kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Dick Hollenbeck <dick@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Lorenzo Marcantonio wrote:
> This is a thing I noticed a while ago, but resurfaced in the user 
> mailing list.
>
> In pcbnew a module has essentially a reference, a value, 
> documentation/keywords, various attributes but, essentially, the 
> primary key for the library is the footprint name.
>
> Now, as I reckon, the footprint name is assigned when you do the 'new 
> module' in module editor, and it get assigned as a default reference too.
>
> The problem is: this name (IIRC the 'Li' field in the module file) 
> it's more or less hidden elsewhere! While in eeschema there is the 
> 'chip name' field, pcbnew as the reference and value but no footprint 
> name...
>
> This is really unconvenient since, using the board-as-a-source for a 
> library convention you simply can't rename a footprint (you can change 
> the reference but not the hidden footprint name, used as a key for the 
> library).
>
> Any ideas on how to handle this? Editing the file at hand doesn't seem 
> a very user-friendly method:D

Is this helpful:

in pcbnew, right click on the module, select Edit -> Change Module, then 
you see the module name in field "Current Module" in the Exchange 
Modules field.

I have run into this also in the past.

Given this, what do you suggest, maybe a non-editable field in the 
"Module properties" dialog?

To do item:  Fix the spelling of properties to Properties.


Dick