That is a payne in the *** indeed. I believe it is/was a much needed function because of the default “stinkin’ N key”. The default N key is an even bigger payne in the *** The stinkin' N key - #2 by paulvdh.
I have had only need for this function just because of the N key. Since I removed that shortcut I haven’t used this tool anymore.
If that shortkey never existed, it would be really hard to get things off grid in the first place.
So yeah. It sucks that accidently touching the N key can ultimately result in shorts as well…
I think that dragging a wire should not ever make a connection. If I need a connection, I can just make one…
Some people make a *&^%$#@! of things because of the n key, but it’s also common that beginners with KiCad set the grid to something random because they do not know about the “grid thing”.
I find it quite strange this has not been really fixed yet. Even something simple as never allowing a grid smaller then “50” for schematic symbols would fix it.
Thanks for the links.
Now I know that it’s called “autoconnect” feature.
I still haven’t found a single advantage from this feature.
Hope that someday it will be fixed, because I’m just afraid to touch the wires or move the symbols in the schematic editor now.
It’s not a feature, it’s just the result of how the schematics editor works.
Kicad had no concept of schematic lines that overlap but do not connect to each other. As long as they connect coordinate wise, they just connect electrically.
Doing something else wouldn’t be like removing a feature, it would make things much more complex as Kicad would have to build an internal netlist or introduce a 3D stack of schematic items or something like that.
Feature: a distinctive attribute or aspect of something.
It’s not a feature, it’s just the result of how the schematics editor works.
That would be called a feature, not a deeply designed one necceserily, but feature nonetheless. Possibly should be called a emergent feature? Although this one is clearly working as designed.
As I mentioned way up the thread, I trained myself to use the G hotkey whenever I drag single or groups of symbols instead of “left mouse button hold down” so I can see if I’m going to get overlapping wires joining before I finalize the drag. This saves a lot of hassles.
It may as easily be considered a bug. I as programmer know that there is an extremely thin line between whether something is a bug or a feature. And this line may shift. At times I am not even sure if the thing I am looking at, is a bug or a feature. Just like these connection that KiCad may add autonomously. I think it is one dangerous hot potatoe bug. But I do can understand why some people consider it to be a feature.
At work we had a machine with a bug. It would stop sometimes for unknown reasons.
So we added a new feature, a general process timeout of 50s. The timeout occurs only if we are not logged in.
Now one year later, we are experimenting with an improved algorithm which works fine. Only the cycle time itself now is set at 60s which used to be 42s. Sometimes we forget to log in, we don’t always have to. Than we see that our future abruptly aborts the cycle after 50s. The randoms stops, the actual bug, was solved in the meantime but the timeout remained.
The feature which once ‘solved’ a bug has now become a bug itself
I assume that Kicad keeps a database of schematic coordinates and a corresponding net name.
If I am wrong please correct me.
Using x,y with x-vertical and y-horizontal, then the coordinate data (8,1,VDD) and (8,9,VDD) would cause Kicad to draw a vertical line from 1 to 9 and label it VDD.
If a small (7,4,RST) to (7,5,RST) zig-zag is dragged from the 7-vertical to the 8-vertical and dropped there creating the new (8,4,RST) to (8,5,RST) coordinates, then now Kicad makes a decision to rename one of the nets to the other net name and place connection dots at the (8,4) and (8,5) coordinates.
So don’t do that, leave all four coordinates in the database.
Thereon out Kicad could display the (8,4,RST) to (8,5,RST) line segment in RED to let the user know that there are two overlapping nets that occupy the 8-vertical.
Right-clicking any RED line segment could produce a selection list to allow the user to grab ahold of one of the contentious nets to move it again to eliminate the contention, or not.
If not, the schematic may become unintelligible when printed but, the database could still be followed correctly when it comes time to create a PCB net list.
It would remain the user’s responsibility to remove all of the REDness from the schematic.
I don’t think it does, and if it does, it will be only as a temporary cache to allow faster rendering and not as a replacement of a netlist or something.
And in the end it just uses matching / overlapping coordinates to figure out which section of wire gets which net name. I guess that the presentation in memory is somewhat similar to what is in the file, but if you want to go that deep, the source code is also freely available on gitlab. One of the strong points of Open Source software
So, according to what paulvdh wrote, what I suggested could be done.
Just not by me.
I have been writing proprietary firmware for microcontrollers in assembly and C since 1983.
I am not permitted to use any open source code in my projects.
I can make educated suggestions when it comes to software.
I just have no inclination to spend time learning how git works.
