2.7. KiCad: principles of use

2.7. KiCad: principles of use

In order to manage a KiCad project: schematic files, printed circuit board files, supplementary libraries, manufacturing files for photo-tracing, drilling and automatic component placement files, it is recommended to create a project as follows:

  • Create a working directory for the project (using KiCad or by other means).
  • In this directory, use KiCad to create a project file (file with extension .pro) via the “Create a new project” or “Create a new project from template” icon.

Warning

It is recommended to use a unique directory for each KiCad project. Do not combine multiple projects into a single directory.

KiCad creates a file with a .pro extension that maintains a number of parameters for project management (such as the list of libraries used in the schematic). Default names of both main schematic file and printed circuit board file are derived from the name of the project. Thus, if a project called example.pro was created in a directory called example , the default files will be created:

example.pro

project management file.

example.sch

main schematic file.

example.kicad_pcb

printed circuit board file.

example.net

netlist file.

example.xxx

various files created by the other utility programs.

example-cache.lib

library file automatically created and used by the schematic editor. (It contains a backup of the components used in the schematic).