Layer color changes in Appearance panel are lost. Is it intentional?

If remember well in KiCad V5 I have changed colors at panel on the right and I have them since then.
Now in V7 I decided to use 3 out of extra User colors and wanted to change them (I work at white background and User.1 color was too light to be visible) but what I set at the Appearance panel I lost whenever I reopen KiCad.
Do you know: is it intentional behavior or a bug?
When I change color in Preferences-PCB Editor - Colors my changes survive reopening KiCad.
In Apperance I don’t see the place to specify which Theme color I want to change but as currently used Theme is known than I think there should be nothing against just permanently (be saved in Preferences) changing the current Theme setting.
I don’t see the benefits of changing color only temporarily and lost it after closing KiCad. Do you?

I don’t know about Windows/Linux but, on Mac, v7 looks in (see below) for users color json file.

You can grab your previous versions of the json file from previous versions or from Backup’s (that’s where I needed to get mine after upgrading to v7)

I don’t need to grab previous versions. All I have set with KiCad V5 propagated automatically to V7. I only wonder why changes made (now) in color of layer in Appearance panel are valid only until KiCad is closed.

I think it is intentional. The whole idea with color-themes is there to maintain it via a settings dialog to really just keep the intentional changes. on kicad 7.0.6-7.0.6~ubuntu20.04.1 I actually can’t change the colors anymore via the appearance panel even tho the tool-tip is still there (which is most likely a bug). If it would work I also think it is better to have these changes not override the color-theme but just being session specific e.g. for highlighting a layer differently for showing or highlighting something.

You saw nothing. trying to edit the colors in the appearance panel at least tries to change something with the color themes as I get a warning that my theme is only read-only and so I can’t change colors until i create a writable one. so I assume it actually should change the theme.

I think it’s a bug, it works as you want it. A changed color-setting (tested with margin-layer) was saved to my color theme. Maybe your color-theme is write-protected? (Still using the standard kicad theme?)

I don’t see the benefits of changing color only temporarily and lost it after closing KiCad. Do you?

I personally see it exactly the other way around. I have a well defined standard color theme. And every time I test something and change a color temporarily I have to:

  • remember the old color code in a extra text-editor
  • later reverse the change
  • so for me this is exactly the opposite of having a defined color theme.
  • For changing a color theme permanently I find the current solution with preferences-settings enough.

So for me the current behaviour is very unconvenient, but fortunately happens seldom. So it was not worth a behaviour-change on gitlab (which always distracts other users) until now.

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I have never worried about color-themes. May be when I defined colors I use (with KiCad V4 and V5) there were no color-themes. Then my settings were with me through V6 and V7 by just selecting at first run to use settings from previous version.
Now when I open PCB colors in Preferences I see that current theme is named “User”. I don’t think it is write protected as any change I made there (in Preferences) are permanent.
In Appearance panel I see the same colors as in Preferences (I didn’t tried to select other than User theme in preferences), but when I change color using Appearance panel my change is lost when I finish current KiCad run.
I didn’t do anything with colors since 2018 I think. The reason I looked there is because as I have written I decided to use first 3 of extra User layers and they (specially first one) had for me wrong colors (practically not visible on my white background).
Till now I used User.Drawings for my PCB box shape. Both box parts were there and sometimes it is hard to know which line is from front and which from back of case. So having extra layers allows to separate them.

I’m with @mf_ibfeew on this.

I sometimes change the layer color for clarity, but I’m happy to see my original selection (personal color scheme) back next time I open Kicad. I wouldn’t like to see changing the color selection with the appearance manager to be permanent.

It is a bit strange (inconsistent?) though, that the color reverts but the layer on/off stays as set when Kicad is re-opened.

I have just reported it as “I don’t know if it is intentional or a bug but it is inconsistent that changing colors are lost but changing visibility is permanent”. Editing report takes me some time to be sure that I am as clear as possible in what I am writing. Then I went back to forum to see that you have just noticed that inconsistency as well.

I have never a need to change colors for a while. If I had such need I would probably conclude that color is wrong and I need to change it permanently.

In V5 changing colors there (Appearance panel was called Layer Manager) were permanent (I have V5 at Win7 so I can say it for sure) and I remembered that I used that panel to set my colors long time ago. Now when after years I decided to use new layers they needed to set their colors. I was surprised that what I have done the same way as with V5 I lost after first KiCad rerun.

Not just noticed, but just mentioned :slightly_smiling_face:.
I don’t mind the visibility of objects and layers being permanent. It is easy to see at a glance what is off and what is on.

The layers are different, there is no before and after record.
A common thing I do is when a board is near completion, I will change the Ratsnest to a really bright, stand out color, so I can see If I have missed something.
I normally wouldn’t work with a bright color for ratsnest as it is too distracting, but it is useful as a check late in the design. Turning Kicad off then on again is an easy way to reset the ratsnest color, much easier than trying to remember what the color was and then trying to replicate it in preferences.

Yes, I know there is an old/new preview, but that is unreliable because it does not take into account the value (luminance) and opacity and clicking on the preview does not reset the color.

Also, this:

is an awful lot of trouble as far as I’m concerned.
Likewise, keeping duplicate copies of personal themes.

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I have never experimented with themes but I suppose they are just for task as you have written. You should copy your theme under the new name (like “Close to PCB finish”) and change Ratsnest color for bright one. Then near the PCB finish not change one color but change theme. It has advantages that you can have there many colors changed - for example all others being less bright than normal and Ratsnest being brighter. So one change and everything set for that phase of working and you need not to remember any colors and need not to think about resetting them.
If during working in such state you notice that color of something is still not as it should be you just change that color in Appearance panel and it is also changed (for future) in currently used theme. You need not to remember standard colors you use as they are safety hold in your standard theme.
I don’t understand why you prefer to temporarily change one color instead to temporarily change theme if you have situations (I assume they can be repeatable) that you want colors being different than typically.
Only what seems lacking for me is that theme selection should be at hand in Appearance panel and I don’t see it there.

To be honest, I’m used to the temporary change. It is easy and convenient with the appearance panel. I’ve never thought about swapping between multiple personal themes. That seems a lot of trouble to me as there are no hotkeys.

If changes happen, I’ll adapt. I’m easy going and quite happy to accept what is given, which is probably a useless attitude as far as program development goes.

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