I am reverse engineering a PCB, I have worked out the BOM first and given each component a unique integer ID, as I place the component in the KiCad scheme it automatically assigns the next sequential reference designation, R1, then R2 etc. No issue so far. I then add the KiCad assigned reference designation into my BOM, so I have a unique ID and a KiCad Reference, enabling me to cross reference the BOM to the scheme. BTW, the board had no silk screen which is why I am doing this.
However as the circuit nears completion on a particular sheet I tidy the scheme which can mean changing location of many symbols so all wires flow and interconnect with minimal crossover. This is when the issue starts. When I save and shutdown, then open next day, I am finding common parts like resistors and capacitors have changed reference designation. I note it is changing based on top to bottom, left to right organisation.
I do not want this to happen, how can i disable? Once the symbol is placed, i want it to retain the initial reference designation, not change as I change the position of symbols on a given sheet, this is annoying, as I will have to painfully go through every symbol and update my BOM once the scheme is fully completed. There are 680 parts in the design!
I have only been working in the schematic editor, not opened the PCB editor, for this project anyway. I did follow an online tutorial and went from scheme to board layout before starting. Does the change you list above remain the default after changing in an earlier project or is it project to project basis?
I am using version 8.0.2. Can you try from your end?
Increments in the third number are only bug fix updates, and are safe to install (at least from about a week after initial release). Current version is V8.0.5. These bug fix releases are made approximately once a month.
Normally, I do not care much about annotation. For me it’s mostly just a nuisance, because KiCad matches schematic symbols with PCB footprints with UUID’s and these are invisible to the user.
If annotation is precious to you, it is better to turn off automatic annotation. You can do this in: Schematic Editor / Preferences / Preferences / Schematic Editor / Annotation Options / Automatically annotate symbols
And if you combine that with: Schematic Editor / Tools / Annotate Schematic / Options / [*] Keep existing annotations then you can be pretty sure that annotations won’t change in your project.
