .sch file to the new project name. KiCad saw it as part of the new project and was happy to work with it.
I did not notice any interaction with the original .sch or project, and given how I created the new file, can't imagine that KiCad still knows about the connection. I looked into the .sch text file and don't see any reference to the old project there either.I've had issues like that when placing multiple units of a 74hc14 as well. Do you use hierarchical sheets? Are multiple sheets pointing to the same actual schematic file?
As mentioned in an earlier response, the original project was indeed a hierarchical one. But most of the affected schematic sheets did not exist in multiple instances there, just once.
I do have one sheet in that large project which is indeed instanced three times, and it also got messed up at some point. But several other sheets which only exist once were also affected by the mix-up, and that happened before I had even created the multiple-instance sheet. So this is bug does not seem tied to multiple-instance sheets.
I do have one sheet in that large project which is indeed instanced three times
This is a completely new _project_, and you copied previously-used schematics into it, and likely instantiated those sheets into a new top-level sheet?
Is instancing the same sheet file more than once, supported in kicad?
I think designators (eg. C19, R20) are embedded in sheets, which wouldn't work well if the higher level layer thought it was managing truely independent files/sheets. (I know you said that problem occurred outside this context, but I would be interesting to know).
Hard to tell, the following is based on my own experience but as a rule of thunb, never edit a file in standalone mode, always use the project.pro. Except if it's not a hierarchycal file.
If you copy a project in order to modify it, copy the entire project. Keep the subsheets into the same directory as the .pro file.
When a sub file is created from the top file, a time stamp "U" is written inside the .sch file, making the file unique, Ref, Des and other fields are saved accordingly:
[...]
Hope that it will help
PS have a look to this link: https://forum.kicad.info/t/purpose-of-unit-path-entries-in-schematic/8254
I do have one sheet in that large project which is indeed instanced three times
Is instancing the same sheet file more than once, supported in kicad?
I've also recently had the exact issue described in the first post, in KiCad 5.1.9 under W10. I've used KiCad for years across maybe fifty board designs, and I've only had this happen recently.
I don't remember the exact sequence of events, but I think I added a dual op-amp (multipart symbol) to the top level schematic, after which all ICs in the top level had their name and footprint fields replaced with those of the op-amp.
I've also recently had the exact issue described in the first post, in KiCad 5.1.9 under W10. I've used KiCad for years across maybe fifty board designs, and I've only had this happen recently.
I don't remember the exact sequence of events, but I think I added a dual op-amp (multipart symbol) to the top level schematic, after which all ICs in the top level had their name and footprint fields replaced with those of the op-amp.
Ah, thank you -- good to have reassurance that I am not the only one who fell into that trap. I am encouraged to try and find a systematic way to reproduce this, and file a proper bug report. (I have tried before, but could not pinpoint the problem. It only seems to occur when one is not looking... )