Use the Symbol editor.
- Select the symbol on your schematic.
- Press: [Ctrl + E] to load it in the Symbol Editor.
- Edit the pins directly by manipulating their properties (pin number), or use Menu / Edit / Pin Table.
- Just close the Symbol Editor when done, It asks you whether to put the changes in the schematic.
If you also want it in an external library, that is an extra step.
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So far, the Pin Table is where we need to see the part footprint. I made Pin 1 the gate, and took a guess as 2 being the Drain, and 3 Being the Source.
The part on the schematic is still not right.
If @BrendaEM has a library TO220 MOSFET symbol with the gate at pin2, then it may be wise to edit the source library (whatever library that is) so as to reduce the odds of it causing future errors. I am not sure what MOSFET package would normally have the gate at pin 2. I cannot think of any.
It errors stating Symbol is not derived from another symbol.
Also, the part I really modified 2D and properties is no where to be found in the list. : (
Apparently, Kicad hates you to create parts to share with others. : (
Bobs Symbol Libraries.zip (232.2 KB)
Here are mine. I am not certain that you will like them, but I think it avoids the pinout error you are fighting with.
Thank you Bob, but I am not supposed to ask for parts.
I want Kicad to do well, and I strongly think that to do well, the UI in this area, needs work.
We should see a list of all of our custom parts. Perhaps it’s in here, where it slipped under the couch-cushions of the UI.
Perhaps I should have filed a bug report.
I did not make anything for you. Sharing a library is not a problem. Have you tried Licecap? It records a GIF. Maybe you can show us what you are trying to do.
Ever thought of getting a bigger and/or more monitors?
With that you can have all kinds of different parts of KiCad open at the same time, and also a few extra monitors for viewing PDF datasheets and browsing the internet.
It’s quite easy to open the Footprint Editor, to browse though footprints while you’re editing the pin table in another part of KiCad.
@paulvdh, I could ask where you thought that I disclosed my monitor size, but that would sliding further off topic.
The part I modified and saved–now does not show in the parts chooser.
Even if you have all three showing on your monitor, that doesn’t give you context, which is vitally important in a UI. In the case of Kicad, the UI is made in such a way, that you could reference 2 different parts, for different operations.
On a single form, it would be better if the user could see and align:
This Symbol, These Properties, This 3D Model.
[Click to Share]
@BrendaEM : Perhaps I should have filed a bug report.
Please look and work through a tutorial and/or the documentation first. Expecting to master a CAD-software in less than 24hours is too much.
Also try to use the nomenclature used by kicad, this will make it easier to help you. For instance kicad has no “part” (currently), there are symbols and footprints. It’s not always obvious (for the reader) what you want to express with your sentences.
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I was interrupted by dinner and other serious concerns. 
For some reason you are “looking at” this issue in some way that is different from almost everyone else on this forum. And I judge that almost everyone else on this forum uses (or has used) other EDA software and appreciates KiCad. So my impression is that you tend to criticize that which you do not understand. As @paulvdh inferred, many (most?) people laying out pcbs use 2 or more monitors. And the points raised above by @mf_ibfeew are also very valid. In my opinion this forum beats the help available for most other EDA software. I am not so great at learning software and I started using KiCad around 2015 without a lot of difficulty. So best to focus on learning that which you do not understand. The software is much better than you think.
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In the PCBCAD software I use I would load in a schematic symbol similar to what I want.
Edit it, then save it under new name.
Then do same for pcb symbol, edit it then save it under same new name.
However, my software works opposite to kicad, it has minimal libraries but includes a component wizard to make adding new components easier than just make them by hand.
I have to agree, change schematic side pin numbers and leave footprint as is.
But then you need to save new component somehow without messing up original.
Hi @BrendaEM
The best way to work with Kicad is:
Decide which component you require and then find its data sheet.
Surf the kicad Footprint libraries to find the required footprint.
In this instance you have three choices.
Associate the required footprint with your selected component.
Write, memorize or minimize the chosen footprint required.
Open the symbol editor and find the required symbol.
In this case it is an N-channel FET with diode.
You have six choices… all the combinations. Match as required; according to data sheet and footprint. As @eelik mentioned, way above, the pin names are in numeric order. So, the one selected, is G=1, D=2, S=3
Place this symbol on your schematic and then edit its properties.
Give it a Ref.
