Upgrading to Kicad 5.0.2

Hi,
I’ve messed my filing system up a bit and get errors when using Kicad 5.0.0, so I though I may as well upgrade to 5.0.2

What’s the best way of upgrading? I have existing PCBs from earlier versions.

Camerart.

Upgrading from 5.0.0 to 5.0.2? The same way you installed 5.0.0, just use 5.0.2 installer or package. The projects are completely compatible between 5.0.0 and 5.0.2 and also with the upcoming 5.1.

Hi E,
The slight flaw in your answer is, that I don’t remember how I installed 5.0.0.
Do I uninstall it first? etc
C.

It’s not a flaw in my answer, it’s a flaw in your memory :slight_smile:

It shouldn’t be necessary to uninstall. You have probably used your platforms (you didn’t tell what it is) installer, the Windows installer package or some Linux distro’s packaging system. Just install the new version in the same platform’s native way and it should replace the old one. If you use Linux you possibly have to set some package repository first.

Hi E,
:thinking: A flaw in my memory, and a flaw in my judgement :grinning:

Ok, I use Windows.

I think one of the problems, may be moving files between two computers, and ‘program files’ and ‘program files (X86)’ which could upset the library routing.
C.

Do you mean you may have different KiCad installations on different machines and you use same projects on them? It doesn’t matter because in each system/user combination KiCad has paths configured independently (provided that you haven’t set system wide environment variables, in which case each system has paths configured independently from other systems). If in one system KiCad is installed to ‘p f’ and in another ‘p f (x86)’ they have different paths for the official libraries which were installed with KiCad.

If you have some special case and things don’t work, you can ask here for specific help, but if you do things in the default way everything should work out of box when you install new KiCad 5.x.x version after an older 5.x.x version.

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Hi E,
I installed Kicad ok, and opened a previous schematic, which updated, so it had all of it’s components.

When i tried to associate new components, I got an error, and there are no files in the right hand box?
C.

You seem to have libraries from old 4.0. See I had KiCad 4 installed previosly. Now i updated to v5. Now i have some problems with the library setup and other FAQ posts by Rene.

Hi,
If I’m going to have these problems where I have think too much, perhaps it is better to start again, and only use 5+. Does this sound a good idea?

Yes. But you should delete your KiCad configuration directory or at least the lib-tables from there. Go to the Windows file Explorer, type %appdata% as address, it’s there. There should be no need to re-install KiCad; just don’t use v4 anymore.

Hi E,
When I searched for %appdata% I was confronted with pages of stuff, that I don’t think I should play wit. Is there an easier way to get rid of 4?
C.

Write %appdata% in the address line of the explorer:

image

Press Enter. It goes to your AppData\Roaming\ folder. You should see kicad\ folder there. You can delete it entirely and start afresh. Or go inside that folder and delete just fp-lib-table and sym-lib-table. Then, when you start KiCad again, it does some first time things. They should be automatically enough if you have done a basic default installation.

Hi E,
All done and I’ve placed a PIC on a new Board, using the sequence.

One problem I had was being helped by the system, without me noticing, so there was cross pollination. I cut out the APPDATA file, so I didn’t jump off the cliff, now all of the old files are isolated in a separate folder.

Is it possible to open an old SCH so I can copy it. I can use a different computer, with all the old stuff on, if necessary.
Thanks, C.

You can work with old projects as long as they have the cache library intact. Worst that would then happen is that kicad needs to rescue your schematic if the libraries used by it no longer exist in their original form.

An alternative of course would be to have a double library setup where you switch to the old libs while working on old projects. (One kind of easy way to achieve this is to add the old libs as local libraries to the old projects that need them. If it is a version 4 generated project then read my FAQ article about remapping as it gives all the options you have available: Converting KiCad version 4 projects to version 5 (Remap a project))

Hi R,
I took the gamble to append the schematic, then save it, which was done successfully. The file system and caches are confusing to me. I can see that when associating components, there is a different set now, and I’ll try to use the new ones, as I have a habit of getting rid of files if they confuse me, and accept the headache I cause myself, and of course the staff of Kicad.

I hope to have a clean set of PCBs if I can.

I now have a schematic, and I’m associating components, at the moment.
C.

Hi,
It looks as though I’m going to start again, using only an screen shot of the schematic image, and start from scratch, which will teach me the new Assignments etc.
C.

Hi,
I’ve placed most of the components, on the Schematic. I tried saving it then re-starting, and got this error:

I can’t find this switch for the schematic, is there one?
Switch DATA%20Switch

C.

Are you sure it has ever been in the official library? (I checked the current master, and all 4.0.x releases of the lib. None of them contain a symbol called DATA_SW.)

What device should that switch represent? Maybe the device itself has already a specialized symbol in the library. (The analog switch library has symbols for devices that look to be similar.)

Hi R,
Ah! I suppose I used a simple 2 into 1 switch, and renamed it. I don’t mind what I use as long as the switch the PCB footprint.
C.

There is a symbol library in Eeschema called “Analog_Switch” which has 100+ different switches in it. It does not have the oldies such as 4066, 4051, etc. Those are in the libraries of 4xxx, 74xx 74xGxx, and who know where. Plenty to choose from :slight_smile:
The “Power_Management” library also has plenty of High-side and “Intelligent” power switches.