Move parts to subcircuit without losing annotation

Schematic
1

Hi there

is there any possibility to move some components to a subcircuit without losing the annotation to the pcb?
I started to layout my pcb, but now i need to add some parts. And i want to avoid placing the other parts once again.

Thanks in advance!

2

There is no way to do this directly in KiCad V5.1.x.
In KiCad-nightly V5.99 there is a “Paste special” in the popup menu that preserves the Refdes, but this is not implemented in KiCad V5.1.x.

The easiest way to restore the annotation probably is:

  1. Make a backup, just to add some redundancy.
  2. Print the schematic to a .pdf (or .svg) file for reference.
  3. Add a hierarchical sheet, cut the part of the schematic, paste in that sheet.
  4. Use the .pdf to restore the annotation.
  5. Eeschema / Tools / Update PCB from Schematic with: Match Method: Re-associate footprints by reference

Step 5. should re-sync the timestamp values that KiCad normally uses to sync the schematic with the PCB. Once that is done, you can optionally re-annotate your sub-page, with for example starting from number 100.

1 Like
3

Thank you very much!

That’s not the ideal solution, but it works. Saves me a lot of time.

4

Alternative method: Duplicate your schematic file and give it a new name. Then, insert a hierarchical sheet and use the file name of the new schematic. Finally, edit the two schematics as needed.

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