KiCad 6 is coming! (has arrived!!)

[james_s]

The difficulty with putting graphics on copper in KiCad is something I've never understood. I see no logical reason to allow it in silkscreen and not copper, the layers are handled the same way.

[futureshocked]

Hi all,

I have spent the last two days updating the article.

There’s still work to do, but want to:

    Let you know there’s a lot of new content as suggested by the contributors in this discussion topic.
    To thank you for helping me make the article as complete as possible.

More to come in a few days.

[futureshocked]

James, you can set colors (including the background) to whatever you want. I went with the default.

[2N3055]

Is object selection in EEschema fixed so it doesn't move selection automatically when you drag select?

[Karel]

On a more serious note: it looks like a lot of interface changes have occurred, I'll have to see how they feel in-person.  I really hope eeschema's background colour hasn't changed to grey as the screenshots suggest.

I would assume it's configurable. The default in the older versions is blinding white, I always change it to black first thing after installing, I'd be shocked (and really annoyed) if they took away the ability to customize colors.

You can set whatever color you want in V5.
I don't like white but I also don't like a dark background for the schematic editor. So I set it to the same as Eagle: RGB 238, 238, 206.
It looks old fashioned but it's perfect for me, no eyestrain anymore.

[thinkfat]

Is object selection in EEschema fixed so it doesn't move selection automatically when you drag select?

Not sure what you're referring to - there is in V5 eeschema a specific behavior, that when you select an area, it automatically goes into drag/move mode. Is that what you're referring to? If yes, that's been changed (fixed?). It's now slightly less convenient to move parts of the schematic around during cleanup. You need to hit "m" to start moving the selection.

[2N3055]

Is object selection in EEschema fixed so it doesn't move selection automatically when you drag select?

Not sure what you're referring to - there is in V5 eeschema a specific behavior, that when you select an area, it automatically goes into drag/move mode. Is that what you're referring to? If yes, that's been changed (fixed?). It's now slightly less convenient to move parts of the schematic around during cleanup. You need to hit "m" to start moving the selection.

Yes ,that is what I was referring to. Thank you for the answer!!

I understand what you are saying, but that also made it inconsistent with all other tools in the world and PCBnew itself in how it treats mouse behaviour. It was easier to move and infuriating for everything else..

Anyways, that is, for me, good news. Once 6.0 is released,I might try doing some simpler projects in Kicad to see how am I going to get along with it..

[futureshocked]

Hmm, I am not sure what you mean. Could you clarify so I can do a test for you?

[futureshocked]

Interesting new features! However, I hope the limited naming scheme for bus signals will be changed into a more practical one. The current bus[0..n] is quite cumbersome in most cases. No way to create an SPI bus with comprehensible signal names, for example.

This is supported, but I don't think the documentation has been updated yet. The old syntax is still supported, and it's also possible to do something like SRAM{RW CS ACK A[0..16] D[0..16]}
[/quote]

This is something that I find difficult to find information about. Is there any information you can provide to help me fill in this stub in the article? (https://techexplorations.com/blog/kicad/kicad-6-review-new-and-improved-features/#t-1611032693203)

[Warhawk]

On a more serious note: it looks like a lot of interface changes have occurred, I'll have to see how they feel in-person.  I really hope eeschema's background colour hasn't changed to grey as the screenshots suggest.

I would assume it's configurable. The default in the older versions is blinding white, I always change it to black first thing after installing, I'd be shocked (and really annoyed) if they took away the ability to customize colors.

You can set whatever color you want in V5.
I don't like white but I also don't like a dark background for the schematic editor. So I set it to the same as Eagle: RGB 238, 238, 206.
It looks old fashioned but it's perfect for me, no eyestrain anymore.

Just for inspiration below is my color scheme. I downloaded it somewhere from github.

[phil from seattle]

Impressive review.  Thanks to Peter for doing it.  Kicad 6 looks to be far better than I initially thought.

So, the million dollar question - is it stable enough to switch to full time?  Guess I need to get it and see for myself.

[gsocker]

Interesting new features! However, I hope the limited naming scheme for bus signals will be changed into a more practical one. The current bus[0..n] is quite cumbersome in most cases. No way to create an SPI bus with comprehensible signal names, for example.

