So like… tonight? That would be cool.
A big change on Ubuntu, but as the footprint libraries are changed, you will need to update fp-lib-table in .config/kicad from /usr/share/kicad/template
Always rename the old file as a fp-lib-table-bak first
The notice about the availability of the RC1 will be on the blog?
Wayne mentioned somewhere on the mailing list that he plans to make a blog entry. Not sure when he will find time for it. (I think he is currently quite busy with getting kicad ready for the final v5 release.)
I’m new to PCB design and I’m about to build a DC-DC converter. So I’m wondering, I have Eagle 6.5 available and KiCad 4.0.7. Now I see that KiCad 5 is about to be released. Which one should I use to get going as fast as possible? Should I even use the KiCad 5 RC? I’m worried that version 4 might be too “dated” already.
Thanks.
Having just come from a much later version of EAGLE to Kicad 4.0.7 because of EAGLEs dimension restrictions, I’d say you’ll be fine with 4.0.7 for the time being.
See the FAQ topic about using nightlies, it’s somewhat relevant for RC1, too. But it’s quite stable. Your situation is such that there should be no big dangers in using 5 RCs - if you’re prepared for some bugs and out-of-date documentation. I suppose “new to PCB design” also means you do this for hobby, not for work. I have used nightlies for work, there have been some issues, but nothing I couldn’t handle.
If you’re just beginning and know nothing about KiCad up-to-date documentation may be important to you, especially because library handling has changed, libraries may not come automatically for your platform yet and in general it’s not the easiest part of KiCad to understand for a beginner. At least wait for installer/packages which include the new libraries. But on the other hand if you now start with 4 and soon migrate to 5 there may be problems which library changes… Oh well…
It’s for my thesis and involves AC-DC and DC-DC converters (with very recent MOSFETs) with filters, some controllers… It really just needs to work Also it’s a onetime project I probably won’t need to use CAD after this for quite some time.
It’s also more of a convenience things, I can easily install KiCAD on my OpenSuse PC, but university offers Eagle 6.5 only which means just for the PCB I would have to switch to another PC. Also, I like OSS 
If it is one off, and you are new, the more important thing is to choose the path most traveled.
ie what do your colleagues and tutors know, who can you ask when you get stuck ?
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Especially as smps are one of the most critical layout circuits
Wayne Stambaugh has sent a message which has not yet appeared in the mailing list archive. He says: “Things have quieted down quit a bit so we should be close to an rc2 release.”
And: “Hopefully, there wont be a lot of critical bugs and we can roll out v5 by the end of April.”
It looks like RC2 will be actually packaged for more major platforms than linux, so it will probably be “released” in the proper sense of the word instead of just tagged. The nightly build have been and will be ahead of the RCs but they haven’t included the component libraries. I believe the released RC will be a complete standalone installation, at least I hope so.
I wasn’t sure if it is a lull or just the effects of Easter
edit 15 commits last night, so it was Easter
Thanks a lot for the advice. Since everyone uses Eagle 6.5 I went with that to make things easier for my supervisor and colleagues and even more important, to make it easier for me to ask questions like you’ve said.
Currently using Kicad 5rc2 nightly (April 10 release), and must say that I won’t go back to v4!
Wow! Such a nice upgrade. More functionality, much more user friendly!
The only problem is with jumpers with built-in bridges: these cause DRC errors. Freeroute can’t route the board anymore. My solutions is (for now) to use the jumper without built-in bridges, route the board, and then replace the jumper with the built-in bridge.
Looking forward to the official release!!
Apart from v5 having a much more logical and consistent UI, a lot of the GitHub bug fix commits must actually also apply to 4.0.7
My experience is that 4.0.7 used to crash far more than recent Nightly builds. Also many Windows 10 users are having problems with 4.0.7 since a Windows update.
Still back up your work frequently.
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Last call for rc2
https://lists.launchpad.net/kicad-developers/msg35537.html
And the GitHub activity has slowed to a trickle
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Good news for those of us waiting on v5