Manage libraries, toggle active for multiple entries

Software
1

This question is related to a closed post (Is there a "check all" or "check none" for libraries?).

Basically, it takes a long time to toggle the “Active” check-boxes using the Preferences dialog for Symbol or Footprint editors (especially the Symbols).

I tend to un-check many rows because otherwise (on my PC) it takes a long time to invoke the Symbol or Footprint browsers - also I like to only see a list of libraries I tend to use.

In KiCad 8, the situation seems to be the same as it was back in 2018/2019 in this respect.

2

I have never noticed ‘Active’ check-boxes :slight_smile:
May be it will be helpful…

I use 3 KiCad configurations:

  1. for work - with my library lists (about 300 footprints in total) - loading time practically unnoticeable,
  2. for bug report - with default library lists - loading time annoying,
  3. for Spice - with only Spice libraries.

I change them by renaming the KiCad configuration directory in (at Windows) C:\Users\Piotr\AppData\Roaming.
Now I have there kicad, kicad_default and kicad_spice directories.
If I need to report a bug or I want to look around in KiCad libraries I rename kicad to kicad_mm and kicad_default to kicad and run KiCad.

1 Like
3

Yes, nothing has changed except there are more libraries with more symbols and footprints.

I suppose there could be a “Deactivate all libraries” button, but then you would be spending just as much time reactivating the libraries you want.

Look on the bright side.
Three minutes to de-activate the symbol libraries is a lot quicker than scouring the internet for even one lowly symbol. :grin:

4

For me, with v8 on Windows, selecting some lines and then clicking on a checkbox on one of them changes all those checkboxes in the selection. It’s a bit buggy, though: for example selecting the 4 lines in symbol libraries from 4xxx_IEEE to 74xxx_IEEE and then clicking 74xx unticks 3 but leaves the last one ticked.

5

One solution to get faster loading times on Windows that I found is to add the library folders to exceptions in Windows Defender, so it won’t additionally scan the files every time they’re loaded.

6

That is a creative way to manage multiple configurations :slight_smile:
(On Linux it’s in ~/.config/kicad/[Version]) I also rename these directories sometimes. For example when I want to do some test that requires KiCad to behave as if it is first installed. If you have multiple configuration directories, you can compare and copy settings between them with a sourcecode merge program such as http://meldmerge.org/