I have my layout all done and am creating the various fabrication and assembly files.
If I select File > Plot, and then click Generate Drill Files…, I am take to the the Generate Drill Files dialog.
If I set Map File Format to PDF and click Generate Map File and then open up the PDF, all I see is a table of all the different drill sizes used by my layout and the various representative symbols for each drill size.
However, if I set Map File Format to Gerber and click Generate Map File and then open up the Gerber in Gerbview for example, I get this same table with all the different drill sizes used by my layout with the various representative symbols for each drill size in the upper left corner and I also get the outline of my PCB with all the drill size symbols placed at all the correct drill locations.
I am wondering if this is a bug, or by design, or am I missing something? I would have expected that the PDF version would look the same as the Gerber version, just in a different file format.
It’s not a real biggie because of course I can print the Gerber version to PDF, it was just an unexpected result.
Maybe it has to do with the fact that the KiCAD dialog doesn’t give you a way to set the PDF page size? In my case, the PCB data is located a good distance to the right from where it wants to put the drill chart. I used an A2 page size and the upper right corner of the drill chart is at 0, 0 and the lower left corner of my PCB is at around 400mm, 300mm.
