Is there a way to make Kicad place the reference and value fields closer to the symbol graphic? A lot of space is wasted on the schematic with the default positioning.
There is one option to enable/disable in global Preferences–>Schematic Editor–>Editing Options–>Symbol Field Automatic placement–> Automatically place on/off.
If the result is still not satisfying you have to draw your own symbols. Or modify the original symbols with more tightly placed reference/value string.
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Thanks. Maybe there could be an option to tune how closely it puts the text in future versions.
Like myself, I think the majority of frequent Kicad users will create a schematic and not worry too much about text placement initially.
When all the symbols and wires are in place, it is then time to move the text to suitable, easy to read, places, near the symbols.
Usually, on nearly all the text, slight changes in position are required.
I can’t see much point in an option to “tune how closely to put text”.
Text is easy to move with the mouse, and the text grid is now able to be changed independently with Preferences > xxxxEditors > Grids > Grid Overrides > Text, or, if you want to move off grid, use the Ctrl key in conjunction with the Left Mouse Button.
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Honestly since moving to 8 I find that selecting and moving the right object is a bit of a pain. I often end up moving the last one, not the one I meant to select.
I always turn auto placement off, because the default location for the value for resistors is inside the resistor, and that is where I like it’s value, and auto placement places it outside the resistor. For the rest, the default locations of texts seem to be quite sensible.
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The Selection Filter at the bottom of the Appearance Panel easily solves that.
I have Text only ticked so it is pretty easy to select text: can’t move anything else. 
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