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Well, I seem to have resolved all these issues with Flatpak vs a conventional installation on my Linux Mint 21.1 platform.
V7.0.10 seems to be quite a different beast (this impression is probably because I did not spend a lot of time working with V6, so I could have missed some of the intermediate changes that occurred from v5 (where I first entered the KiCad universe) to v7.
I noticed that the library structure in Linux v7 is quite unlike the Windows v5, which has resulted in a lot of muddling about. But, I think I have the gist of it now… but, What is the best way to import-and-convert custom footprints/symbols/3d models from a Windows v5 file system, to Linux v7?
To put it in perspective: 5.1 → 6.0 was a major leap, 6.0 → 7.0 is more evolutionary.
First thing to do is to get the library files transferred to somewhere in your Linux user space. They’re plain text files, so I don’t see any problem there.
But converting is a different issue. Personally I’d do an intermediate step with conversion V5 to V6 followed by conversion V6 to V7. But I’m always a coward when it comes to such conversions.
Perhaps one of the Developers has an input on direct V5 → V7 library conversion?
I have removed my v6 from both platforms. So a v5 direct to v7 conversion would be the preferred route.
Create directories for your custom libraries and put the v5 libraries there. Using the Manage Symbol/Footprint Libraries tools, add the custom libraries as Legacy format libraries. Your will then have the option to convert them to v7 format non-destructively.
3D models did not change format but since your 3D models paths are different now you’ll have to update the footprints that use them.
After you have created folders in Mint and transferred your Personal libraries into them, add your Symbol libraries to your Manage Symbol Libraries list.
After that, Left click on “Migrate Libraries” box (red arrow) for instructions.
I’d suggest migrating one library first and test to see if it opens in Kicad 7.
No migration is necessary for footprints: they will just work.
Thanks for all the help. I have this mess all migrated over now.
I must say, the lingo of “library” (which is a file) vs folder has always been confusing to me:
In the case of Symbols, a “library” is a single human-readable text file containing ALL the information required to construct all the symbols listed as belonging to that library when viewing the expanded listing in (say) the Place Symbol dialog of Eeschema.
But
The library for footprints is a folder that typically contains not one, but hundreds of files — one stand-alone file for each footprint.
And,
Each footprint file may contain one (or more) links to one (or more) folders, each containing many individual files, which files are the 3d representations (e.g., *.wrl files) of individual components that might be assembled to create an overall, 3d view of the footprint (as it appears in the PCB).
All of which is to say that the term ‘library’ can be a confusingly fluid !
Library here is an abstract concept meaning a collection, and the implementation may take different forms. Just wait until you delve into database libraries where the items are not files or directories but records in a database.
Yup. the English language is a tricky one. I just pointed this out (in this particular context) because elaborating on the structural differences between symbols, footprints, and footprint-associated image files might make it easier for newbies to comprehend how KiCad manages all of these entities. I can imagine a simple branching diagram…
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