This is possibly a stupid question. I’ve just started using kicad and I’m attempting to draw a schematic using eeschema. I cannot find the basic symbol for a capacitor or a resistor. Where are they? Thanks.
1 Like
First, start to place a symbol by “PLACE” then “SYMBOL” or just keyboard ‘a’
You will see the libs loading.
Second: determine what symbol you want to insert.
Cap = ‘c’ see also ‘cp’
Resistor = ‘r’ or ‘r_us’ depending on your preference.
Several folks have Shortcut pages on the web. Here is one https://lists.launchpad.net/kicad-developers/pdftDqTlIfuOo.pdf
Not forgetting the more usable C_Small and R_Small
Hey thanks. I see this is a cool community. Yeah I knew about “a” to get the symbol libraries but I didn’t think to put anything in the filter/search box; I just started scrolling down until I got to the Cs, but capacitor is not listed. Tried your suggestion and put ‘c’ in the filter box and found the capacitors. Added a cap and then some LEDs to the schematic, so I’m good for now. Cheers.
1 Like
Hey yeah those are good, more usable as you say. Thanks.
Various diode types are also available in “small”
OK good to know. These libraries need to be explored, and their designations are not necessarily intuitive.
Hello,
I had the same Question in the beginning. No basic components to be found…
But they are all together in category “DEVICE”.
1 Like
It would be great if the regular symbol became “_large” and the shortform R, C, D etc became a settable alias. I always use “_small” versions and I’m sure many others do too
3 Likes
Raised as a wishist issue
The search box in Choose Symbol has excellent search capabilities.
It can search for multiple sub string is you put a space between search terms. For example, this finds a screw terminal symbol with 12 connections:
It also searches through the “description” strings of symbols, so if you search for the whole string “capacitor”, you get a list of 12 capacitors in the “device” library, but you also find stuff such as the ICL7660, which is a switch capacitor charge pump IC.
It also has regular expression like capabilities. For a longer explanation, Open the Eeschema manual, and read chapter 6.4.
1 Like
I don’t care much for such shortcuts, mainly because of my workflow.
I’ve discovered it’s quicker to first add a resistor to the schematic, then assign a footprint to it (most resistors will have the same footprint), and for all the other resistors, just hover over the nearest resistor and press c for copy, place it somewhere, then v for “value”.
This also works very well of course for GND and power symbols, and for labels, which also prevent against making typing errors.
1 Like
Copying is my standard method too.
My nightmare is picking up someone elses job that makes heavy use of a rescue library. Changing symbols to ones in the path libraries is a pain in the neck, I often resort to notepad++ on the sch files
You move schematic symbols from the rescue lib back to the official KiCad libraries?
I work the other way around.
In fact, I do not like any project to be depending on external (kicad) libraries.
So I usually drop the “-resque” from the resque lib and make it an “official” custom library of the project, and indeed use a text editor to change all schematic symbol references to point to the renamed library.
One of these days I’ll try the “archive project” script to further automate this
After I’ve put a (any) symbol in the schematic, why would I want to risk breaking the schematic because the KiCad libraries change?
@paulvdh Why would symbols change outside of your control? Are you working as the unique designer for all your designs or in a team? If in a team, are you using any revision control system? How do you re-use parts across projects? Do you lock a part instance to a single project only?
I’m trying to understand your workflow, as what you said surprised me.
Thanks chris9. I like being able to see a list of basic components. “Device” works just fine for that.
About my workflow.
First: I use KiCad as a hobby and do not make many projects.
Most of my projects have a span of multiple years.
For example, I’m now almost finished on a PCB for a STM32 and hope to have the boards made in a few weeks (which is “soon” for me). This project stranded in 2016 when I used the nightly builds of KiCad, but back then it had too many bugs (nightly build) ans became unusable, but I could not go back to KiCad V4 (Or was it V3 back then?) because file formats were incompatible.
I have also wrecked some of my own projects, because I wanted to look up something “quick” on an old project, and then pushing the wrong buttons because I got “annoyed” by the rescue dialog. Saved a file when I should not have, or did not save a rescued project when I should have, or because the “rescue” system did not work properly back then.
I’ve had my share of schematics full with question marks, and got in such a panic that I could not find concentration to repair it in a structual way. (Now I can also do that).
I have a very chaotic way of working, and to compensate for that, I try very hard to follow some (possibly weird) rules, because else I get completely lost in life. If you look not too close at it, then it probably looks like a well organized way of working, but that’s a thin outer shell.
From the schematics full of questionmarks I’ve derived the rule of: “No depencies of any project of external libraries”.
I have accepted that I have no control over the official KiCad libraries, and these have changed considerably over the 7 or so years I’m using KiCad. The’ve changed much for the better, so I’m ok with that, and because I put all symbols on a project bases in each project, I also do not notice anymore if KiCad versions change during a project.
So I’ve settled into a workflow that I start a project with whatever is available in the current KiCad version, and then at some point make the project completely independent from all external symbol and footprint libraries.
At the moment this is still at a per project basis, partly because back then KiCad’s library system was seriously buggy to even being unusable.
Back then the default symbols for connectors in KiCad had inverting pins ??? What kind of *&^%$#@! decided to make connectors with inverting pins… let’s change subject. At some point I wrote a python script (Wanted to learn some python, so one of my first ever python programs) that generates a symbol library for connectors. They visually resemble IDC connectors, because I use those most. They look like:
(Except for the yellow background, which I did not know how to do when I wrote the Python script).
I also (almost?) never scrounge the internet for schematics or footprints, but instead make my own. This week I made a schematic symbol for a TPS54331, as a replacement for a MP1584, which is unfortunately “obsolete”, or, only available on Aliexpress, not even LCSC sells it. Too bad, I really liked that chip. Also made a footprint for a micro USB connector. Some time ago I bought 30 of these from Ali. No datasheet or other info, So good luck finding something fitting on the 'net.
I measured it with a screen ruler from a 1200dpi scan, which worked quite nice. Only after I made the footprint I discovered an almost perfectly fitting 3D model for it in KiCad’s libraries.
Sometimes I do a bit of cleanup of projects of other forum members, for example:
I am a very big advocate of Open Source software, which is why I’ve switched to Linux long ago. It’s part of the chaos I live in. I’ve had “try out” versions of programs, and then in those 2 months have not been able to evaluate a program, and then have tho make a decision whether to buy it or not.
With open source projects I can evaluate as long as I want or need, and then donate an amount I see fit compared to the usefulness of such a program for me. I’ve donated more to open source projects, than I’ve paid for commercial programs.
It’s also why I spend so much time on this forum. Helping others with solving KiCad problems and to promote KiCad in general. Making my own footprints and such also helps with keeping current wiht how such things work in KiCad, so I have a better base for answering questions about it.
Hope it was not too long and boring 
@paulvdh Now I think I understand, KiCad is changing at a faster pace than your projects are completed.
Nice job on the open-source mindset and contribution, that’s the way to go!
I was a little bitter on your “keep everything isolated” because I think it is so much better to share, as long as the contributors are serious about it. But I see where that idea is coming from now, thanks.
Context?
I’m all about sharing
If you have many KiCad projects then maintaining a personal library with verified (and preferred) parts is an often used strategy. In such a case you start with the “universal / global” libraries, but do not trust them, so each schematic symbol and footprint you take from it gets a thorough verification.
Then each verified part is put in a personal library and can be trusted from there on to be used in multiple projects.