kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Karl Schmidt <karl@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I got burned by the doc-file deal tonight.  I had an x-session crash - kicad started up again, but I 
had to recreate the dcm file. (There is a bck file, but by the time I remembered about the dcm file 
mess - it was also corrupt.)

This is reliving some painful history of my PADsPCB days in the early '80s. PADs always had to load 
things from the library every time the project file was loaded. If you changed something for a new 
schematic, it would toast your old ones. Kicad thankfully doesn’t do this except for the case of the 
dcm file. To really back up a project, the way it now stands, one has to remember to back up the dcm 
file at the end of a project, as it is part of the library!  This makes creating a transportable 
design project rather broken!

As for how this SHOULD work - my 2 cents worth.

The doc file (without the path) should be stored in the 'Datasheet' field.

There needs to be a gadget to select this file and if the file is not in one of the search paths, it 
should get copied to the project directory. When loading the schematic, it checks for the doc-files 
in the search paths.

The Title-bar heading for the properties dialog should say "Symbol Properties" and then it would be 
clear that the Description_tab/description describes the symbol - not the part (likewise with the 
keywords).

I don't think the footprint filter belongs with this symbol dialog either  - should be moved to an 
attribute field.

I don't use a 'stuff file' - I don't run CVpcb - in my mind, when I fill in the foot-print attribute 
field, it becomes a part - adding the data sheet, manufactures numbers etc are all part of that.

I would change the "Fields properties" title to "Part Attributes".)

eeschema should have a pointer-right-click call "Update Part" that has a flyout with two options - 
From Library, and To Library.

Should there be a dedicated field to point to SPICE models?



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Karl Schmidt                                  EMail Karl@xxxxxxxxxxxx
Transtronics, Inc.                              WEB http://xtronics.com
3209 West 9th Street                             Ph (785) 841-3089
Lawrence, KS 66049                              FAX (785) 841-0434

Ask any politician in private, It's a blast
spending other peoples money.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------