I can not be the first to have this problem, but I have so far not found a solution.
My project is rather large and I would like to put it into a 2- or 3-sheet schematic instead of a gigantic single page one, that will be barely readable when printed onto A4.
But how to add page 2? … and 3?
I am using ver. 8.0.1
Is this feature only available in a later version, or …?
Standard feature for many years now. Just use Schematic Editor / Place / Add Sheet [s] or use the button on the right side of the schematic to add a new sheet.
But KiCad currently only supports a hierarchical design. You probably have to do some quality reading to find out the details of how that works.
Are you aware that the versions with 1 at the end are rather buggy?
Each last number change means close to 100 bugs fixed so 8.0.9 has much, much less bugs.
Yeah the devs, obstinately, refuse to invlude multi-sheet schematics!
They prefer to force us users to use hierarchical sheets instead (with the added work setting them up.). Theres a place for hierarchical workflow and a place for multi sheet. Most of us just want a simple way to organise our schematics and/or to print them out on A4 or A3 size printers
Yeah, they so “obstinately” refuse that it’s scheduled for a future (next?) release.
Regardless for what KiCad version a “flat hierarchy” is planned. your remark is quite pointless and bordering on insulting.
I started in ECAD with a flat structure, forced by the Zuken Redac Visula. It was horrible to use, each sheet had to have balloons manually added to each label, to show which other sheets had that net.
Hierarchical, with connections shown on the top sheet, is much faster to draw and easier to follow.
The only “downside” to using a hierarchical schematic I see is that it forces you to put some thought into where you put things, and in the end that’s a good thing.
Most of my designs are not very complicated, but just a bit too big for a single A4 sheet. It’s easy to go to A3. That’s still readable when printed on A4, and I did that years ago but these days I make use of the hierarchy. For the simple designs, the main sheet has all the “interesting stuff”, and a secondary sheet has things like the power supply, decoupling capacitors, mounting holes and other miscellaneous stuff. Usually that cleans up the rest of the schematic enough so it fits quite easily.
I’m 100% with paulvdh here. Being forced to structure a design is a good thing.
I sometimes use the “main/subcircuit” approach as described above, but I also often use the top sheet as “Index” to the design, from where you can open the different sheets.
The most smallest designs I may do in a single sheet. But I quickly go for the hierarchial structure for various reasons. The plotted KiCad PDFs have clickable links. Those work in adobe acrobat and foxfit pdf viewers. I really do loath these multisheet schematics with lots of global labels.
I can click on any sheet and see the actual circuitry. I try to put position the schematic sheets to correspond with the physical board location when I can. But that does not always work out. In this design the DCC part is at the bottom and the current sense on top of the board. So often the schematic evolves while I am still in the process of placing components.
To me readability matters alot. So I avoid crossing lines or double lines (use busses instead) And I keep wondering if others could understand my flow.
)
Don’t just design a PCB, but make yourself a piece of art.
Bas
