Search / highlight nets across multiple schematic sites

Schematic
1

Hello,
I have a schematic design with one root-sheet and 7 subsheets (the flat-design-principle).
I have used only global labels.
The schematic is nearly done, I’m on revisiting and checking.
What’s the best/easiest way to search/highlight nets across multiple sheets?
Actual I use the search function, but this is not really satisfying. My complaints are:

  1. I have no overview of all found places of the search (missing feature)
  2. CTRL+F search-dialog positions itself onto middle of the screen, the schematic sheet zoooms and centers the found search-result also to the middle of the screen -> the search-result is hidden under the search window (bad user-experience)
  3. If I push the search-window to the side/top/bottom so that it doesn’t sit above the centered search-result, it’s better. But Kicad forget’s this position and puts the search window again at the middle of the screen at the next search (bad user-experience)
  4. Hotkey F3 (find next) opens again the search window and doesn’t directly search and show the next match (maybe a bug at the hotkey-assignement?)
  5. sometimes the search-function stops at the end of the actual schematic and doesn’t search all the following schematic-sheets (maybe a bug - until now not always reproducable )
  6. If I have a search with many results (+3.3V for instance) and I want to go one match back in the search-result-list this is not possible. I have to click many many times to go through the complete result-list until it begins from start. Either a result-list (see point1) or a “find last match”-hotkey could help in this situation (missing feature)
  7. If the search finds the next occurance at another sheet Kicad opens this schematic-sheet. That’s good, but it doesn’t refresh schematic-navigator-panel (where the actual showed page should have a gray background). Thats irritating. (maybe not implemented until now, maybe bug)
  8. If using the search-function with an selected object it would be nice if the object-name/text is automaticly placed in tthe search-edit-field. (wish)

Questions:

  • Are there other ways/tools to help me get an overview about the usage of all my global nets/power ports?
  • I would like to write some of the points to the kicad-gitlab-bugtracker-list. OTOH I don’t want to spam the list. Should I make one big or better many small reports?

Maik Freitag

forgot: Kicad v5.99

2

As there are only 7 sheets, I would highlight the net and navigate through the sheets.

3

On my version (5.99.0-11663-g8172737d6f, 08.08.2021) the highlighting is not preserved if I change the sheet. Or is there some switch on the preferences for this function?

4

In v5.1 it works. I have just tested v.5.99 and you are right, it doesn’t work. I do not know if there is an option in v5.99 or it is a bug.

5

Many small. It’s impossible to handle one report with several wishes, for example if one part of it is fixed and one not, or if one part of it is actually part of another feature already in the database.

6

Many small.

Ok.

cross reference to gitlab #5002

Ahh, I can see that there is already an ongoing discussion on future development/ideas, thanks.
So I will open only issues with potentially (in my opinion) not so difficult changes wich can be implemented/corrected before the big search development.

7

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