KiCad 5.1.4
When adding a symbol to schematic I see symbols descriptions.
Is it possible to see that description of symbol already at schematic?
If yes then how?
I’d like to use 100n symbol name instead of 100n100 (meaning 100n/100V) but would like to have simple way of ensuring myself that here is the right 100n (going through footprint and then checking that for that footprint there I have capacitor for 100V is not simple way).
Why not add a custom field holding the voltage?
I didn’t reach a level of adding custom fields yet 
If I do that I will see it when using ‘E’ at schematic?
I have tried it.
I see that field when ‘E’ but I see the same value for all aliases what is not true.
For aliases (in my conception capacitors in the same footprint) I can specify the description (containing the voltage) but can’t specify the different value for my field.
I prefer to stay with aliases then making separate symbol for each capacitor.
So custom field is not what I need.
This is simply a restriction of the current kicad symbol file format. An alias can only have a different name, description, keywords and datasheet.
Footprint assignments and other fields are always equal for all aliases. This is why i personally do not use fully specified symbols for things like capacitors. I have a symbol for every footprint type with a field for the house part number partly pre filled. When i then add a cap i fully fill out the house part number and the value field.
My house part number encodes the package, capacitance and voltage. I could also add separate fields for voltage and value and let a script extract this information and fill out the house part number fully this way when creating the BOM but that was simply too much work for my needs. (My house part number is of the syntax {Part id = 1x for caps, x=0 for 0402, 1 for 0603, 2 for 0805, ... , 9 for other}_{value code eg. 100n, 1n00, 10u0}_{voltage example: 50V0 for 50V, 2k00 for 2kV} Would i start over then i would include the size as clear text and use prefix C to indicate capacitor. (Meaning it would then look like C0603_100n_50V0 for example.)
For resistors i make it even easier as i only buy 75V 0603 1% resistors. Greatly reducing what i need to track. (If a project requires a different specification then it gets a project specific part number within my material management system.)
One could even use the above system and make an alias with the house part number for every part available instead of adding a separate HPN field (increases the number of things inside the library and therefore the work required to maintain the lib. If that tradeoff is worth perusing is for the designer to decide.)
So when pressing ‘E’ at symbol at schematic then it would be helpful to see that specific for alias fields.
Till now I used the way symbol name = all specification of element.
In KiCad I decided I will use symbol name + footprint = all specification of element.
When I use symbol I don’t change any of its fields. If I won’t to change for example capacitor value I just remove one and place another. By not modifying anything I assure I will not insert any incorrect information during schematic editing.
I have never thought of using scripts. I use spreadsheet to make bom (just because I have use that method since many years and don’t see the reason to change it).
Then you will need to have the voltage in the name as i suggested (alias name would do). How else could you add different voltages of the same capacitance otherwise (there are 0805 caps of a 100p for 25V, 50V, 100V and even 2kV available.) Meaning you would get a naming conflict right here without including it (or you need to limit yourself to one voltage value per cap/size pair.)
I do not think the description is even included in the schematic. From the alias specific things only the datasheet field is copied over (into the datasheet field of the symbol, and only if the symbol datasheet field is left empty. The later is ensured since 5.1 as one can no longer fill out the datasheet field of the symbol itself.)
I mainly limit myself that way. That also allows to limit the number of drawers needed in our magazine.
If I really have to have more than one value then nothing stops me from using the longer name in that one case (as I was doing till now). But would like to have short names and limit such situations (only few cases I expect).
At schematic the most important is the capacitance (and I assume that others like dielectric, voltage are just as they should be).
It is me who decides what element to use. When got today into that subject I just begin to check “How with capacitors is now”. I have looked at 1uF. If the price for 1uF/16V/0603 is 0.015PLN and for 1uF/25V/0603 is 0.020PLN I am seriously considering to delete 1uF/16 from my library and since today to use always 1uF/25V.
I decided to write as wish-list a bug to add symbol description in ‘E’ dialog-box at schematic.
I have not written any datasheet for my symbols yet (but I plan). I think for capacitors I will copy their description to Datasheet field and I will have what I wont.
Just FYI all what i wrote above will be obsolete with the new file format that is planned for v6. And getting the description into the schematic would require changes to the file format which can also not happen before v6. So basically nothing will change till the new file format is available in about two years or so.
It was first look - didn’t noticed, that I see prices in USD. Not important to the subject, just to not left errors if I noticed them.
I supposed that schematic can look into library to show that info.
And how should it deal with a changed symbol? Implementing this in any way that is not a huge hack would require changes to the file format. Luckily the core devs do not allow hacks. (See the “hidden power input pin” mess for details about what can happen without such a policy in place.)
Information I am looking for is just in front of my eyes (in message panel), but I’m blind 
Thanks to Michael Kavanagh who written it in response to my wish written in bug system.
For anybody curious https://bugs.launchpad.net/kicad/+bug/1840148:
The description and keywords of the selected symbol are displayed in the message panel of Eeschema, is this not sufficient?
And i know why i did miss that. This info is simply empty for my personal projects that i worked on lately. (Even though i have symbols with this information in it within the libraries. Well it seems it does not quite work if there is some sort of desync between libs and project which is the result of not having this in the schematic at all. I might need to investigate this sometime down the line.)
Ok the projects i worked on have their symbols rescued (because the library names changed) so of course there is no description available. Man i feel dump now.
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