kicad-developers team mailing list archive

[Wayne Stambaugh <stambaughw@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 3/9/2015 2:59 PM, Nick Østergaard wrote:
> 2015-03-09 19:34 GMT+01:00 Wayne Stambaugh <stambaughw@xxxxxxxxx>:
>> On 3/9/2015 1:23 PM, Maciej Sumiński wrote:
>>> As we are inevitably approaching the feature freeze, I would
>>> like to know your opinion about one last change to the footprint library
>>> wizard.
>>
>> Your proposal looks reasonable to me.  I have one comment nn the first
>> image.  The string at the bottom mentions schematic libraries as well as
>> footprint libraries.  I would leave out the word schematic so users
>> don't get confused about what libraries they are configuring.
>>
>>>
>>> We would like to make the library management as simple as possible.
>>> Therefore Tom has prepared an alternative set of dialog windows for the
>>> footprint wizard (attached to the message).
>>>
>>> There is no dialog to specify whether the libraries should be added with
>>> absolute/relative/based on environmental variable path. Instead it
>>> depends on the choice in the last dialog: global libraries use absolute
>>> paths, and "current project" option selects relative paths. There is no
>>> choice for environmental variables - the wizard is designed for
>>> beginners, and power users know how to take advantage of them.
>>
>> Be very careful with relative paths on windows and in general.  There
>> should be a test to make sure the relative paths don't cross drive
>> boundaries on windows.  There should also be a warning that except for
>> paths relative to the current project path (in which case you should use
>> ${KIPRJDIR} instead of relative paths), relative paths may not be portable.
> 
> Not to get confused here. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think you
> mean ${KIPRJMOD} and not ${KIPRJDIR}.

Yes.

> 
>>>
>>> The plan foresees to change the file browser extension filter to handle
>>> all accepted file extensions simultaneously, so the user does not have
>>> to select appropriate plugin first. This way the plugin would be matched
>>> basing on the file extension (possibly verified by the file header
>>> contents).
>>
>> This may or may not work.  There may be some cases where file extensions
>> may be the same for different footprint library types so you'll have to
>> be careful.  Don't forget to take into account comment lines if you are
>> going to verify the file by it's header.  If you don't, it's only a
>> matter of time before you get bit by it.
>>
>>>
>>> I am not going to give any hints on how to use the wizard. If the
>>> dialogs are not self-explanatory, then they are not good enough and have
>>> to be improved.
>>>
>>> I would like to know whether you consider the proposed changes
>>> advantageous and if we would like to have them in the upcoming stable
>>> release.
>>>
>>> Regardless of the answers, the current plan for the GAL canvases is to:
>>> - Add "select copper/connection net"
>>> - Add icons & missing entries to the context menu
>>> - Make the context menu translatable using the standard tools
>>> - Develop or adapt the hotkey editor for GAL (consistent with the legacy
>>> settings)
>>> - Clear the bug tracker
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>> Orso
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
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