Will it also work for just creating a generic schematic or are there generic symbols already available in the Version 7 default installation?
Thanks for any help.
Can you explain what you mean with “generic symbols”?
What is it that you want to make?
You mean like resistors and capacitors? You’ll find them and other common symbols under Devices in the symbol browser. You can also enter those search terms into the filter box.
I’m looking for generic symbols for all the typical electronic components such as…
A generic symbol for a transistor, fet, diode, resistor, capacitor, inductor, variable resistor, variable capacitor, generic 14-pin DIP, etc, etc, etc.
These will be used in the conceptual design process before specific parts are selected.
Thank you for any help.
Try here:
This is a footprint, not a symbol. Some people have the idea of making the symbol resemble the package. It’s not necessary.
Indeed:
The Device library is chock full of generic symbols.
… and many more.
You can browse through the library, but usually I just press a in the schematic editor and start typing a name in the search box. This is a “smart” search box with a regular expression like syntax. It also searches though descriptions of parts and you can add spaces between keywords.
KiCad does not have schematic symbols for generic DIP IC’s.
The closest is probably a connector. Try typing a in the schematic editor, and then type" “con 02 07” (without the quotes). This gives you an overview of available connectors with two rows of each 7 pins.
In general it does not make much sense to draw schematics in this way. Electronic schematics are for clarifying the working of an electronic circuit, and this is very different from a PCB like design. Schematics in which pins are drawn in the PCB footprint order nearly always lead to very bad and incomprehensibly unreadable schematics. If I see such a schematic, it usually goes straight to the garbage bin without even attempting to decipher it.
IC footprints are all listed in “Package” footprints: QFP, DIP, TO, etc…
Delightful artwork! 
@paulvdh
I think you missed your vocation by being involved with boring Schematics and PCBs 
Thanks, I didn’t know we could use SPACE in the symbol search as a wildcard.
That will be useful.
Possibly you’re referring to my library Generic Symbol Library that can be installed using the Plugin and Content Manager (PCM). The symbols are in KiCad 7 automatically available under PCM_Generic (can be configured). They are different from the generic symbols under Device that are included with KiCad.
The idea was to use them as more standard templates to create own symbols (using copy/paste/delete). Since they were originally intended for simulation, some things might be missing or turned off (like pin numbers) but they should work for PCBs as well (possibly after modification).
Downloadable SVG of older version:
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