Modifying each instance of a symbol independently

I read that nightly 5.99 makes it possible to modify each instance of a symbol independently. How to accomplish this?

I tried to find it in the latest docs, without success so far. Could someone direct me to this new function please?

I have not experimented with this myself (although I do use V5.99 a bit). So there is a bit of speculation here.

I do know that the internals of the schematic are now more in line with how the PCB file file works.

In V5.1.x stable, footprints are copied from the library into the PCB file itself, upon import, and are independent of the library and of each other after that.
Each footprint becomes an independent copy in the PCB file. Therefore you can right click on a footprint in Pcbnew and then open it in the Footprint Editor to modify it. If you then save the changes you made in the footprint editor, only the single instance of the footprint you started with on the PCB is updated.

I’m not sure if it’s possible to copy the differences you made from one footprint inside Pcbnew to another. If you want to do such things, the way to go is first create a project specific library, and organize your modified footprints over there and also give them different names.

In KiCad-nighlty V5.99 copies of the schematic symbols from the libraries are embedded in the schematic file itself, and modifying them is very similar to manipulating footprints in Pcbnew.

— 8<----- 8<----- 8<----- 8<----- 8<–
[Edit] After a short experiment to verify in V5.99…

  1. Put two (or more) resistors on a schematic.
  2. Select one, and press [Ctrl + e] to load it in the symbol editor.
  3. Put the symbol editor next to the schematic, so you can see them both at the same time.
  4. Modify your symbol in the Symbol Editor (move a leg).
  5. [Ctrl + s] to save it.
  6. You will see now that only the resistor you started with is modified in the schematic.

As with footprints, this can be nice for some small mods. As soon as you’re thinking multiple different schematic symbols, then creating and managing libraries is a much better option.

1 Like

Worked like a charm!

Version: 5.99.0-unknown-b691c18bfc~117~ubuntu20.04.1, release build

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