I’m new to KiCad, coming from a decade of EAGLE. I installed Kicad 5.1 and started reading a book on Kicad. I opened a pic programmer example according to the book. After that, trying to open other projects I downloaded from git to follow the book resulted in no library found. I tried out another computer, same, after I opened the pic programmer, I remember being asked about library for the first time thing and just selected default.
Today I discovered that I probably have no libraries set up. I found many library files in the install folder but just not here:
So do I actually have the library folder set up correctly? The file path at the bottom is indeed correct. Whenever I try to open a design I downloaded such as this, I get warning that parts were not found or need updates. Even after that I get some question marks on parts. I’m pretty worried that if kicad has such issue with library and parts, I can’t use it.
Coming from EAGLE, both symbols and footprints are in one library, in XML language, so it’s easy to understand and skip through things you don’t want by folding. The kicad .lib file seems a complete language so there’s no way to fold or hide things I don’t want. I am guessing the path contains only symbol libraries. So I’m just lost. Will anyone be kind enough to point to me whether my library set up is wrong?
I remember the complaint about missing libraries included an atmel.lib that I indeed don’t have.
According to the sch file header. the pic programmer demo has EESchema version 4 and the Anavi project has EESchema version 2. Is the project too old to open on kicad 5.1? Where are the big leaps between versions I should look out for? Any sample project I can try to open with kicad 5.1?
Something has gone wrong. On Windows the installer lets you install the libraries, did you install them? When you started eeschema for the first time, did you continue with the default library table?
You have added a project specific library to the global table. The Library Path has KIPRJMOD in it which means that you have to copy the library to each project separately even though it’s in the global library table.
I’ll delete my installation and reinstall, this time take screen shot of everything. What is a library table? I don’t understand the KIPRJMOD part. I’ll read how library is managed. I really wish the files are XML, which is so much easier to digest by the hierarchy.
Don’t delete your installation, you can just re-install the same version. But you don’t even need to do that if you already have the libraries. Check out D:\Program Files\KiCad\share\kicad\library. If you have .lib and .dcm files there you already have the libraries installed – all you have to do is reset the library tables.
You don’t need to read or handle the internals of the files, so there’s no need for XML.
Your questions about library tables and KIPRJMOD should be answered in the linked FAQ article. If not, ask for details.
After following @eelik’s advice to check to make sure the libraries are installed, it might help if you clear out the program settings (program settings aren’t touched by the installer nor the uninstaller). To do this navigate to %APPDATA% in your Windows Explorer window. With KiCad not running, delete (or rename) the kicad folder. Now the next time you start KiCad it will be as if you freshly installed it for the first time on your computer. Follow the prompts when starting KiCad for loading the default library tables.
Great! Thanks! I already uninstalled it. I have a pretty fast NVme drive so it’s OK. During the new install, which is what I’m doing right now, I see there is one unselected option to set environment variables and I selected it. All libraries are selected. I can see the libraries and 3D models being installed.
Here is what I have after starting the program and trying to manage the libraries for the first time:
I have to delete it since I’m noob and only am allowed one image.
After that I can see all the libraries (Assuming those are all):
I never attempted to manage library before opening the first project in my last install. Was that the reason the project library replaced the global library? I’m kind of afraid of opening any projects now.
Now it looks like what it should be. Don’t be afraid, they won’t be overwritten by accident.
The anavi-light project can be opened with KiCad version 5.1. It requires remapping symbols. If you accepted that, closed the dialog and saw symbols in the schematic, everything is OK. Now you can navigate to Project Specific Libraries tab in the Manage Symbol Libraries dialog and see that the libraries which are inside the project have been added there.
But what is that pic programmer project, is it available somewhere?
The pic programmer is under demo folder that came with the installation. It was mentioned in the book I’m reading. Maybe my mistake was not running the library management stuff before opening a project.
Here’s something that popped up during opening the anavi project:
It seems that kicad wants me to draw a symbol for it or something. I just selected OK and the project opened. I’ll take a look around to see if there is any issue. Kicad still complained about all the libraries it didn’t find to open the project. Not sure why the project needs an atmel.lib although I don’t see any parts made by atmel, just a few ICs with I2C interface. I like how I can just click a layer on the side bar to bring it to the front. In my EAGLE 6.6 I have to open layers, find the layer, unselect it and ok. Then to display it, I have to do it all over again. This feature alone is a good start. Also the book I’m reading pointed out the net names are marked on traces (well some of them, those that are not too short to mark net names I guess). It’s another thing I don’t like about EAGLE. You have to select a tool to inspect net names. Maybe they fixed these in the latest EAGLE but I wouldn’t pay $600 a year to learn a commercial language that I can’t speak for free unless I pay. Imagine you have to pay to speak your native language otherwise all your leaned knowledge becomes greyed out because you can’t speak it without paying.
I think I’m out of the woods now. Hope to ask more meaningful questions from now on. I like what I see. A decade spent with EAGLE and I can finally see myself not using it as much in the future.
These things are just small “problems” which come from v4 -> v5 project migration. You don’t have to care about them or draw anything yourself. The missing atmel etc. don’t matter. I don’t know why those lib names are in the schematic file. They are not used in the project anyway.
As I said, as long as the result in the schematic looks OK it is OK.
Thanks eelik. I followed your suggestion not to delete my installation on the other computer I encountered the same problem. Seems to be working now.
Interesting choices of USB hub ICs in the global library, no CY7C65632 but yes to FE1.1s. I guess it’s a nod to the DIY community but if FE1.1s comes with more documentation and US distributor, I might have given it a try. I’ve seen it everywhere though, inside a hub that Intel hands out to some competition participants, Adafruit’s Manhattan brand 7-port hubs, no-name hubs I bought off the net and dissected after it died.
Mostly we can’t talk about choices. The libraries are made and maintained by volunteers, so whatever someone happens to need may be included. The library maintenance team has too much work and too little manpower, so not even all contributions made by other volunteers can be included.
That’s understandable. Thanks for telling me what’s going on. I’ll have to carefully inspect parts anyway. Good thing printing PCB has become so cheap that mistakes have become cheap
