kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Adam Wolf <adamwolf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I'm not sure, Bob.  I was trying to make this thread be about a UI change
to the library manager window.  However, I'm a little too tired to be a
stickler about it, and I have buy-in from Wayne and no screams of bloody
murder from anyone else, so...

If you want to build your own stuff on OS X, and you need to change the
environment variables, I suggest you change them Info.plist inside the
bundle.  Then you can double-click on the icon and it works fine, as well
as using "open blah.app" from the terminal.  There are details on this in
the archives from the last six months, I think between me and Bernhard.  If
you can't find them, let me know on-list and I can dig them up.

Wayne is working on a more user-friendly setup shortly, so maybe you can
just let time pass and the problem will solve itself--or...

Please let me reiterate:

There is nothing magical about KISYSMOD.

There is nothing wrong with editing your fp-lib-table so that there are no
environment variables in them whatsoever.  If you are being stymied by
environment variables in Kicad... you can just ignore them!  Put full paths
in your fp-lib-table and ignore everyone on the list talking about
environment variables.

If I had a time machine, the first thing I would do is go to the REM Green
Tour.  The second thing I would do is go to when the devs were discussing
the environment variables for fp-lib-table, and show them evidence of how
confusing this is to users without getting busted by the Time Police.

I don't fault the devs for fixing the bug this way.  The devs had recently
been bitten by a truly nasty search path issue, and were trying to figure a
good way out of it.

Personally, I think Wayne's path manager is the next step in making
fp-lib-table that shines as much from the user and packager side as it does
from the developer side.

I only truly got what fp-lib-table and the environment variables were doing
sometime in the last six months, and I know users who love Kicad who keep a
version around from before fp-lib-table just because they find it too
confusing.

Adam Wolf
Cofounder and Engineer
Wayne and Layne, LLC


On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 10:44 PM, Bob Gustafson <bobgus@xxxxxxx> wrote:

