Point 2 is a known bug in 5.1.5. I think it is already fixed in the pre release but am not able to check right now.
I can confirm that Issue#2 is fixed in the Pre-5.1.6
Doesn’t let me (I guess I would need a separate account for that system?)
In any case, a suggestion for @Seth_h who seems to be the developer assigned to the issue.
As the main issue is the thickness of the lines, then:
- You could use a look similar (even identical) to the ratsnest lines — in any case, a fixed thickness (very low)
- As a related aspect: you coud consider the grid size; for example, if you rather keep it thick, then the grid size is really what defines what “too thick” is. I would perhaps suggest that more than 1/4 of the grid size constitutes “too thick”
A (temporary?) workaround for the zones is to always set the grid to very coarse when drawing zones and board outlines. I’m a european guy so I always want boards in whole millimeters anyway.
I also noticed Issue 2 it’s indeed a bit irritating. I was confident though that it would be fixed without me complaining about it. (I already complain too much). So, I’m glad to hear that it is part of the continuous improvement of KiCad.
The old way used to draw 2 or 3 track segments on those junctions which is also sub optimal.
The reason it happens this way is very likely because it is missed during testing, and this is also the workaround: As long as all your tracks are on the grid it does not happen.
So if you’re working with V5. It helps if you route the whole board on the same grid. The Interactive router does not care about your grid, it just makes sure clearance values are met. It may help to ensure that:
trackwdith + clearance == grid.
Also, if you ignore the ugly lines (I know, it’s hard) then, as soon as the Interactive Router bumps something else into the ugly slanted tracks and pulls them straight again. I use this trick as it’s often quicker to drag a via or track segment around to clean up neighboring tracks than to straighten the track itself.
I normally see it more like “I’m from Planet Earth, so of course I want things in whole milimeters” 
Kidding/ranting aside … Setting a thick grid as a workaround is only useful for certain situations. If you see the link above, posted by eelik, the author there points out a situation where the misfeature truly gets in the way.
The thing is: you cannot always rely on zones being on a coarse grid. Even for the board’s outline, your board may need to mechanically fit on something that does not fit in a coarse grid.
Regarding item (2):
That’s not correct. It still can happen. As long as the trace is thicker than twice the grid size, your cursor can fall within a point inside the trace that is not the centerline of the trace.
- You can set the transparency of that line to make the things behind it easier to see when dragging the zone (I
KiCAD!)
Cheers!
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This is indeed an interesting workaround! Thanks for pointing that out (already set opacity to 50% for Aux items!!!).
However, it doesn’t work that well (please point out if I’m missing something). For example, if I want to make a zone that covers exactly two adjacent pins in an SMT chip where the pads are rounded rectangles, it is hard-ish to click at the exact place; when the “translucent” line overlaps with the solder mask (at least with the default color), the line becomes practically white, and completely hides the crosshairs that help you place the polygon’s vertex at the right location).
Also, one of the issues caused by this “misfeature” is that when you want to complete the zone or pollygon, you need to click exactly on the first vertex. But then, the line that is already drawn is not translucent (as your second image above shows), so again you cannot see the marker that tells you that you are exactly at the position of the first vertex.
Still, thanks so much for pointing out this workaround!! I also love KiCAD, of course, but I certainly love this forum!!!
- If you right click on your last point you can select “Close zone outline” to place the last line, no fishing for that last spot anymore
- I do not use the default colors unfortunately so I cannot test this, but as you see in the screnshot, it looks quite ok, maybe you don’t need to make such an exact placement if you can play with the parameters of the zone itself (clearance, min. width , etc. etc.)
Man I love this forum!!!
I was not familiar with this feature — thanks for pointing it out!
Let’s say that I’m sold on the low-urgency to fix this “misfeature” (the thick lines when drawing the zone). I still claim that it is still a misfeature and would be good if it gets fixed — not all users know of this workaround, and won’t necessarily stumble into this thread to learn about it.
Again, my suggestion for a fix is: just make the white line thin (e.g., exactly like the ratsnest lines look).
Or you can just double click.
I seem to recall double-clicking (not sure for creating zones; more like when drawing rectangles, either on the silk or edge layers, or on Fab or CrtYrd when creating footprints). But I thought that the cursor needed to be exactly at the position of the initial point when creating a closed polygon. (in all those cases, the “circled crosshair” appears when the cursor is at the correct position)
You can double click on the last point, there’s no need to go back to the first point. See for example the der.ule’s screenshot - instead of opening the context menu you can double click.
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Does not compute.
On my KiCad V 5.1.5-52549c5~86~ubuntu18.04.1 Zones are drawn as polygons, which are always closed.
On the Edge.Cuts layer I can apparently choose between lines or a polygon.
Sure. When I said "I thought the cursor needed to be … " I didn’t mean to argue or disbelieve your statement. It was more like a “historical fact” about my understanding of how the thing works…
Just before I read this I wrote a quite long part on opacity settings today, and some ways in which ergonomics of viewing stuff in Pcbnew could be improved. It’s in:
We don’t argue in this forum After der.ule’s and your messages I thought you didn’t know that a polygon can be closed by double clicking on the last point (without going back to the first point) which is identical to Close Zone Outline action.
BTW, there’s no Close Zone Outline for non-zone polygons, but double click works.
Please move on, folks, there’s nothing (arguing) to see here.
No, of course. I completely agree with you! :‒)
That is too easy, an takes away from the excitement of finding “the secret menu” ! 
(still not arguing … )
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