Following tutorials generally follows a narrow path to some objective. In fact there often, multiple paths and branches and if you miss a turn you are left with the menus to try and recover. I find multiple dead-ends in Kicad library usage when winging it in the menus to get out of a hole.
I seem to have three blocks of libraries: the Kicad system library, my User library which is tied to the home folder of Kicad top level. Then I downloaded Digikey stuff from Github. It seemed to do some reorganisation to point to itself. Its library does not have the foot print of an ordinary capacitor (yet).
Then I created a new footprint.
When I later tried to saved it, Footprint Editor chose a digikey library collection and then said it is read only.
I also tried Save as … It too chooses some anon library collection which I don’t want. I can’t tell where to save!!!
I could not find a way to point to a different library collection in the Footprint Editor. It is configured to save where it wants
I wanted to save my work, so the only option seemed to be to use the Footprint Export option. This creates a xxx.kicad_mod file, I suppose with the footprint in it.
Then I tried somewhere to import it, I suppose into my User parts library. But I could not find any import anywhere. Dead end, but i hope my work can be recovered. What is the purpose and point of xxx.kicad files?
One of the problems I see is that each library is a collection of folders holding symbols. Kicad then just merges these collections into one long list. Great if you are try just trying to pick a part from the list. But not so great if you trying to figure where it came from and if the source is writable.
There are several dialogs that just list one collection (by memory) but they do not list the source of the collection. Managing libraries is all about managing these collections. Are they writable? What is their full path?
And managing libraries is a misnomer. You are not really managing libraries at all. You are managing the collections of libraries.
I would also like to have my own library which is not bound to the Kicad root directory, but is a level above that so it can be shared among several of my projects but ${KIPRJMOD} is fixed at Kicad root and is where my custom symbols and footprints go.
In Footprint Editor I then tried using Add library… The dialog initialises pointing to the Kicad root (which has my custom symbols) and can hold footprints. So select Kicad root. Now another dialog …
Select library table, Global or Project. I select project.
Then I think the first time I did this I got a dialog, see below. Subsequently, if I repeat the command, since the library is already there, it just flashes the screen because the library collection was already loaded.
From memory, the first time I did this, I got a dialog:
- Loading library (from somewhere not specified)
- To (somewhere else).
and where somewhere and somewhere else is not specified. Not very informative!
Evidently it was from Digikey.
It seemed to be the Digikey Library collection that was loading and does not include my custom stuff and in any case is not writable.
I use Widows Explorer to figure what is happening by comparing file content.
Dead end again.
Is the problem in:
" (fp_lib_table (lib (name digikey-footprints)(type KiCad)(uri “C:/Users/Robin Hayman/Robins documents/IoTkit/Kicad/digikey-kicad-library/digikey-footprints.pretty”)(options “”)(descr “”))"
Do I need to add another entry here??
How to recover my footprint in a xxx.kicad_mod file?
I think the whole Library managment would be clearer by talking of Collections of libraries and to always be able to drill down to the Collection path. And to always specify the Collection name since it is a folder somewhere and allow to drill down to full path and understand what is going on.
As is Library Mangement is tough going inV5.
