KiCAD Frustration

[NewLinuxFan]

I have a couple questions that might sound silly, but I'm serious about. This is a very helpful forum, and maybe people can speak more freely about KiCAD here.

How do I snap to grid in PCBnew? The tips I've found online do not work with the current version, and some of the solutions are just tedious workarounds without actually snapping. Seems crazy that it's that hard to figure out, almost like a deliberate bug to get people to buy Eagle.

Also, if there's any way to create nets in PCBnew that would be awesome because some footprints don't have symbols (like the headers compatible with Teensy). Making a small change when there's a ground fill plane is a real pain involving deleting and redrawing all ground connections. I did a lot of searching about 6 months ago, and somebody on the KiCAD forum basically said SOL nobody needs that feature.

On a related note, I almost had to ask how to download the Teensy footprints and symbols because I was clicking "Go to file" and kept going around in circles without downloading anything. Then I found it in "Code" options.
https://github.com/XenGi/teensy_library
https://github.com/XenGi/teensy.pretty

 

[blackketter]

I have a couple questions that might sound silly, but I'm serious about. This is a very helpful forum, and maybe people can speak more freely about KiCAD here.

How do I snap to grid in PCBnew? The tips I've found online do not work with the current version, and some of the solutions are just tedious workarounds without actually snapping. Seems crazy that it's that hard to figure out, almost like a deliberate bug to get people to buy Eagle.

Can you elaborate on how you are trying to snap to grid? What does the Grid: popup menu under the icons along the top of the window say?

Also, if there's any way to create nets in PCBnew that would be awesome because some footprints don't have symbols (like the headers compatible with Teensy). Making a small change when there's a ground fill plane is a real pain involving deleting and redrawing all ground connections. I did a lot of searching about 6 months ago, and somebody on the KiCAD forum basically said SOL nobody needs that feature.

Yeah, that's definitely frustrating. I've taken to making symbols for everything that has any electrical connection and making sure it's hooked up in the schematic editor.

On a related note, I almost had to ask how to download the Teensy footprints and symbols because I was clicking "Go to file" and kept going around in circles without downloading anything. Then I found it in "Code" options.
https://github.com/XenGi/teensy_library
https://github.com/XenGi/teensy.pretty

Not sure how to make this clearer, I guess the confusion is around how GitHub treats everything like code. Glad you found it!

 

[NewLinuxFan]

Hey thanks for replying to all that frustration. I figured it out, and your suggestion would have got me there quick. The default grid is 1/1000 of an inch. I set to 1/10 of an inch and it works great! So I guess nobody is trying to push people towards Eagle, although the dots set at 1/10 of an inch make it appear that the grid snap is not working.

I might explore making symbols if it's not too time consuming (learning curve)...

In case anybody wants to use KiCAD for Teensy and not bother with loading footprints and symbols, there is an included footprint called "Socket_Strip_Straight_1x24_Pitch2.54mm" that works with the long Teensy boards.

 

[PhilB]

You can also use Conn_01x24 in the Legacy Conn library. It doesn't have to be a socket but you do have to hook it up to 2.54mm pitch footprint - Pin_Headersin_Header_Straight_1x24_Pitch2.54mm.

 

[NewLinuxFan]

It appears that KiCAD does not work with servers. The files exist in 2 alternate realities: What KiCAD sees and what Windows File Explorer sees. My head was about to explode until I moved everything to the desktop computer. Now the KiCAD files show up in File Explorer, and the library and footprint files show up in KiCAD. Teensy 4.1 looks great in the schematic and PCB editors.