I have come across a very veird and annoying problem. I am trying to create new footprints for my personal design but the round pad icon devoted to the creation of new pads only generates rectangular pads. I have tried several times to set the proper properties with the pads predefinite properties tool setting, but as soon as I click again the round pad icon, it produces only rectangular forms. Probably there is some action to be done I am not takng into consideration.
I am a Kicad beginner and I am self-learning using version 9.
Help would be much appreciated.
Open Footprint Editor.
Go to the top menu and click:
Preferences ->Pad Properties
In the Default Pad Properties dialog:
Set Pad shape to Circular.
Adjust any other defaults (size, drill, etc.) as needed.
Click OK.
The toolbar “round pad” icon does not guarantee circular pads — it’s just a quick pad placement tool.
Always verify your default pad settings if you’re seeing the wrong shape. Here is also a list of 10 must-have tools for PCB designing.
As bidrohini already mentioned. Footprint Editor / Place / Add Pad just places a pad with the “default” properties. And these default properties are modified in some other way. So you can first place a square THT pad, modify it to be a round SMT pad by editing it’s properties. Then right click on the pad and select Copy Pad Properties to Default. After that, all new pads you place will be round SMT pads until the default is changed again to something else.
In a similar way, bulk editing of an already existing selection of pads can be done with Paste Default Pad Properties to Selected.
standard pitfall: The “default Pad properties for Add a Pad Tool” dialog (probably the thing you meaned with “predefinite properties tool”) works only correct if the footprint component type (in the footprint properties dialog) is correctly set before.
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Thanks to all who answered my post. Unfortunately, by following the proposed procedures I could not reach a solution, the new pads . The created pad continued to remain stubbornly rectangular. Untill in one of my many tries I strangely got a stabile round shape. I obtained this result by opening the footprint editor and by double clicking in the window area. In the new opening area named “footprint properties” I entered “through holes” at place of “SMD”. By doing that, magically, the toolbar “round pad icon" started to produce steadily round pads whose properties were those I already set before with the upper icon “pads default properties”. Finally, I could get rid of the hated rectangular shape.
Why not place a rectangular pad, edit its properties . . .
. . . then when you have it as you want, simply duplicate it and place more ?
High RaptorUK
According to my successful tests your suggestion provides several different patterns to choose and I think it does not hide any collateral effect as usually drugs do. The board project I am working with is for me the first one after several boards realized with wires and solder. This first board will take to me much more time than the manual wired version because I am slowly self learning this CAD system, but after learning it well I expect the opposite to happen. Thank you for your help.
nodar10
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My 3 cents to your learning.
I’m using KiCad since 2017. I’m using only my own symbols and my own footprints but I don’t remember ever using ‘Add Pad’ (icon or manu) function so I have never struggled with the default pad added by it.
Whenever I want to create a new footprint I start from copying (Save As…) the other one being enough close to what I need. Then when I need more pads I just copy one of already existing. That way I avoid defining all pad properties from scratch.
@Piotr I suggest you put some time & effort into how these Default Pad Properties work. It’s a quite easy and useful way to add to your toolbox for modifying a whole lot of pads quickly.
I’m reading this thread without KiCad at hand so I’m not sure if only Default obtained by save pad properties as default is considered by posters or also some configuration default I don’t know if even exists.
When I modify footprint I always modify one pad then save its parameters as default and then select all others (or half of them in TQFP like footprints) and Paste default properties on them.
I don’t know if these defaults (or may be some other defaults) will be used when Add Pad will be used as I have never added pad that way and don’t expect to have such need ever.
Yes, it’s the same. The settings saved to the default, will also be used when adding a new pad.
Господин Пётр, я действительно впечатлён вашими навыками, приобретёнными всего за 8 лет работы в KiCad.
You should have learned, that Piotr is living in a different footprint-universe.
Господин Пётр,
Sorry for my previous post edited in Cyrillic characters, due to your veird choice of a Russian nickname. You do not know who I am. In my first post I presented myself as a Kicad beginner. Anyway, thank you for your advices.
I have received many more replies to my help request than i could expect. They solved my problem. This means that this Kicad forum is very active and effective, thanks to the several experts who materially produce the answers to the various questions. The experts know the matter so well that in comparison with the forum beneficiaries they appear to reside at least in a different galaxy. But I think they are human too. I can now procede further in the development of my board, until a new problem will again cruelly hilight my limits. Thank to all.
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@bidrohini why did you post a link to a 4 year old article that says the current KiCad release is 5.1.8? I suspect the rest of the article is similarly out of date and unhelpful, unlike your answer to the OP’s question, which was to the point.