Until now, CTRL + E could be used to open the editor of the current symbol or footprint (below the mouse).
Since yesterday, CTRL + SHIFT + E can be used to open the symbol or footprint it in the library editor, instead of editing the current symbol / footprint.
Thanks Seth! https://gitlab.com/kicad/code/kicad/-/issues/9454
We finally got some information about the v6 release schedule! Quoted from Wayne’s message, https://www.mail-archive.com/kicad-developers@lists.launchpad.net/msg39781.html :
The annual stable release policy sounds exciting.
https://dev-docs.kicad.org/en/rules-guidelines/release-policy/
The Plugin and Content Manager has been enabled by default and will start showing up in nightlies tomorrow.
There is work-in-progress documentation aimed at plugin/content creators on the dev docs site. Adventurous plugin authors can already start submitting their work to the official repository by following the guidelines there (take a look at the things already in the repository for examples).
There are some things to be aware of when testing:
I am really happy to see PCM in KiCAD! However, I am worried about the plugins’ future in KiCAD 6. In the current nightly, there is API regression that affects several plugins in such a way they stop working. And without fixing the API, they will not be available for v6.
Could you provide updates on the Python API v6? I raised my concerns on the mailing list about a week ago, but I received no response from the developers (see https://lists.launchpad.net/kicad-developers/msg45379.html). The regression was reported about 9 months ago and we were asured that it will be fixed before release. However, I am really getting worried as it is 7 days until RC.
I have a question regarding PCM - what about plugins that have third-party dependencies (i.e., Python libraries). Does the installation process via PCM takes this into account? Currently, it doesn’t look so. Is it expected that the user will have to install such dependencies manually?
Can’t you just include all dependencies in the plug-in? The website linked above states that
The contents of the
pluginssubdirectory should include any Python source files and resources required by your plugin
Could you start a new thread please? This one is really just for announcements and gets impossible to search if every new feature is discussed within it.
Here you go: Plugin and Content Manager - how to handle plugins with dependencies?
However, I didn’t notice there is such a rule. And short discussions happened here before and none was complaining.
Some things die off on their own after a few posts. Some have the potential to go on longer. Sometimes a new topic will simply get better visibility.
When KiCad V6 is released I think it’s a good idea to start a new topic for it and then only give a limited amount of people access to add posts.
Comments and questions can than easily be handled by starting a new thread and referring to the “list of new features and development news”
It’s been in for a bit but probably worth a mention: The routing corner style (Ctrl+/) now has 4 modes to cycle through: 45-degree, 45-degree with rounded corners, 90-degree, and 90-degree with rounded corners. The active corner style is shown in the message panel at the bottom while routing.
corner_modes
Sad news for those who have waited for the new python API. In Python API status in v6 we have been told that it’s not ready yet for v6 RC or relase and will be postponed. Existing plugins should be converted to the changed old style API to work with v6. There will be no eeschema API in v6. More details and discussion in the linked thread.
Any way of changing the corner radius ?
The router operates in a fixed-angle mode, not fixed-radius. You set the radius by where you click. Fixed-radius curves can be added using the Fillet Tracks post-processing operation.
Ah, OK. Thanks for the explanation.
As many of you have already seen, the development version has moved to 6.0RC1 phase.
Bug fixing will continue. The new version string is seen in some places. You will get the settings migration dialog, so there will be both 5.99 (old) and 6.0 (new) folders in the user specific kicad configuration. The configuration system is identical between the last 5.99 and first RC1 commit, but you can consider starting from scratch at this point to get a fresh feeling. If someone jumps in now from 5.1, I personally recommend starting from scratch.
Well, in theory it will migrate. But your mileage may vary. i.e. you may find your library tables broken https://gitlab.com/kicad/code/kicad/-/issues/9660
Also if you download a “lite” build of nightly MSVC right now, you will end up missing libraries because it will install to \6.0\ but without any libraries because its “lite”.
We were already informed about the python API (see couple of posts upwards). Now Seth sent a more “official” message to the developers mailing list: https://www.mail-archive.com/kicad-developers@lists.launchpad.net/msg39824.html. Especially plugin developers should read it.