I am experiencing a minor problem concering the paths to 3D files.
I use a dropbox folder to host my custom footprints, symbols and 3D files. I do this because I work on my project with 2 different computers on different locations.
The paths of the dropbox folders have a different windows username. So they are different. With Kicad’s library system I have no problems with sharing footprints or symbols but I do have a problem with 3D files and I don’t know how to handle this.
When I add a 3D model to a footprint it is right for one computer but not for the other. When I experience the problem I simply add both paths to the footprint so Kicad can always find one of them.
However I could use a solution for this. Can I add a default path to Kicad itself like you do for footprints and such?
Add a path variable through Preferences → Configure Paths. Each local KiCad has different path in that variable, for example MY3D = C:/Users/Gebruiker/Dropbox/kicad_3d_files on one machine and with the other user name on the other machine. Then the pointer is simply ${MY3D}/12mm…stp.
Those aliases worked similar to the variables above it but just for 3d files, they were implemented at the same time by two different people and we ended up with that mess. The aliases were used by using paths such as :MY3D: (with the colons)
The alias system was removed in v7 so now it’s just the the same “Environment variables” that can be used in the 3d paths.
It was just a short placeholder for something better.