Properties panel for the schematic editor
This is initial infrastructure; many items don’t have properties yet and will be filled out over time.
The symbol library editor will be addressed later once the schematic editor version is stable.
Simulation plots are now updated incrementally as the simulation runs.
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Support for exporting Allegro netlists has been contributed to the schematic editor and is found in the same netlist export dialog as the pre-existing options
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Forgot to mention this one earlier, but it can be useful with high-res screens if your ratsnest lines are too fine:
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The PCB editor has gained footprint fields equivalent to symbol fields. Each footprint’s fields are synchronized with its symbol’s fields. Footprint texts are still available for non-field text in footprints.
Jeff Young added some options to allow applying board text and graphics settings to footprints by default if desired (see “When Adding Footprints to PCB” in lower-right), so your board text and graphics settings can automatically override footprint library defaults.
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Named variables as schematic fields are now supported as a special field type. These are fields named something like ${DNP} or ${VALUE}. Their value is always set to the same variable as the name, and the shown name is always the variable without the ${ }.
These have a couple of uses, especially with regards to the BOM generator. The special variables allow exporting non-field properties such as Do Not Place:
/usr/local/bin/kicad-cli sch export bom
input: 1 argument(s) expected. 0 provided.
Usage: bom [-h] [--output VAR] [--fields VAR] [--labels VAR] [--group-by VAR] [--sort-field VAR] [--sort-asc] [--filter VAR] [--group] [--exclude-dnp] [--field-delimiter VAR] [--string-delimiter VAR] [--ref-delimiter VAR] [--ref-range-delimiter VAR] [--keep-tabs] [--keep-line-breaks] input
Positional arguments:
input Input file
Optional arguments:
-h, --help shows help message and exits
-o, --output Output file name [default: ""]
--fields An ordered list of fields to export. [default: "Reference,Value,Footprint,Quantity,${DNP}"]
--labels An ordered list of labels to apply the exported fields. [default: "Refs,Value,Footprint,Qty,DNP"]
--group-by Fields to group references by when field values match. [default: "Value,Footprint,${DNP}"]
They also work when specified in the command line exporter. Be careful of escaping! The shell will eat empty variables like ${DNP} so try ${DNP}, etc.
Lastly, the symbol fields table has gained the Item Number column as another magic column like Quantity.
The BOM exporter should now be able to export equivalent output as the three built-in python BOM scripts.
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Expand Selection (hotkey U in the PCB editor) now works on graphic lines (actually, any open graphic shapes) in addition to copper objects.
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Graphic shapes (lines, arcs, rectangles, polygons) can now have nets assigned just like tracks.
This allows creating custom copper shapes without having to define them as custom pads inside a footprint.
This is handy for various reasons, for example if you want to define a copper polygon on the board to connect some pads together but don’t want it to be a filled zone (because you do not want it to ever keep clearance from anything like a zone would)
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There are now cli options to run drc and erc
kicad-cli pcb drc
kicad-cli sch erc
Additionally both the cli and gui have an option to save a json formatted report
The schema of which can be found here resources/schemas · master · KiCad / KiCad Source Code / kicad · GitLab
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Grids can now be modified in the UI, and grid overrides can be applied that set certain grids based on the item you’re acting upon.
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Note: grid settings shown in previous message have now been moved to Preferences.
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Added importers for EasyEDA / JLCEDA, both Standard and Professional editions.
To download STEP 3D models for imported boards, a separate plugin must be used:
- Download the latest “PCM Package” from EasyEDA 3D Loader Releases
- In KiCad, open “Plugin and Content Manager” > “Install from File…”, choose the downloaded archive
- Close PCM.
After importing your project/board, in PCB Editor, click on the plugin icon and then “Download and convert STEP 3D models from JLC”.
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Pin Helpers: a set of tools to rapidly break out from symbols.
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