Side question: I’m running KiCad 7.0.11 under macOS 15.7.3 (OCLP Sequoia). Should I or can I update to KiCad 9.0?
I’d upgrade to the latest version. There have been so many improvements since 7.0.x
Also from a support perspective not many people still run 7.0 so if you have any questions about it there are not many people who are going to be able to help.
As you are going from a seriously old version to the latest I’d first backup all you projects/libraries as once you save your projects in 9.0 format you can no longer open them in previous versions.
See here for the system requirements:
The requirements were fulfilled. I’m at this decision at the moment:
AI extracted the Text and translated it:
An older folder named “KiCad” already exists at this location. Do you want to merge it or replace it with the newer folder you are copying?
Merging will combine both folders. All newer items such as “GerbView.app” and 6 others will be kept.
Stop Replace Merge
Replace since you are upgrading.
Ouch. I overhasty decided to „merge“. Can I repair this by installing once again?
Try it, worst case remove and re-install.
Different versions of KiCad can co-exist without problems. I simply rename the default folder to the name + version (e.g. KiCad_9_06) that way, I can install newer versions and not have to worry about screwing up an older, working one. I am on macOS Sequoia.
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OK, done with it. What are the apps that are being installed with KiCad (9.0, macOS?
I see in launchpad (which was already there with 7.0):
KiCad.app
eeschema.app
PCBCalculator.app
PCBEditor.app
GerbView.app
There are 9 (sub) programs you can start from KiCad’s project manager:
- Schematic Editor (Eeschema)
- Symbol Editor
- PCB Editor (PCB new)
- Footprint Editor
- Gerber Viewer
- Image Converter
- Calculator tools
- Drawing Sheet Editor
- Plugin Manager.
You are listing only 4 (and KiCad’s project manager) But directly from my OS (Linux Mint) I seem to have the same 5 options as you do.
Thanks. I see these 9 “tools” also in the project viewer (KiCad App) when started. I was refering to what I could see in the macOS app launcher and these were:
Yes on macOS some of the subprograms are brought out from the main bundle and included in the /Applications/KiCad folder as aliases. They’re actually standalone applications, even though the primary use case is as a tool within KiCad.
I don’t know why launcher doesn’t show two of these, but yes, they all available to be launched from within KiCad anyway. You’re free to add or remove them from launcher.
Also, I concur with 3Dogs on upgrading - always “replace” instead of merge when installing a new version so you don’t end up with a mixture. But it’s perfectly safe to rename the old version first so you can keep it around. I do this regularly and switch between two or three versions until I’m ready to abandon the old.
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Also, for completeness, the preferences for each version are stored separately too in ~/Library/Preferences/kicad/ . Preferences are separate for the stable branch and the development branch. So, I have, for example, folders for stable branch 8.0 and 9.0 as well as for development branch 8.99 and 9.99. I often put the development x.99 branch in ~/Applications (and the stable version in /Applications).