I’m new to KiCad and am doing my first board. When routing a trace, it won’t end at the end of the ratsnest for the trace for some reason. I have to leave a hanging trace, then start from the pad end and route back to meet the trace. I am trying to figure out how to tell the trace tool “you’re almost at the end, please finish at the end of the net on the pad”. I tried setting the grid to 1 mil but it didn’t help. I must be missing something, and I tried the doc but couldn’t find it. Any suggestions appreciated.
Lloyd
what is the track clearance and what is the pitch of the part you are trying to connect to?
Basically if a trace is too wide to connect to the target pad, the tool will restrict your ability to complete the routing. There should be an outline around the trace and the pad that denotes the clearance constraining the design.
If you could provide a screenshot of this “almost at the end” it would also help.
I’m with Naib. I suspect some kind of issue with clearance of a nearby pad.
For a better diagnose it would be swell if you can upload the PCB, with a few tracks and only the footprints they connect to.
It’s not a clearance issue because it happens on pads in the middle of nowhere. I’m using 8/8 mil line/space. I attached a photo of me trying to finish a trace on a pad of a 1206. In the circled area, the yellow section stays there (showing that it’s not completely done) after I click on the pad. I’m looking for a way to tell it “just go that last little bit to exactly where you want to finish”.
I also stripped out a lot of the board and made a sample file, which I am attaching. I appreciate any help.
.RouteExample.kicad_pcb (129.3 KB)
Check your settings to make sure that you have Magnetic Points set for at least Snap to Pads. Play around with the settings to see how the different settings work. Here is where I find this setting in KiCad 5.1.9 (should be the same for all 5.1.x):
Note, this settings page is on the Pcbnew root, not either of the two leaves. Not realizing that the root categories in the settings tree have settings is a misunderstanding that many make in KiCad.
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I tried it and it snaps to the pad without problems, and indeed it has nothing to do with clearance issues. and this makes the solution SembazuruCDE the next logical cause. Change: Pcbnew / Preferences / Preferences / Pcbnew / Magnetic Points / Snap to Pads
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Thank you so much! That was it! 
Lloyd
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