>  Hi Adam
>
> I'm looking at the fp-lib-tables and their placement. Environment
> variables are giving me problems.
>
> What title would you suggest for a new thread?
>
> Bob G
>
>
> On 01/22/2015 06:02 PM, Adam Wolf wrote:
>
> Hi Bob,
>
>  I'm not sure this is the right thread for your question.  Maybe start a
> new one?
>
>  Adam Wolf
>
> On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 6:02 PM, Bob Gustafson <bobgus@xxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>>
>> On 01/22/2015 03:37 PM, Wayne Stambaugh wrote:
>>
>>> On 1/22/2015 4:35 PM, Bob Gustafson wrote:
>>>
>>>> If I don't do anything, KiCad wants the definition of KISYSMOD as an
>>>> environment variable.
>>>>
>>> This is only true if you keep a copy of the footprint libraries on your
>>> system and you don't use the GitHub plugin to access them from
>>> https://github.com/KiCad.  Otherwise ${KISYSMOD} is replaced with
>>> ${KIGITHUB}.  Either way, you need the correct environment variable set.
>>>   Otherwise, no libraries.
>>>
>>
>>  Yep
>>
>> What I do is:  (in a Terminal window)
>>
>> export KISYSMOD='~/kicad_sources/library-repos'
>>
>> To run kicad - using the same Terminal window (to pick up the KISYSMOD
>> def)
>>
>> ~/KiCad/bin/kicad.app/Contents/MacOS/kicad
>>
>> It runs, but when I try to pick up some components - it wants .mod files
>> - the repo directory only has .pretty
>>
>> Later - I have to go now.
>>
>> Bob G
>>
>>
>>
>>>  The window PCB LIBRARY TABLES shows ${KISYSMOD}/ in front of every
>>>> component.
>>>>
>>>> The panel below on the PCB LIBRARY TABLES window shows KISYSMOD as an
>>>> undefined environment variable.
>>>>
>>>> Kicad has trouble if KISYSMOD is not defined prior to running kicad
>>>>
>>>> Bob G
>>>>
>>>> On 01/22/2015 03:16 PM, Wayne Stambaugh wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> As of right now, the preloaded fp-lib-table files are installed in
>>>>> ${CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX}/share/kicad/template on Linux and Windows.  On
>>>>> OSX they appear to be installed in
>>>>> ${OSX_BUNDLE_INSTALL_DIR}/${OSX_BUNDLE_SUP_DIR}/template where ever
>>>>> that
>>>>> works out to be.  The fp-lib-table files themselves are part of the
>>>>> kicad-library source so hopefully the install path is the same for them
>>>>> on OSX as well.
>>>>>
>>>>> On 1/22/2015 4:10 PM, Adam Wolf wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> This is going to be slick, Wayne.  Is there any particular place that
>>>>>> seems decent to put the preconfigured fp-table-libs?  In my mind,
>>>>>> they're almost templates...
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Adam Wolf
>>>>>>
>>>>>> On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 4:01 PM, Wayne Stambaugh <
>>>>>> stambaughw@xxxxxxxxx
>>>>>> <mailto:stambaughw@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>       On 1/22/2015 3:56 PM, Adam Wolf wrote:
>>>>>>       > Do you mean <PREFSDIR>/fp-table-lib? (i.e., on
>>>>>>       > Linux ~/.config/kicad/fp-lib-table?)
>>>>>>
>>>>>>       Yes.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>       >
>>>>>>       > I really like this idea.  The wizard already does a good job
>>>>>> explaining
>>>>>>       > what each type of fp-lib-table entry is.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>       Then it should be possible to add the code to copy a
>>>>>> pre-configured
>>>>>>       fp-lib-table file to the proper path.  The only tricky part
>>>>>> would be
>>>>>>       setting up any environment variables.  I have a patch that sets
>>>>>> default
>>>>>>       environment variables for KIGITHUB and KISYS3DMOD on start up.
>>>>>> I
>>>>>>       haven't designed the dialog to edit them yet.  It needs tested
>>>>>> on OSX so
>>>>>>       I will post it some time tomorrow to get some feed back.  The
>>>>>>       environment variables are saved in the kicad_common config file
>>>>>> so you
>>>>>>       could simple add new config entry for something like KISYSMOD
>>>>>> from the
>>>>>>       fp-lib-table wizard for footprint libraries stored on the system
>>>>>> once I
>>>>>>       commit the code.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>       >
>>>>>>       > Adam Wolf
>>>>>>       >
>>>>>>       > On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 3:33 PM, Wayne Stambaugh
>>>>>> <stambaughw@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:stambaughw@xxxxxxxxx>
>>>>>>       > <mailto:stambaughw@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:stambaughw@xxxxxxxxx>>>
>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>       >
>>>>>>       >     Maybe you could add an "Initialize Global Table" mode to
>>>>>> the
>>>>>>       >     fp-lib-table wizard where a predefined table file is
>>>>>> copied to ~/.  You
>>>>>>       >     could test for ~/fp-lib-table and enter this mode
>>>>>> automatically or enter
>>>>>>       >     the "Edit Table" mode when ~/fp-lib-table is already
>>>>>> defined.  This
>>>>>>       >     would also prevent further cluttering of the library table
>>>>>> editor.
>>>>>>       >
>>>>>>       >     On 1/22/2015 10:53 AM, Adam Wolf wrote:
>>>>>>       >     > The new fp-lib-table wizard is great for adding new
>>>>>> entries to the
>>>>>>       >     > current table, but does not appear to have a "load
>>>>>> defaults" type option.
>>>>>>       >     >
>>>>>>       >     > However, this is based on using it, not reading the
>>>>>> code, so it is
>>>>>>       >     > possible the feature is included somewhere I did not
>>>>>> see.
>>>>>>       >     >
>>>>>>       >     > Adam Wolf
>>>>>>       >     >
