Hi, if I copy a symbol, eg 74LVC1G04 and save it under another name in a private folder, K adds a whole load of other related devices into the same private folder. If I delete them, K deletes the device I’ve just modified as well. What is the purpose of this? By trawling through the .lib file with Notepad I find a line that starts with ‘alias’. If I delete this line all the other devices disappear, like I want. Is there another way of achieving this that’s less of a hack?
AFAIK in 5.1 you cannot avoid bringing across the ALIAS lines. But you can remove them in the symbol editor. And by editing the .lib file as you have found.
Could you tell me how you get that screen up in the symbol editor, please?
BTW, in all versions up to 5.1.x aliases in the symbol editor list are italicized. So, in this screenshot (v5.1.9, Win10)
The highlighted 74CBTLV3257 is not italicized therefor it is not an alias. But all the ones above it and the two last ones are italicized therefor they are all aliases. Note, this list doesn’t give any indication what the parent symbol is for any of those aliases. But if you load a symbol by double clicking on an alias, the list will jump and highlight the parent symbol. For example, if I double click on the alias right above the highlight (74AHCT595), the list jumps and the symbol named 74HC595 is loaded.
Using aliases allows the symbols to share the same graphics (body shape, pin number/name/arrangement, etc.) while having different names and other pieces of documentation (description, datasheet link, etc.). This actually makes maintenance a little easier. If (for example) it is found that one of the pins is named incorrectly for the 74*595 symbols, only one symbol needs to be changed and verified. If they were all separate symbols then each and every one would need to be evaluated and corrected if necessary. The alias system for v6 has gotten an overhaul, but since I haven’t played with v6 yet I don’t know the new system yet.
Thanks guys. Now I’ve got it
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In general don’t be afraid to explore menus. Just be careful with buttons or entries that say Save, Delete, Buy, Launch, Explode, and such. 
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