I am attempting to import a schematic into KiCAD. The original schematic was in OrCAD 9 format (it’s old). I exported to EDIF, and use the edif2kicad utility to convert the schematic. The tool did not report any errors, but KiCAD doesn’t like it.
The trouble seems to be with finding the schematic symbols. When I click on the generated schematic file, I get a dialogue box explaining that a remap of symbols must be done first. I click the Remap Symbols button and am greeted with some information about backing up files, followed by warning after warning of the type:
Warning: No symbol “R” found in symbol library table.
This is repeated for every component on the design, and I then am dropped onto a schematic sheet with nothing on it other than a few comments.
I have read the manual on Symbol Library Table Mapping, and I cannot understand why the symbols aren’t found. Global symbol libraries are searched first, followed by local, followed by cache. There is a library in the project directory, and I have opened it, and it has every symbol in the design… so what am I doing wrong?
Yes it is. I noticed though, that the tool wants to create a back-up copy in a rescue-backup sub-folder, and deletes sym-lib-table before trying to load the symbols into the schematic. I tried making sym-lib-table read-only so it can’t be moved, and it worked in the sense that the file stayed in the project directory, but this did not result in symbols being imported.
Info: Backing up file C:\Users\moi\kicad\cust\prj\prj_orcad\sym-lib-table to file C:\Users\moi\kicad\cust\prj\prj_orcad\rescue-backup\sym-lib-table-2019-05-27-10-34-51.
Info: Backing up file C:\Users\moi\kicad\cust\prj\prj_orcad\prj_orcad.sch to file C:\Users\moi\kicad\cust\prj\prj_orcad\rescue-backup\prj_orcad-2019-05-27-10-34-51.sch.
Info: Backing up file C:\Users\moi\kicad\cust\prj\prj_orcad\prj_orcad.pro to file C:\Users\moi\kicad\cust\prj\prj_orcad\rescue-backup\prj_orcad-2019-05-27-10-34-51.pro.
Info: Backing up file C:\Users\moi\kicad\cust\prj\prj_orcad\prj_orcad-cache.lib to file C:\Users\moi\kicad\cust\prj\prj_orcad\rescue-backup\prj_orcad-cache-2019-05-27-10-34-51.lib.
Info: Backing up file C:\Users\moi\kicad\cust\prj\prj_orcad\prj_orcad-rescue.lib to file C:\Users\moi\kicad\cust\prj\prj_orcad\rescue-backup\prj_orcad-rescue-2019-05-27-10-34-51.lib.
Info: Backing up file C:\Users\moi\kicad\cust\prj\prj_orcad\prj_orcad-rescue.dcm to file C:\Users\moi\kicad\cust\prj\prj_orcad\rescue-backup\prj_orcad-rescue-2019-05-27-10-34-51.dcm.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol MOSFET_32_P__1 found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol NPN_3 found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol NPN_0 found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol NPN_0 found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol INDUCTOR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol TEST_32_POINT found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol 1458 found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol TEST_32_POINT found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol 1458 found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CON6 found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol INDUCTOR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAPACITOR_32_VAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol LM555 found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol TEST_32_POINT found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol PNP_3 found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol TEST_32_POINT found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol TEST_32_POINT found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol TEST_32_POINT found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol TEST_32_POINT found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol TEST_32_POINT found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol TEST_32_POINT found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol PIC12C508 found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol TEST_32_POINT found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol CAP_32_NP found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol R found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_CIRCLE found in symbol library table.
Warning: No symbol VCC_BAR found in symbol library table.
Info: Symbol library table mapping complete!
Is it possible that that script is meant for version 4 or earlier? There was a change in how symbols are added to the schematic in version 5 (They now include the symbol library nickname similarly as to how the footprint libs always worked.)
This might mean that you need to run the remap stuff somehow. (Maybe even open it with v4 first.)
Rene, yes it is very likely. The script is six years old. I tried installing KiCAD 4.0.6, and it does open the schematic file without remapping, but it doesn’t look any different than the resulting schematic with v5.0.0.
edit:
If I look in the .sch file, the first line is EESchema Schematic File Version 2 …
A KiCad 5 .sch file shows: EESchema Schematic File Version 4
Kicad should be able to open older file formats as long as they are valid. In your errormessage there is something about missing symbols. Does the tool create a symbol library? Can that library be opened? Does it contain the symbols reported as missing?
Does it contain the symbols reported as missing? Yes.
There appears to be a duplicate of a test point in the library, so I commented that out and re-loaded. I can open and browse the components in the library.
edit:
I updated kicad to v5.1.2. I tried copying the edif2kicad .pro, .sch, and .lib files one more time. I modified the .pro file, adding the line, “Library1=prj_orcad.lib”, and had to also modify the schematic file, changing the schematic sheet size from Custom to B, and adding a line at the end, “$EndSCHEMATC”. I also copied back the sym-lib-table file and made sure it only contained a reference to the local prj_orcad.lib file. The component remapping worked without warnings or errors.
I still get the same result: a schematic with only a few of the note comments and some empty boxes. I took a closer look at the .sch file, and I can see a lot of issues with the conversion.
Each component is listed in the schematic as:
$Comp
L nickname:part reference
U n m HEXNUM
P xxxx yyyy
F 0 “reference” H … L CNN
F 1 “value” H … L (or C) CNN
…
$EndComp
Many of the fields relating to position have two extra zeros in them, making every component in the library and all dimensions in the schematic 100x bigger than they should be.
All of the component reference designators have been modified to #ND1, #ND2, etc. The actual reference designators and values are "Text Label"s in the file. A simple macro can correct all of this.
The line “U n m HEXNUM” needs explanation. It looks like in a normal schematic file, each HEXNUM is unique, but they’re all 0s in the conversion results. Is there anything special about this number, or do they just need to be unique?