Creating my own Libraries

[chinmoy1955]

Hi everyone, I am facing difficulty in creating my own libraries (symbols and footprints) and filling them up with symbols and footprints from the online global library which is available by default.
Q.1 I have already created a symbol and a footprint library, (MyFootprints.pretty and MySymbols.kicad.symbol) but how do I populate these libraries with data?
Q.2 Can I have different types of symbols and footprints in the same library, for example, can I have discrete semiconductors, switches, connectors all in the same library?
Q.3 How can I copy and paste a library from the default global library to my own library?
I hope my questions are clear, in case of any doubts please let me know.
Thanks in advance.

[retiredfeline]

If you haven’t, read jmk’s FAQ which answers some of your questions:

KiCad 7 & 8 Beginners Guide to Personal Symbol and Footprint Libraries

KiCAD is supplied with extensive Symbol and Footprint (and 3D, not addressed here) libraries. These are fine for simple, initial use, but inflexible due to their being “read-only”. KiCAD also, on installation, creates the default libraries and their paths in the “system/program” area of your system, This means those Kicad default libraries will be overwritten whenever an update or re-installation is made. Because of the above limitations, Personal Libraries are required to store, save and us…

As for Q2, yes you can but it’s like tossing all your belongings in one big bin. You might want to plan some categories. See the FAQ.

[davidsrsb]

@chinmoy1955

from the online global library which is available by default.

What do you mean by this, the default libraries are installed locally?

[Piotr]

@chinmoy1955

but how do I populate these libraries with data?

I open symbol I want to have as a start to make new symbol and after clicking at it in library tree on the left (may be right clicking (can’t check now)) I select Save-As then can select library, change name and I have a copy where I want it.
As I don’t see KiCad libraries (don’t have them in my list) footprints from KiCad library I select by their names and use my file manager (I use FreeCommander) to copy them (footprints are files) into my library. Then (having them in my library) I see them so can select which one is the best, delete the others and start to modify the selected one.

May be you will find some help in what I have written in past:

Directory Organization

Agree. I use only global libraries and I use only symbols and footprints and 3D models from my libraries. All symbols I define myself. Footprints I copy from KiCad libraries and modify a little. Before even trying to design my first KiCad PCB I have checked what are the possibilities to prepare files for documentation I need. And I found being it a problem with KiCad footprints. So I decided to have them defined a little differently (I have Reference and Value at CrtYd layer). I also don’t li…

[paulvdh]

In KiCad the symbol editor and the footprint editor double up as the library management tools. In the symol editor you can copy a symbol from one library to another, but all libraries have to be added to the library table first. KiCad does not search for libraries.

If you have a symbol that is in a schematic only, then:

1. Hover the mouse over it.
2. Press e to edit it’s properties.
3. Press on the Edit Symbol button to load it in the symbol editor.
4. In the Symbol Editor, save it to your new library.

You can also open two instances of the symbol editor and then copy & paste between them.

Reading the manual also helps. If I press on the Help button in the schematic editor, it opens a browser with:
file:///usr/share/doc/kicad/help/en/eeschema.html#symbols-and-symbol-libraries

The same document is also available via:

Schematic Editor | 9.0 | English | Documentation | KiCad

(On the KiCad websites, you can also switch between the documentation of different KiCad versions, and different languages).