Flipping view - correctly

Layout
1

I’d like to know how to flip things correctly. I can’t figure this out - and it’s driving me mad.

I’d like to use SMD components on both sides. When I flip the component to the bottom of the board using F, I lose the object - it disppears. This also happens to through hole parts.

How do I flip my view, preferably while routing traces, so that the top of board disappears, and the bottom of board then appears so I can finish the trace?

“Flipping the view” does nothing but shows me the top in reverse.

Thanks.

2

How about View > Flip Board View?

There’s no hotkey assigned to it by default so you may wish to assign one.

3

This is what I meant by “Flipping the view” - all it does is show the front, but backwards.

4

Works for me. It shows me the board from the back. Footprints, text, etc. are mirrored, except for the dimensions on the User Drawings layer. You may need to adjust the visibility of the F.Cu and B.Cu layers.

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But also I’ve never had issues seeing a trace on the back of the board from the front. Maybe it’s your choice of colours for the layers? Or the visibility selection? I’m on v8, what’s your version?

5

I’m on V8 as well, everything is default. Traces will show no matter what, it’s specifically the SMD device pads that won’t appear.

6

In this front view of the previous board I can see the solder jumper SMD pads which are on the back, so that works here.

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Are you using standard KiCad footprints? You should be able to post a screenshot of what you’re seeing.

7

Maybe you have turned the footprints for the bottom off (accidentally).

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Normally KiCad shows all layers. That is why you see the copper tracks both for the bottom and the top of the PCB at the same time. You see “though” the PCB, and the footprints both on the top and on the bottom are visible at the same time. In the Appearance Manager on the right side you can define your own presets and switch to them, but there is no automatic switching.

Sometimes I think about idea’s for automatically switching to (self defined) presets. Maybe depending on the current active layer, or on the task you are doing, but I can’t come up with a method that would really work well.

8

indeed, that’s the issue. Didn’t even see that in the object list. Thanks!