This is supported, but I don't think the documentation has been updated yet. The old syntax is still supported, and it's also possible to do something like SRAM{RW CS ACK A[0..16] D[0..16]}

This is something that I find difficult to find information about. Is there any information you can provide to help me fill in this stub in the article? (https://techexplorations.com/blog/kicad/kicad-6-review-new-and-improved-features/#t-1611032693203)
[/quote]
I had to digging for this one, they were introduced quite a while ago : https://github.com/KiCad/kicad-doc/blob/d27c4009275d2801da932cf0d0dfdccd4448ed58/src/eeschema/eeschema_schematic_creation_and_editing.adoc#wires-buses-labels-power-ports

Edit:Fix link

[futureshocked]

Interesting new features! However, I hope the limited naming scheme for bus signals will be changed into a more practical one. The current bus[0..n] is quite cumbersome in most cases. No way to create an SPI bus with comprehensible signal names, for example.

This is supported, but I don't think the documentation has been updated yet. The old syntax is still supported, and it's also possible to do something like SRAM{RW CS ACK A[0..16] D[0..16]}

I have just updated the article with information on the new bus capabilities.

[futureshocked]

Some bugs found right after I downloaded the latest nightly PPA release:

1. Footprint editor will not display grid correctly.
2. Schematic library conversion gets the library lost.

I didn't test further before removing it. I'll wait for its final release.

Would be really cool if you could raise issues here: https://gitlab.com/kicad/code/kicad/-/issues

[futureshocked]

In reading the article, I get the sense that this is more an internal change (S expressions uber alles) and some visual candy.  Now that I've got all the obscure aspects memorized, time to change! Hopefully it will be easy.

It doesn't look like they put effort into simplifying the libraries - it took me a while to figure it all out but is way more convoluted than it needs to be.  Especially if you want to distribute a kicad design. There really needs to be a button that packages up all the lib elements for distribution. Something that Eagle does automatically since like 2005. I find missing symbols and footprints in all sorts of Kicad files out there. Annoying to have to chase them down, if you even can. Still haven't found the Pico's USB connector symbol.

I also hope they made managing design revisions easier but it doesn't look like they did. Again, something that is trivially easy in Eagle.

It seems that in KiCad 6, the schematic and layout files will contain all symbols and footprints. No dependencies on external libraries. When you share the project, all symbols and footprints will travel along. Also, the main KiCad window has a function under the File menu to create a ZIP archive of the project (which you can share with others).

[futureshocked]

Impressive review.  Thanks to Peter for doing it.  Kicad 6 looks to be far better than I initially thought.

So, the million dollar question - is it stable enough to switch to full time?  Guess I need to get it and see for myself.

Well... I haven't had any work lost while playing with the nightly build. Only various annoying issues that I have reported them as issues for fixing. The file management and libraries look solid.

I am mindful that the program changes daily, so I work on copies of my projects.

I would wait a bit longer for serious work though. KiCad devs are careful, but it only takes one bad commit to break something important.

[TheNewLab]

It HERE!!!
At least with my update on Mint Linux OS. It just downloaded it, after asking to change the direct repo link.

 Thought I was just getting some bug fixes, although I have not yet looked at it.

[bson]

Another excellent new feature is the ability to drag a footprint - and have the P&S router drag the traces connected to it.  Makes it much less work to scoot a footprint over a little.

[SiliconWizard]

Another excellent new feature is the ability to drag a footprint - and have the P&S router drag the traces connected to it.  Makes it much less work to scoot a footprint over a little.

Sounds great!

[nigelwright7557]

While kicad is generally ok and has good libraries I did spot a huge clanger in their software.
If I try to layout a pcb it just puts the pcb parts in a line across the top of the pcb.
This is a real pain.
I want the parts laid out as they were in schematic with associated components next to each other !

With kicads way I have to move all the parts onto the pcb then work out what should be close to what !
What a useless pile of rubbish.
Still you pay your money (or not) and take your choice.

kicads way is maybe ok for half a dozen components but for something bigger just plain stupid.

[retiredfeline]

I want the parts laid out as they were in schematic with associated components next to each other !

That's what happens now, the positions mirror those in the schematic. Your observation is out of date.

[thinkfat]

[nigelwright7557]

I want the parts laid out as they were in schematic with associated components next to each other !

That's what happens now, the positions mirror those in the schematic. Your observation is out of date.

I just downloaded latest version and thats how it did it.

Nearly as sensible as the dark red sheet layout on black !

[retiredfeline]

Install the schematic locations plugin and use it. It'll probably be standard behaviour in V6.

Nobody pays any attention to the sheet header in Pcbnew anyway but you can change the colour.

[Monkeh]

What a useless pile of rubbish.
Still you pay your money (or not) and take your choice.

Yes, we've all already seen that any software you didn't write is crap. How dare anyone attempt to write something else and not have the same priorities or preferences as you.