I cannot associate a footprint to a symbol in KiCAD 8.0.5

Layout Footprints
1

I hereby certify that I am not simply asking someone else to design a footprint for me.

I’m using KiCAD 8.0.5 and having a problem getting a new footprint associated with its symbol.
Here is the version information:
Application: KiCad x64 on x64
Version: 8.0.5, release build
Libraries:
wxWidgets 3.2.5
FreeType 2.13.2
HarfBuzz 9.0.0
FontConfig 2.14.2
libcurl/8.8.0-DEV Schannel zlib/1.3.1
Platform: Windows 10 (build 19045), 64-bit edition, 64 bit, Little endian, wxMSW
OpenGL: Intel, Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600, 4.3.0 - Build 20.19.15.5063
Build Info:
Date: Sep 7 2024 02:39:48
wxWidgets: 3.2.5 (wchar_t,wx containers)
Boost: 1.85.0
OCC: 7.8.1
Curl: 8.8.0-DEV
ngspice: 42
Compiler: Visual C++ 1939 without C++ ABI

I downloaded from Ultra Librarian a zip file with the schematic symbol and footprint of a Wago
terminal; Wago part number 2065-100/998-403. I’ve attached the zip file to this posting. {Upload failed, new users cannot post attachments. }
In spite of my best efforts over a day and a half, I have not been able to get the footprint to
update in the PCB Editor after successfully placing the symbol in the Schematic Editor. Here
is the pretty complete but way-too-long-winded blow by blow of installing the symbol and
footprint and then trying to do an update:

From the main Project Files window, open the Schematic Editor
Select
Choose tab “Project Specific Libraries”
Choose folder-shaped icon “Add Existing Library to Table”
Double Click on .kicad_sym file:
“D:\KiCAD\Projects\UPV-01-2021.001_DevRev5\ul_2065-100-998-403\KiCADv6\2024-10-19_05-24-58.kicad_sym”
The “Project Specific Libraries” tab now contains 1 library entry:
Active: Checked
Visible: Checked
Nickname: 2024-10-19_05-24-58
Library Path: ${KIPRJMOD}/ul_2065-100-998-403/KiCADv6/2024-10-19_05-24-58.kicad_sym
Library Format: KiCad
The list of Available Path Substitions includes an entry I previously made:
${KIPRJMOD} D:\KiCAD\Projects\UPV-01-2021.001_DevRev5
Click OK to close the Symbol Libraries Window
Select the “Switch to PCB Editor” icon
Select
Choose tab “Project Specific Libraries”
Choose folder-shaped icon “Add Existing”
Select the footprints.pretty folder shown below, and click button “Select Folder”
“D:\KiCAD\Projects\UPV-01-2021.001_DevRev5\ul_2065-100-998-403\KiCADv6\footprints.pretty”
The “Project Specific Libraries” tab now contains 1 library entry:
Active: Checked
Nickname: footprints
Library Path: ${KIPRJMOD}/ul_2065-100-998-403/KiCADv6/footprints.pretty
Library Format: KiCad
Options:
Description:
The list of Available Path Substitions includes an entry I previously made:
${KIPRJMOD} D:\KiCAD\Projects\UPV-01-2021.001_DevRev5
Click OK to close the Footprint Libraries Window
Select the “Switch to Schematic Editor” icon
Select the “Add Symbol” icon
In the Search bar, type in the Wago part number: 2065-100/998-403
The correct symbol is found and displayed in the top right of the Choose Symbol window, but
in the bottom right where a preview of the footprint should appear it is black and the
message: “Invalid Footprint Specified” is displayed. Above the footprint preview is:
[default] CONN_2065-100/998-403_WAG
Select OK to close the Choose Symbol window.
The Schematic Editor appears, and the crosshair drags the symbol until left-clicking places it.
Select the “Switch to PCB Editor” icon
Select the “Update PCB from Schematic” icon
The Update PCB from Schematic window appears with this error in the Changes to Be Applied box:
Processing symbol ‘J1:CONN_2065-100/998-403_WAG’.
Error: Cannot add J1 (footprint ‘CONN_2065-100/998-403_WAG’ not found).
Total Warnings: 0, Errors: 1.

Again, I’m sorry for the length of this post. Thank you very much for any help you can offer!

Dave

2

I am having a lot of difficulty reading through your post and understanding what’s happening. For a big part it’s a result of my own fuzzy mind, but it’s not helped much by your way of writing. You use a lot of words, and yet skip steps in writing down. For example:

This “Main Project Files window” is called the “Project Manager” in KiCad.
And in Schematic Editor / Preferences / Manage Symbol Libraries / Project Specific Libraries you missed two steps.

Then I get to this:

So that part works. Apparently you have managed to add the symbol library and add a symbol on your schematic. That is good, but you could have simply stated that, and halved the length of your post.

It looks like you did very similar steps for the footprint, so it looks like the footprint library has also been added to your project. (Note that menu items for adding symbol and footprint libraries are also directly in the project manager).

The missing puzzle piece is very likely the footprint link in the symbol. In KiCad, the only link between a schematic symbol and a footprint is a text string that is part of the symbol. This text string contains both the library name, and the path to the library. Samacsys can not know beforehand where you store your libraries, and it also does not know whether you want to use a global or project specific library. Therefore samacsys can not set this link for you.

In KiCad, there are many ways to associate schematic symbols with PCB footprints, and you probably have to go though this process for most of your symbols. The quickest way to assign a footprint to a symbol is to select the symbol on the schematic and then press f. This opens a dialog to Edit Footprint Field, and with the book shelf icon on the right you can browse to a footprint library and assign a footprint to the symbol.

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image732×424 36.7 KB

Another method is mentioned in:

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3

Thank you very much for your excellent answer! I tried your instructions and they worked perfectly.

I apologize for the length, format, and several errors in my question post. It was very good of you to read through and decipher the whole mess.

Thank you again,
Dave

1 Like