RFC: Select active net in reports/everywhere

I am checking my routed tracks or copper tracks, whatever you call them. I have three places to watch: The PCB itself, lowest part of the screen and the net inspector.

My wish: It would be a nice feature if the net inspector would select the net I have selected in the PCB. Selected or highlighted, I don’t care. Maybe even the opposite, if I select a net in the net inspector, the PCB screen should show that track.

By the way, I have two places with different lengths, the net inspector and the bottom part of the screen.

By holding the [Ctrl] key in the net inspector you can highlight multiple nets at the same time.

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A good start. Does it work in other direction too, if I select net in the screen, does the net inspector select it.
Kicad was unstable here some way. When I double clicked total cell, I got random selection of tracks. But restarting Kicad helped.

Sure.
Why don’t you try it for yourself.

Just hover over some track and then press the backtick (Usually just under the [Esc] key in the upper left corner

And it works 3-ways. If you hover over a wire in the schematic and press the backtick to highlight, then it highlights both the net in the PCB Editor and the Net Inspector when it’s open.

You can adjust preferences for panning and zooming in ah, well, the Preferences :slight_smile: Also note that highlighting is persistent. This allows you do modify the schematic or PCB while the highlighting stays active. To “undo” the highlighting, just hit the backtick key again. (Or in an empty area

Also, have you seen the link below?
It promises highlighting on a physical PCB that is lying on your desk.

Sounds good, but it looks like it doesn’t work with my finnish keyboard. In the video, you press that key at every pin? Do know what the backtick key is called, I could perhaps edit keyboard shortcuts.

Kicad has too many selections, namely highlight and selection. And they are well hidden. High lighting a net selected that also in net inspector, but selecting a net didn’t. .

So far my selections at PCB do not go back to the SCH.

Yes, I pressed the backtick every time you see the highlighting change.

Backtick - Wikipedia. A.k.a “grave Accent”.

Finnish keyboards apparently have it on the other side, next to the Backspace.

Source: List of QWERTY keyboard language variants - Wikipedia

But you can of course change any of the shorcut keys in the Preferences.


Just for reference, I’m using KiCad V6.0.9. What version are you using?

In English this is called “Cross Probing”, and it can also be set in the Preferences. There are similar but separate settings for Cross-Probing from either the schematic or from the PCB.

This is W10 and 6.09 too.
More tomorrow

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