Is there a way to have the part value inserted into the PCB silkscreen shape for the part automatically?
No.
I use only my own footprints and I have no element texts (values or references) at silkscreen at all.
I didn’t tried it, but if you define your own footprints having part value at silkscreen than whenever you use these footprints the element values will be located at silkscreen.
In a hour I will be at PC with KiCad and if nothing will disturb me before these (sometimes on the way to my room I have to spend hour or two speaking of something with my brother, if he needs it) I will check what you are writing what not agrees with what I suppose.
I think people can have values at silkscreen.
You could have value on the silk, but this would entail a different footprint for every value used.
I don’t think so.
Why value at other layer (I have it at courtyard layer) would automatically get its text from schematic and after changing layer to silkscreen would not?
The value of the symbol that was set in the schematic editor is defintely available in the footprint. To verify this, select a footprint of say a resistor and view its properties. The value is there, filled in from the schematic. It will be visible in the layout provided the Show box is ticked, and the appropriate Fab layer is set to visible in the Appearance panel. However you get a mess like this (the footprints in question are on the back, so the values are in B.Fab):
The Fab layers are not asked for or used by the PCB factory, so to have it on the physical board, they must be moved to the Silkscreen layer and the Plot footprint values box must be ticked, as explained in another topic. Probably there’s a way to move them en masse, using the Edit Text and Graphics Properties dialog.
Most people don’t want the value on the board silkscreen, it’s often crowded already with the refdes. I suppose if making boards with ample spacing for beginners to practice on, it might be useful.
You are correct, my mistake.
You would, however have to edit every footprint on the PCB to have the value showing on the silk or have edited versions of all required footprints held in, and used from, personal libraries, plus as @retiredfeline mentions, which Silk?
The same side as the Fab that the value was on.
OP writes about Silk. Footprints would also have to be edited for whichever Silk was required, or Fab, as you mention.
As I said, it could probably be done with the Edit Text and Graphics Properties action with appropriate filters in two passes, for the front and back.
I’ll let somebody else confirm. I’m pathologically lazy when it’s not something I’ll use, they use my mug shot to illustrate lazy in the dictionary.
Anyway, whatever method is used to automatically place the Value in a certain position in the footprint, is a lot of work.
And yes, you would have to have to have a personal set of footprints with the value position in a certain place, because the OP wanted “Automatic” placement in the footprint.
I read that “automatic” not as automatic placement of value text (which is impossible as you won’t know what space is available ahead of time), but as put in the silkscreen as a matter of course and plotted in the gerbers.
I think the best one can do is manual adjustment of the value text position (as if adjusting the refdes text position wasn’t tedious enough), then en masse move of the value text to a silkscreen layer, and turning on plotting of the value field to gerbers.
I think the best option for the OP is to be introduced to this plugin:
Then he can see the Ref and the Value and the Position for no extra work.
At first I also read it that way, but…
If OP thinks only about THT elements than positioning value just in footprint center is acceptable. I don’t know how in Kicad library values are positioned, but in my libraries I have all them in footprint centers (as I don’t have them at PCB it is no problem to have them there for SMD parts).
So if in KiCad libraries values are in footprint centers than at PCB only changing value text layer you could get them positioned automatically as you want. If not than making your own library with values in footprint centers will probably give you them automatically positioned.
I have the values at courtyard layer (KiCad doesn’t offer User layers for such things yet) and when making my documentation files I have values in centers without any individual intervention. I only have to move texts if they are longer than footprint itself and collide with other values (but for THT elements it would be rare, I think).