Right now KiCad has no way to have the pin name horizontal on a vertical pin:
My workaround is, to set the pin name size to zero and to draw a text.
This is what I was used to with Eagle, but we are talking about the early 1990s.
Do the KiCad developer have this in their change request list?
It is something which is needed every time you create a device!
Regards
Marko
Why ? it can still be read, even on it’s side and if all the pins are like that just rotate the device . . .
Do the KiCad developer have this in their change request list?
Yes: Edit pin label properties (#11426) · Issues · KiCad / KiCad Source Code / kicad · GitLab
It is something which is needed every time you create a device!
No. It is never needed if I create a symbol (btw., kicad does not a “device”, it uses symbols+footprints, there is no direct replacement for a eagle device).
It could be that you as thread-opener need this feature (and some other users also have upvoted this feature), but to generalize that this feature is needed every time is not correct.
Are you reading your newspaper 90°?
So why should PCB designer read pin names like this?
Marko
Nope, if I found I was I would rotate it . . .
Exactly!
That’s why the pin name needs the property “horizonal” or “rotate”.
I don’t think “need” is quite the right word. Probably “want” would be a more appropriate word to use.
It is “needed” if you “want” optimum readability of your schematic.
No, I would rotate the Newspaper not cut out each character and rotate them individually . . .
I think that having to shorten names or use a smaller font size would affect readability in horizontal placement. I have no difficulty reading vertical names.
Exactly . . .
I can easily read GND and VCC . . . the more important pins which are more likely to be read more often are horizontal.
@Marko_Rocznik can you show an example so we can better understand your particular issue.
Good for you!
Not everybody has your vertical reading skill.
To be honest, I have never thought about the possibility of pin name rotating. Perhaps I have acquired enough agility in vertical reading without being aware of it.
I, too, haven’t thought about “need” or “want” to rotate pin names. In my opinion the reason is clear: vertical pins are either power pins, in which case there aren’t many of them and it’s easy enough to read them even if it’s not totally natural; or the symbol is made using the package pin order, in which case the pins are side by side and there wouldn’t be room for horizontal text.
So, I agree with RaptorUK and would like to see a real world example where this would be beneficial. The screenshot in the first post doesn’t tell anything interesting.
There are cases where horizontal pinnames could be advantageous. Screenshot from a LM5060 surge stopper below. Also some symbols for step-up (boost) converters are drawn with pins for the power inductor on the top side of the symbol rectangle. Small usecases, but nevertheless understandable.
So while I (and many other readers in this thread) don’t need this feature I think the feature request itself is reasonable. And a small group of supporters already has upvoted the linked feature request (12 clicks on the thumbs up icon until now).
Only the attitude “why is this feature not there - it’s available on tool xxxx and it’s absolutely necessary” disturbed me on the opening post.
I agree 217%
One related observation is that I think our default text sizes of 50 mils is a bit large. I typically use about 30 mils and shrink it further if needed. Of course this is related to whether you expect other people to view the schematic by methods (such as a paper printed hard copy) where they cannot easily zoom in.
If you read my post again, you will realize, that I never said that another tool has this feature, but that I have to used the same workaround like I did during my last 30 years.
So I hope that some people also like to draw good readable schematics and would like to have this feature, so that we don’t have to use this workaround for the next 30 years.
Marko
I pray that I will continue to use kicad for the next 30 years. Whether with or without horizontal pin names
