9.0 Gerber file generation changes and JLCPCB

Layout Gerbers (GerbView)
1

Hello! I’ve recently updated KiCad to 9.x and am wondering if anybody might be able to help me understand what the changes in the gerber file generation page map to from version 8.x.

The instructions from JLCPCB show these settings for generating gerbers:

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240722041280×873 153 KB

however after updating to KiCad version 9, when I export gerbers I see:

Screenshot 2025-03-04 at 7.47.56 PM
Screenshot 2025-03-04 at 7.47.56 PM1920×1302 144 KB

So some examples (and fodder for Google) of things changed:

  1. Warning about “Global solder mask minimum”
  2. No more option for “Tent vias”
  3. No more “Plot footprint values” option
  4. “Indicate DNP on fabrication layers” is new

Any advice on how these options should be set would be super useful and very much appreciated!

2

Personally, I always use the JLC export plugin. That way I don’t have to mess with these settings

3
  1. I don’t know what you mean, this is not new as you can see…
  2. Each via has its own soldermask tenting option in v9. They are and have been tented with mask by default and usually should be, most users didn’t need the option anyways.
  3. Hide the Value texts from the board if you don’t want them.
  4. Yes, it’s new and you don’t need to do anything about it if you haven’t felt before you need something like that. Without it everything is like before.
4

Thanks a ton for the reply - re: #1 and the warning being there before, you are of course totally correct and I’m sorry I missed that.

#2 makes sense and I appreciate it, I never changed the tent setting in the past and am not familiar enough with what the setting controls to be able to easily understand if it’s omission means “it’s now disabled” for example. But this makes sense!

#3 This one I was / am slightly confused about how exactly it works, just because in the past I swear even if I, for example, moved “values” to the soldermask silkscreen layer and made them “visible”, unless I specifically clicked “plot footprint values” they weren’t output in the gerber files. In the end this was enough enough for me to test myself though by just generating the gerbers and viewing them in the gerber field, and regardless if I’m hallucinating the previous condition, as you say it appears now that if I make the values visible and move them to the soldermask silkscreen layer(s) they will be rendered out in the gerbers.

#4, for now I’ll ignore.

Thanks again!

5

I think you mean silkscreen.

BTW JLCPCB does not really require Protel filenames, or forbid X2 extensions, but if you prefer to stick to their recommendation, that’s not a problem.

6

I did indeed. My bad. Thank you!