Straight line routing

[D_C]

Hi guys,

I’ve been using KiCad for a while now, and one thing that has always bothered me, is how to make direct lines.

As seen in the image, I have some components that is slightly rotated, and when trying to route my track, KiCad forces me to align into 45 degrees. Is it possible to make a direct line here, so that my track meets the pad in a nice way?

Yes, it’s probably a common question, but every solution I’ve found does not seem to work. I’ve tried:

• Right click > Drag (Free angle)
• “Free angle mode” in Interactive Router Settings
• KiCad Preferences, disabling “Limit tracks to 45 degrees”

Is it a bug in the software, bad UX or just me?

Best regards, D

[Rene_Poschl]

After changing the settings of the interactive router you need to exit the routing mode and enter it again. (At least this was the case in kicad version 4)

[pedro]

@D_C

• “Free angle mode” in Interactive Router Settings
• KiCad Preferences, disabling “Limit tracks to 45 degrees”

Both are working well for me.
Free angle mode in Modern toolset (F11) checked
Limit tracks to 45 degrees in Legacy toolset (F9) unchecked

Edit: version 5.0.0

[D_C]

Oh yeah, I figured it out. So you can’t do it when you’re in routing mode. You can only change existing routes in free hand, when not in routing mode.

Thanks a lot!

[Rerouter]

Straight line routing mode also gives you a very good way to make curvy traces for RF things and for really dense layouts, as they are built out of segments not splines, the DRC and zone filling works great with it.