Positioning reference without snap

[codesmythe]

Hi. I’m using KiCad version 7.0.2-0, release build on an M2 Mac to layout a board. In KiCad 5, I could place the reference designator for a resistor into the middle/body of that resistor, like this:

But in KiCad 7, when I try to move the reference designator into the middle, it insists on snapping to the various sides of the resistor and won’t let me put the designator in the middle.

I’ve set KiCad → Settings… → PCB Editor → Display Option → Snap to Grid: to Never, but that does not seem to have any effect on designator snapping. Is there another setting I can use?

Thanks,

Rob

[RaptorUK]

@codesmythe

Is there another setting I can use?

If you hold Shift (or Mac equivalent) while positioning it shouldn’t snap.

Note: your top pic looks like silkscreen not ref designator . . . you can move the silk without it snapping.

[codesmythe]

Thank you! That worked.

[codesmythe]

Following up to your note. Yes, I think I got my terms mixed up. It is silkscreen. However that is what I am trying to move and it does seem to snap by default for me.

Thanks again.

Rob

[straubm]

@codesmythe

snap by default for me

You can influence that to some degree in Preferences->PCB Editor->Editing Options

[Piotr]

@RaptorUK

your top pic looks like silkscreen not ref designator

I don’t understand what you mean.
Silkscreen is a name of layer. Ref designator is a name of object (text) type. If someone have ref designator at silkscreen then when he shows his ref designators they look like silkscreen. There is nothing strange about this.
I have ref designators and element values at CrtYd layers.

[RaptorUK]

@Piotr

I don’t understand what you mean.

Perhaps I din’t phrase it very well . . .

What I was trying to say is in the top picture the resistor ref could be moved, but it’s on the Silk layer, on the next picture the R1 is not on the silk layer and cannot be moved without snapping.

I have a similar situation, I can move the yellow D2 (on the silk) without it snapping, but not the D2 on the Fab layer (as indicated by the circle).

[Piotr]

@RaptorUK

What I was trying to say is in the top picture the resistor ref could be moved, but it’s on the Silk layer, on the next picture the R1 is not on the silk layer and cannot be moved without snapping.

I supposed that top picture is of the PCB and second from footprint editor and assumed that just different colors were used for the same footprint element.

@RaptorUK

but not the D2 on the Fab layer (as indicated by the circle).

I hear first time of the circle marking that something have to be snapped. But I have recently designed my first V7 PCB. May be I just didn’t noticed it.
May be I have not seen this circle because my footprints have only one reference and one value (both at CrtYd).

[codesmythe]

Thanks for this. Setting Snap to graphics to Never gives me the behavior I want of letting me position the ref designator (which does live on the silkscreen) without snapping without using Shift.

[codesmythe]

@RaptorUK

@Piotr

I don’t understand what you mean.

Perhaps I din’t phrase it very well . . .

What I was trying to say is in the top picture the resistor ref could be moved, but it’s on the Silk layer, on the next picture the R1 is not on the silk layer and cannot be moved without snapping.

But the R1 in the second picture is on the silkscreen. I tried to show that in the screenshot in my third message. Here is another attempt to show that where I have turned off the visibility of all layers except the front silk.