Can we have component references on both sides of the PCB?

Layout
1

I’m wondering if it’s possible to have a component reference on both the top as well as the bottom side.

Reason for asking: in my case the component reference on the top side will be hidden once the component is placed on the PCB due to lack of space. On the bottom side, however, there’s plenty of space.

One could say to just use the bottom side then, which is kind of OK. But while stuffing the PCB it would be handy to have the component reference on the top side too…

I’ve tried to use the Duplicate feature (Ctrl-D) in PcbNew but that doesn’t seem to do the job…

2

You need to modify the footprint and add text to the other side of the pcb. Set value of the text to %R and pcbnew will automatically substitute it with reference when footprint is placed on the board.

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3

Thanks for the suggestion. I’m trying to avoid modifying footprints since then I’m out of sync with possible future (git) updates.

I thought/hoped the Duplicate feature would be able do something about this issue (having component references on both sides) but for now I’ll stick by just flipping the component reference to the bottom side in stead of the top side.

4

Put the modified footprints in a personal library.

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5

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