Give it a value…IRL640A
Give it a footprint…click in the Value space, then on the books that appear in black at the end of that space, to navigate to the footprint you previously recorded.
Give it a data sheet (works like footprint but steers to the www)
Add as many more fields with as much information as you require, below those basic fields.
Adjust all the other Symbol Properties as desired.
All done… everything matches… no changes needed to symbols or footprints.
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Would not the drain and source be connected to different pins on your part?
You could always download a symbol and footprint from one of the library sites like snapeda.com then add it to your personal library then you won’t have to worry about which symbol or footprint you are selecting from the Kicad Libraries. This is what I would do.
Also, when you are done and you print the gerbers (or whatever) you should physically place the part on the printout and verify the pinout is what you need. It sounds hokey but it has saved me a lot of time. Relays and transformers are the most often source of errors but anything with a specific pin sequence is worth the extra check. This is especially true if you have components on both sides of the board.
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It would seem that the MOSFET in the library is not pinned standard, then.,
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Your response with the Symbol Editor and the pin combinations looks very promising. Yes, I have the data sheet. I am trying to follow it but I cannot figure out how to get there from your instructions.
I know it must have very difficult to write this part of Kicad; unfortunately, it shows.
For instance: who would know what the difference is between Create-Footprint and New-Footprint? Although we can mouse over the and get balloon-help from the buttons, the Create-Footprint menu entry names should be changed to something like New Footprint Wizard, or Footprint Creator, or something like that that.
This same thing happens in the Symbol Editor. We have New-Library and Add-Library. This time, there is no balloon help from the other buttons, which don’t exist on the bar, unlike the other menuing situation. [I wondered if Add-Library might be like an import function. I took a look, but I’m not going to mess with it for now.]
Other things that complicate Kicad’s parts for new’ish user: Completely different menuing to accomplish similar functions; reused truncated/abdridged variations of menuing depending on where we launch. Ironically, there are both. At no time, do we get a clear sense where we are.
I don’t care for the choices we have, as far as Global or Project. For me, am important delineation is whether a part is custom or not, whether or not it’s unique to Kicad’s library or not. In other words: files I need for other Kicad installations.
Also, I would like the option of copy all used footprints with/in my Kicad drawing. When I updated to the last version of Kicad, I had to do rescues, which worked, but I also needed a few house of work to fix what had changed in Kicad.
A [Edit a Copy of This Part] button would make this so much easier.
A [Share This Part ] button would rock the Kicad community!
I will keep looking around the menus, to see if I can connect your gracious help to the program.
I am nearly done with my first Kicad circuit board. Changing the pinout was, for me, the most difficult non-intuitive part of Kicad. So, much so, that I actually reworked the board, to improve it, before coming back to deal with the issues I have with part modification and creation, which as you can see, I still haven’t done.
[That little island of missing ground-plane is screaming at me too. Though, it’s tough because this board has 2 isolated grounds. It should be hooked to ground-2. For my first Kicad board, I just wanted a through-hole board. As far as SI is concerned, well, I would be quite happy if the MOSFETS could be PWM’ed at 16KHz, without much operation in the linear region that would heat them.]
: ) ]
I do not want to change my library settings to investigate what you are saying, but when you say “The MOSFET in the Library” I am not sure what MOSFET you are referring to. Your thinking is somewhat like saying that a car has a 4 cylinder engine. Yes, many cars do, but many do not. If the library symbol indicates “TO220 MOSFET” then any arrangement other than GDS is not the most common case. Is there a choice of pinouts? In theory there are 6 possible pinouts (neglecting the tab) and we may have symbols for all 6? That would not mean that you can find devices to conform to all of these options.
Using my text editor I opened my Transistor_FET.lib. My copy is 4 years old because I use mostly my own schematic library, and I do not bother downloading when I update KiCad. But I do not imagine the content has changed so much. This library appears to contain many FETs.
One general point: I do not think that KiCad or its libraries try to take the responsibility of correct device pinout. Specific devices such as LM324 in SO14 ought to be correct but even there I would want to check the datasheet. I think it is all “Caveat Emptor”. In this case it means that the user of any EDA package needs to insure the correctness of his or her own design.
That’s all I want to do is change the pinout on my MOSFET. Why shouldn’t take anyone–even me, this long to learn how to do it–if I can accomplish most everything else.
I don’t want to use exclamation points, but they are implied. : )
Were you trying to edit a symbol in the standard library without saving it to a custom library?