Working with the symbol editor, I frequently use existing symbol to modify this for new symbols. Therefore I open existing symbol and use File-SaveCopyAs. Normally this happens inside the same library partition for similar symbols. Apparently, this is not working like other “SaveAs” in text editor or other progamms, as the symbol editor keeps on editing the source symbol.
Changing to the new symbol, we have to close the symbol editor with another save confirmation for the library itself, then re-open the new symbol again. Is there any reason, Kicad not performing this steps automatically? For my opinion, the behaviour like in any other programms would make the symbol editor use more intuitive.
Hmm. It’s true that the old symbol remains selected until you select the new symbol, which is marked with a * indicating unsaved changes. However, I could then edit the new symbol further before saving, I didn’t have to close the editor. You could also Save (Ctrl-S) before further editing, just in case, this gets rid of the unsaved * marker.
It’s debatable whether the workflow should switch to the new symbol. If you are just making one new symbol, it’s only one click to change the selection. If you are making a whole bunch of new symbols, then staying on the old symbol saves switching back and forth.
Notice how they have Save As and Save a Copy (As), two separate functions. “Save As” continues with the newly saved document, “Save a Copy” continues with the old document.
To be honest: I was never aware to the “save copy as” option in other programs. Always used the “save as”. No question, its not a real problem as both possibilities lead to the required result. If nobody asks for or opens an issue on Gitlab, it cannot be improved. In comparison to early versions, there are endless improved details for the user interface what make Kicad much more comfortable and intuitive today.