>>>>>>       >     > On Thu, Jan 22, 2015 at 1:27 AM, Nick Østergaard
>>>>>> <oe.nick@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:oe.nick@xxxxxxxxx>
>>>>>>       <mailto:oe.nick@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:oe.nick@xxxxxxxxx>>
>>>>>>       >     > <mailto:oe.nick@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:oe.nick@xxxxxxxxx>
>>>>>>       <mailto:oe.nick@xxxxxxxxx <mailto:oe.nick@xxxxxxxxx>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>       >     >
>>>>>>       >     >     How does this compare to the new fp lib table
>>>>>> wizard?
>>>>>>       >     >
>>>>>>       >     >     2015-01-22 6:09 GMT+01:00 Adam Wolf
>>>>>> <adamwolf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:adamwolf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>>>>>       <mailto:adamwolf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>>>       <mailto:adamwolf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
>>>>>>       >     >     <mailto:adamwolf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>>>       <mailto:adamwolf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>>>>>       >     <mailto:adamwolf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>>>       <mailto:adamwolf@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>>>>:
>>>>>>       >     >     > Hi folks!
>>>>>>       >     >     >
>>>>>>       >     >     > I have a question about adding another feature to
>>>>>> the
>>>>>>       >     >     fp-lib-tables manager,
>>>>>>       >     >     > which is already pretty crowded and I want to get
>>>>>> buy-in
>>>>>>       >     before even
>>>>>>       >     >     > attempting a patch.
>>>>>>       >     >     >
>>>>>>       >     >     > Background:
>>>>>>       >     >     >
>>>>>>       >     >     > Running into another issue with the KiCad Mac
>>>>>> experience.
>>>>>>       >     Just to
>>>>>>       >     >     recap, I'm
>>>>>>       >     >     > trying for 2 DMGs.
>>>>>>       >     >     >
>>>>>>       >     >     > One is called "KiCad Extras" and currently
>>>>>> includes
>>>>>>       the modules
>>>>>>       >     >     from github,
>>>>>>       >     >     > and the fp-table-lib.for-pretty renamed just
>>>>>>       fp-table-lib.  The
>>>>>>       >     >     idea is that
>>>>>>       >     >     > users can download the extras DMG, and no longer
>>>>>> need
>>>>>>       to be
>>>>>>       >     online for
>>>>>>       >     >     > Kicad.
>>>>>>       >     >     >
>>>>>>       >     >     > The modules directory is fine, we provide a "drop
>>>>>> target"
>>>>>>       >     (just a
>>>>>>       >     >     symlink)
>>>>>>       >     >     > of /Library/Application Support/kicad/.
>>>>>>       >     >     >
>>>>>>       >     >     > However, the fp-table-lib is tricky.  The per-user
>>>>>>       "global"
>>>>>>       >     (across
>>>>>>       >     >     > projects" fp-table-lib is located in
>>>>>>       >     ~/Library/Preferences/kicad/
>>>>>>       >     >     We cannot
>>>>>>       >     >     > make a "drop target" in a DMG that points to ~/.
>>>>>>       >     >     >
>>>>>>       >     >     > Making a "package" works around this, but users
>>>>>> don't like
>>>>>>       >     >     packages unless
>>>>>>       >     >     > they're part of App Store (because they usually
>>>>>> don't
>>>>>>       >     realize they're
>>>>>>       >     >     > packages :)).  I don't want to do that.
>>>>>>       >     >     >
>>>>>>       >     >     > Question:  Would a way to "load default
>>>>>> fp-lib-tables"
>>>>>>       be useful
>>>>>>       >     >     to other
>>>>>>       >     >     > people in the library table manager?  This would
>>>>>> take
>>>>>>       a look
>>>>>>       >     at what
>>>>>>       >     >     > fp-lib-tables.* are available in a location, and
>>>>>> give
>>>>>>       users the
>>>>>>       >     >     ability to
>>>>>>       >     >     > replace their fp-lib-tables with known
>>>>>> defaults--i.e.
>>>>>>       I want to
>>>>>>       >     >     use github,
>>>>>>       >     >     > I want to use eagle, I want to use on-disk
>>>>>> pretties
>>>>>>       >     downloaded from
>>>>>>       >     >     > github...
>>>>>>       >     >     >
>>>>>>       >     >     > The more I think about this, I think that it might
>>>>>> not
>>>>>>       only help
>>>>>>       >     >     the Mac
>>>>>>       >     >     > install experience, but actually help the new user
>>>>>>       >     experience on all
>>>>>>       >     >     > platforms.
>>>>>>       >     >     >
>>>>>>       >     >     > Thoughts?  (and greetings from Montreal, where I
>>>>>> am on
>>>>>>       business
>>>>>>       >     >     and also
>>>>>>       >     >     > working on Kicad Mac nightlies while stuffed with
>>>>>> curry
>>>>>>       >     poutine...)
>>>>>>       >     >     >
>>>>>>       >     >     > Adam Wolf
>>>>>>       >     >     > Cofounder and Engineer
>>>>>>       >     >     > W&L
>>>>>>       >     >     >
>>>>>>       >     >     > _______________________________________________
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>>>>>>       <mailto:kicad-developers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>>
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>>>>>>       <mailto:kicad-developers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>>>>>>       >     <mailto:kicad-developers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>>>>>       <mailto:kicad-developers@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>>>
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>>>>>>
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