How to change the color depth/highlight width of the Highlighted Net in the schematics?
I do not know of a way to change the width of the highlight.
Highlight color and depth of color can be changed in Preferences > Preferences > Schematic Editor > Colors, but first you need to convert your Theme from Read-only to Read/write.
To convert your theme to read/write; open the Theme box (top centre), select New Theme, type a name in the box, click OK.
Whatever theme you were using will now be still in use, but with a new name and is now read/write.
Click on the appropriate color chip and change the color to what you wish.
Thanks, jmk, yes I know about color themes settings and Iāve done that but this is a different thing, to make the highlight more obvious/clear. The only way now as I see it is to make the complete schematics more ādullā (set wires and bus colors to some kind of grey) and then also edit the symbols in similar colors. I will try that until further onā¦
Two Videos
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Showing Color-Theme (Black) with tweaked Highlight-Color and very noticeable Highlight selection
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Showing changing Color-Theme (the Jason file) using a little app but, thatās not important - you can use any Text-Editorās Search&Replace or can use Python CLI in the Schematic to run a little Code to make the changeā¦ Need to Quit the Kicad and Re-Open it to see the Resulting Changeā¦ shown in video
Hi @BlackCoffee
I think The Swede is looking for a way to increase the line width as well as the color. I found, using the default, light theme, makes highlighting not all that noticeable compared to using a dark theme.
I use a modified āwDarkā theme, which, like yours, gives an easily seen highlighted net. Note the magenta color for highlighting:
Yes, I know that but, rather than detail all aspects of an Answer, I prefer to give enough Info to get the Curious person to do some Homework and Trial/Error.
Meaning, showing the Edit of the Jason file, I would hope for OP to explore and discover the Line-width changing abilityā¦
Thus, OP/User can use Text-Editor, Python-Code, homemade App, CLIā¦ to make the changesā¦
Added: Highlight-Width changed (did not change Opacity). You can see the Faintly colored shape around the lineā¦
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Sorry @BlackCoffee , It is past my bed time. I should have sat on my fingers tonight and not replied 'till tomorrow after Iād looked carefully at your above comments.
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Thanks, Coffee, yes these settings are possible inside Kicad schematics (or to edit .json file in a text editor) BUT the Highlight Thickness is almost invisible/like 90% transparent.
Highlight Color, Selection and other items colors - you can set Opacity (Double-Click the color and donāt use default colorās ā¦ use the Color-Picker tab.
FYI, those Jason itemās I show are also set in the Prefās panel Schematic>Display Options
Not perfect so, you can fuss with the Background color to get things to standout more clearlyā¦and can setup to quickly toggle Background color/schemeā¦
Canāt expect a Faint color to standout on white backgroundā¦
āHighlight Color, Selection and other items colors - you can set Opacity (Double-Click the color and donāt use default colorās ā¦ use the Color-Picker tab.ā
Thanks, no that doesnāt work
Thanks, I want a white background, like a paper, like old fashioned making schematics on a paper, not a yellow or grey or silver paper, just fresh white paper. Black background is impossible, donāt want to make electronics on an old Pacman-TV. Why do the Highlight has to be āfaintā/transparent? A bug?
Not a Bug. You can make a Request to have the Highlight Colorās āAlphaā user settable.
Below would be good enough for me if I didnāt want to bother with a Requestā¦
With A Hint Of Redā¦
Sorry if I donāt understand what you say here.
I said Two things:
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Itās not a Bug. And, you can fill out a Request to have them consider making the Alpha (opacity) user settable.
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If I wanted White paper and could not get perfect Colored Highlight, Iād be happy with what I showā¦
Thanks, right, Iām not happy with this and still wonder why the transparency is there. And even if your example is far from perfect I wonder how you got the transparence (kind of grey) not as transparent as I get it (I hardly see the wider highlight here). Request, no, itās too complicated to know how to make it.
I donāt make feature requests so, canāt help with that. Otherās can and it seemed simple - just fill in the form, if my memory is working.
Regarding how I got darker-highlight: I set the Highlight color to Black then, reset it to a bit Red (using color slider to make Red even darker).
I imagine you have several programs that allow you to tweak colors - play with the color RGB, Hue, Satā¦
You may discover that Black is not always pure Black but, includes other colors with low values. Then, realize Kicad (in my opinion) has code to set opacity so, if it sets it to 50%, you get less Black and More or the other colors.
Thus, choose Color mixture such that at 50% itās still mostly Blackā¦
Color panel in FreeCAD (otherās) can helpā¦ below is FreeCADās.
And, the Internet is filled with Color Siteās having real-time Color tweaking and the Valueās to set in Kicadā¦
Kicad settingā¦ the FF is Alpha (opacity)
Well, I donāt get this to work at all however I adjust all the color sliders in KiCad (which looks different compared to your color picker in your pictures there). So, again, is it possible this setting (for the highlight transparency/the highlight witdh) is already to be found in any of the .json files available, to be fixed in a text editor?
When you get to the Colors tab, Double-Click the Color, it should Open to the Color Panel.
It should look different than mine (Iām using a Mac).
Iām also on Mac and sorry, whatever I choose or do there, the āhighlightā is so so weak, almost impossible to see so I see this function" as non-functional, in other words as a bug but as Bugs as well as Requests is not easy or user friendly I skip this topic now.