I am sure this has been asked already, but I couldn’t find it…and yes, I googled this topic!
I have KiCad V5.15 installed on Windows 10 64-bit desktop. I learned about the latest version (yep, I’m a bit behind) and was going to upgrade, but read about people upgrading and encountering problems.
I have no custom libraries; just a bunch of PCBs, which I will back up before doing anything.
Should I uninstall my 5.15 and then install 6.0? Should I install v6 on top of v5? Is there a proper or recommended way to move to the new version?
If you wish. Apparently (I don’t use windows) 6.0.1 may be installed alongside 5.x.x.
Make sure you treat your installation as if you don’t have Kicad installed… A question will pop up during the installation asking if you want the libraries installed. Answer YES
Apart from a problem some have installing on Ubuntu, most other problems seem to be with the libraries where people did not install the new libraries… they answered No to the installation question.
When you open a 5xx project in 6.0.1, upon closing you will be asked to “save”. If saved, and after saving, that project will no longer be able to be opened in 5xx. You will only be able to open backup copies in 5xx not saved through 6.0.1
I love your reply. Direct and to the point. Thank you so much!
Instinctually, it seems like a bad choice to say no to installing libraries that match a later application version. But I am sure there are details I am not aware of to not installing them.
I will move forward and convert each project over to 6 one by one. After they have all been migrated, it will be safe to uninstall 5 …right?
OK, so if installing 6.0.1 over 5.1.5 works (as implied above), what’s the negative to just doing that? And if asked, installing the new libraries. When I asked about a “proper way”, you seemed to say a dual install was best. Did I misread that?
I use linux. 6 installed over 5. There was no option. I believe apple is the same (but may be corrected).
I have been told windows can either install 6 over 5 or install 6 beside 5. There is no proper way. Some using windows, being cautious, installed 6 alongside 5.
None, unless the installation is messed up… the library installation problem is the only hassle that has been reported in this forum. The program worked perfectly, but there were no libraries because they were not installed… hence make sure you click yes.
While leaving v5.1.5_3 installed, I ran the installer for v6.0.1. The install went quickly and without anything interesting. When I started v6, it asked about modifying my old profile, which I said yes to. V5 was left installed and apparently unmodified.
I was able to convert a few projects without any trouble when I opened them with v6. Some projects which had imported Eagle files didn’t open up (I got an error dialog). But I will just reimport those.
I then uninstalled v5 (took a long time!) and am able to run v6 no problem. The install was complete. There is nothing left in C:\Program Files\KiCad\ other than the new “6.0” folder.
I haven’t done any extensive testing, but things seem fine to view & upgrade pcb and schematic files.
One other thing… Personal libraries.
You need to convert personal libraries to 6 format.
Go to preferences / manage symbol & footprint libraries, both Global and project and convert by highlighting each library and click Migrate Library.
As I mentioned in my first post, I didn’t have any personal libraries (I called them “personal libraries”). Well, I did, but none that I cared about. So I personally am fine starting fresh.
There is very little documentation for 6, but it is on the way.
This forum is the best place to ask if you have problems.
A lot of hotkeys have changed, find them in preferences, otherwise, enjoy.
Cheers!
