I thing the behaviour changed couple years back, but I’m struggling sinc then. The problem is that when I place a mouse on an element and the try to do something with it (move, edit properties … ) I usually end up modifing some other that was previously selected. Although, I try to remember to press Esc to clear the selection after each operation it still happens too often. Is there some way to change this behaviour?
Fun note, there is a hidden feature: when using ‘e’ to edit properties of an element but is not selected already, it gets unselected automatically when the properties dialog is closed, this does not work with double click though…
Cursing or cursoring? Was this a cursory observation? Sorry to be teasing on English words with an esteemed ESL colleague.
I do not know if it is related: But when I am drawing zones or tracks in the PCB editor (version 8.09) I find it difficult to get out of that mode and get into “Item Select mode.”
Why is there no default keyboard shortcut for “item select”?
I assigned CTRL-I (for Item…very vague term) in PCB editor and it works only sometimes.
This time I just used Google translator don’t even trying to check it. I know electronic English enough well but I am completely clueless in all other aspects of the language. I probably wouldn’t be able to eat anything in any restaurant where English was spoken.
Trying to check by reverse translating I think my words were translated correctly. It always annoys me when my actions suddenly concern something other than what I’m pointing at with the mouse. And most of all when I’m pointing at something on the PCB and I click M - move and out of the corner of my eye I see something moving on the schematic on the other screen. I don’t know if it’s still like that, but it definitely used to be like that. I have never notices anything like that with KiCad V5. When the cursor moves to another application’s window, nothing in the lowered window should probably intercept the user’s actions. I don’t know if it’s configurable. At the moment I haven’t used KiCad for a few months because my brother and I are urgently creating a new application and dead-line is the first February
In 9.0.0 Schematic, the sequence is LMB to select, hotkey, LMB to complete hotkey action.
In 9.0.0 PCB the sequence is either the same as Schematic or hover over footprint, hotkey, LMB to complete.
I don’t seem to need the Esc key.
You could eat anything, you just wouldn’t know what i was until you looked or tasted.
Anyway, your English is a whole lot better than my Polish. As a mono-linguist, I admire all those English Second Language users in this forum, whether they use a translator for help or not.
I’m not working with KiCad since few months - may be 4, may be more.
I have 8.0.8 installed. Even I’m not using KiCad I read forum and when I see new version was released I just install it. But I don’t plan to go into V9 too fast. I’ve just noticed that I have to miss someway that 8.0.9 was released. No one have written about it?
I have just check with V8.0.8 how it works. When I have schematic and PCB opened at the same time than when at schematic I click at any symbol its corresponding footprint is also selected. But when I then click at nothing at schematic than only symbol is deselected but footprints stays to be selected. This is the reason than going with mouse to PCB I can be surprised that something unneeded, somewhere is selected and I have to extra use Esc key. I’m sure that in past (may be V7, may be low numbered V8) it was also possible than trying to move footprint I was surprised noticing that I move symbol at other screen.
Why I am surprised with it? Yet it is me who selected the symbol so I should be prepared for side effects.
The problem is (and I guess that’s the crux of my problem with this Esc) that I even didn’t wanted to select symbol.
I frequently want to update all symbols from library (why so often - see below) and my habit is that I generally not use menu but rather mouse. I double-click any symbol and then click 'Update Symbol from Library…" button, select “Update all…” and “Update” button. When done I just intuitively assume that the task was finished so no traces should be left from the way of going into the right task.
If you select menu - submenu and then position opening dialog box then when you close dialog box the submenu is no longer selected.
Because of this I don’t feel like I’ve selected a symbol. I just used this way to get to function I want to run and I’m always surprised noticing (typically some time later) that symbol is selected.
If I want to select symbol I click it once or use rectangle selection. I don’t understand why double clicking it when the intention is to open its Symbol Properties dialog box has the side effect of making it being selected. Could someone explain the rationale behind it?
Now. Why I Update all symbols so often.
I was building my symbols library since 2017 but none of them had datasheet attached as it is a kind of extra problem (I collect datasheets at other (connected with net) PC and not my working (disconnected) PC). Year ago I decided that whenever I need to look into datasheet of any symbol I have at schematic I will update its symbol by copying datasheet from the other PC and linking it. So whenever I open any schematic I don’t know if some of symbols at it was modified by adding datasheet. So sooner or later I will get to Update all symbols with the effect of later having to use Esc as even deselecting symbol by clicking somewhere else at schematic left footprint selected that is so far away from what I was doing that I am simply always surprised by it.
I thing that both Schematic and PCB behaves the same, only difference is that whe you hover + hotkey and then cancel the operation with escape the item stays selected in PCB but not in schematic.
The problem is that hover + hotkey which was my main worklow in the previous versions up to some point, is now confusing becase when something is already selected you can hover as you like and still will be editing the selected item. Thas is why you need escape.
So now the workflow whic I’m trying to loarn is to use escape + hover + hotkey. The escape comes befor and not at the end (which might be more intuitive) because you can actually edit an item in PCB press excape but it stays selected in Schematic.
