"Val**" text will not go away

I am trying to get rid of the value text. On certain footprints that I imported from octopart. I don’t need a value text on my PCB and I do not need the dummy Val** text all over my PCB. but turning it off does not work, putting it on the front fab layer does not work it’s like some damn infestation that is wasting a lot of my time. How do I get rid of this text?

You have selected that text item opened the properties and changed the layer to F.Fab and unchecked the visibility option, right?

Check that in the Layer manager/Items tab Hidden text isn’t set to be visible.

1 Like

yes I have ----------------

Can you point us to one such footprint?

Well Sparky,
you’re on this forum for almost 5 years, which suggest you should know by now how KiCad works :slight_smile:

That said. I’m with eelik. Show me such a footprint and I’ll have a look at it.
My first thougths are also along eelik’s thoughts. I’d probably modify the footprint itself to put the text on Eco1.User or Eco2.User, which are layers I’ve never ever used before for anything, and then just turn the whole layers off in the Layers Manager, and then:
Pcbnew / Tools / Update Footprints from Library

If you imported these footprints from octopart, they are (or should be) in a separate library already.

Or did you mess up the library management? I hope you did not load Footprints from disk directly in Pcbnew?

I eventually got them to behave. But now I have downloaded from TE with ultra librarian. It has text (the same text) on several layers. I delete the text from the properties and yet they just reappear. It’s rather frustrating. Is this KiCad or can someone make a library that controls how KiCad behaves? ul_51779831 (1).rar (7.2 KB)

Who says I have used it for 5 years? I left it for a bit and have been using it in earnest for the last year or two? can’t remember.

My best guess of what’s going on here is some misconception of how KiCad works, or some habit, and you’re pushing the wrong buttons, or pushing them in the wrong order.

So I took your rar file, did a “sudo apt install rar unrar” to be able to open it and then I made a little project out of it:

KiCad / File / New / Project / "sparky"
Extract rar file from: "Val**" text will not go away in project directory.
KiCad / Preferences / Manage Symbol Libraries / Project Specific Libraries / Add: /home/paul/projects/kicad/sparky/2020-09-23_12-36-00.lib
KiCad / Preferences / Manage Footprint Libraries / Project Specific Libraries Add: Footprints.pretty.
Eeschema / a / 2020-09-23…
Eeschema / a / 2020-09-23…

Draw wire, [Insert] to multiply.
Annotate.
[F8] Hmmm, Footprint not recognized.

Eeschema / Hover over connector / f

Footprint Name is:
CONN_5177983-1_TYC

**[Select] ** (Opens footprint browser) Look at “footprints” library.

It has one footprint, whit name: 5177983-1. Accepted that footprint with double click, and [OK] to close “Edit Footprint Field”
Copied the Footprint text (inclusive library name) to the other connector.
Routed 3 tracks.

Result:

Can you follow me to here?
Is there anything you do differently upto here?

Next step for you is to take this attached project, reproduce your fault and report back step by step what you did, pay extra attention to differences to what I did and what you do.

Do you know that Pcbnew makes copies of the footprint from the library, and that if you change a footprint in Pcbnew( with [Ctrl + e] to load it in the Footprint Editor, then you only change the copy on the PCB. Not the library itself. This is one of the things that could have gone wrong with your workflow.

sparky_2020-09-23T20:01.zip (8.1 KB)

Yes i am aware that i have to update the footprint in PCBnew after a change to the library.

I was trying to change the properties in the footprint editor yet they just reverted.

I’ll have a play tomorrow.

Weh you report back, please also add your KiCad version.

Firstly you have totally missed my problem, secondly no it’s still broke.

I was trying to remove all of the pointless text on all layers when I imported the footprint into my libraries (yes I did it all properly!). I can remove these texts from the PCB design but I cannot change the original footprint.

Basically do not worry, I have given up using 3rd party footprints, it’s actually easier to do the job myself. In less time than I wasted on this stupidity I just drew the damn thing for myself, thanks a bunch TE for your broken footprint but not thank you!

I’m confused by what you say and what the attached footprint in that archive is. I don’t see any problem there. There’s no any text on several layers. The value text is only in the front silk. I’m trying with 5.1.6 and 5.99.

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