3.2. Utility launch pane

3.2. Utility launch pane

KiCad allows you to run all stand alone software tools that come with it.

The launch pane is made of the 8 buttons below that correspond to the following commands (1 to 8, from left to right):

images/launch_pane.png

1

Eeschema

The schematic editor.

2

LibEdit

The component editor and component library manager.

3

Pcbnew

The board layout editor.

4

FootprintEditor

The footprint editor and footprint library manager.

5

Gerbview

A GERBER file viewer. It can also show drill files.

6

Bitmap2component

A tool to build a footprint or a component from a B&W bitmap image to create logos.

7

Pcb Calculator

A tool to calculate track widths, and many other things.

8

Pl Editor

The Page Layout editor, to create/customize frame references.