Eeschema Reference manual - Main top menu - 《KiCad v6.0 Documentation》

Main top menu

New	Close current schematic and start a new one (only in standalone mode).
Open	Load a schematic project (only in standalone mode).
Open Recent	Open a schematic project from the list of recently opened files (only in standalone mode).
Append Schematic Sheet	Insert the contents of another sheet into the current one.
Import Non-Kicad Schematic File	Imports a schematic project saved in another file format.
Save	Save current sheet and all its subsheets.
Save Current Sheet	Save only the current sheet, but not others in the project.
Save Current Sheet As…	Save the current sheet under a new name.
Page Settings	Configure page dimensions and title block.
Print	Print schematic project (See also chapter Plot and Print).
Plot	Export to PDF, PostScript, HPGL or SVG format (See chapter Plot and Print).
Close	Terminate the application.

Manage Symbol Library Tables	Add/remove symbol libraries.
Configure Paths	Set the default search paths.
General Options	Preferences (units, grid size, field names, etc.).
Set Language	Select interface language.
Icons Options	Icons visibility settings.
Import and Export	Transfer preferences to/from file.

Manage Symbol Library Tables

Eeschema uses two library tables to store the list of available symbol libraries, which differ by the scope:

Global Libraries

Libraries listed in the Global Libraries table are available to every project. They are saved in sym-lib-table in your home directory (exact path is dependent on the operating system; check the path above the table).

Project Specific Libraries

Libraries listed in Project Specific Libraries table are available to the currently opened project. They are saved in sym-lib-table file in the project directory (check the path above the table).

You can view either list by clicking on “Global Libraries” or “Project Specific Libraries” tab below the library table.

Add a new library

Add a library either by clicking Browse Libraries… button and selecting a file or clicking “Append Library” and typing a path to a library file. The selected library will be added to the currently opened library table (Global/Project Specific).

Remove a library

Remove a library by selecting one or more libraries and clicking Remove Library button.

Library properties

Each row in the table stores several fields describing a library:

Active	Enables/disables the library. It is useful to temporarily reduce the loaded library set.
Nickname	Nickname is a short, unique identifier used for assigning symbols to components. Symbols are represented by ‘<Library Nickname>:<Symbol Name>’ strings.
Library Path	Path points to the library location.
Plugin Type	Determines the library file format.
Options	Stores library specific options, if used by plugin.
Description	Briefly characterizes the library contents.

General Options

Display

Grid Size	Grid size selection. It is recommended to work with normal grid (0.050 inches or 1,27 mm). Smaller grids are used for component building.
Bus thickness	Pen size used to draw buses.
Line thickness	Pen size used to draw objects that do not have a specified pen size.
Part ID notation	Style of suffix that is used to denote symbol units (U1A, U1.A, U1-1, etc.)
Icon scale	Adjust toolbar icons size.
Show Grid	Grid visibility setting.
Restrict buses and wires to H and V orientation	If checked, buses and wires are drawn only with vertical or horizontal lines. Otherwise buses and wires can be placed at any orientation.
Show hidden pins:	Display invisible (or hidden) pins, typically power pins.
Show page limits	If checked, shows the page boundaries on screen.
Footprint previews in symbol chooser	Displays a footprint preview frame and footprint selector when placing a new symbol. Note: it may cause problems or delays, use at your own risk.

Editing

Measurement units	Select the display and the cursor coordinate units (inches or millimeters).
Horizontal pitch of repeated items	Increment on X axis during element duplication (default: 0) (after placing an item like a symbol, label or wire, a duplication is made by the Insert key)
Vertical pitch of repeated items	Increment on Y axis during element duplication (default: 0.100 inches or 2,54 mm).
Increment of repeated labels	Increment of label value during duplication of texts ending in a number, such as bus members (usual value 1 or -1).
Default text size	Text size used when creating new text items or labels.
Auto-save time interval	Time in minutes between saving backups.
Automatically place symbol fields	If checked, symbol fields (e.g. value and reference) in newly placed symbols might be moved to avoid collisions with other items.
Allow field autoplace to change justification	Extension of ‘Automatically place symbol fields’ option. Enable text justification adjustment for symbol fields when placing a new part.
Always align autoplaced fields to the 50 mil grid	Extension of ‘Automatically place symbol fields’ option. If checked, fields are autoplaced using 50 mils grid, otherwise they are placed freely.

Controls

Redefine hotkeys and set up the user interface behavior.

Select a new hotkey by double clicking an action or right click on an action to show a popup menu:

Edit	Define a new hotkey for the action (same as double click).
Undo Changes	Reverts the recent hotkey changes for the action.
Restore Default	Sets the action hotkey to its default value.
Undo All Changes	Reverts all recent hotkey changes for the action.
Restore All to Default	Sets all action hotkeys to their default values.

Options description:

Center and warp cursor on zoom	If checked, the pointed location is warped to the screen center when zooming in/out.
Use touchpad to pan	When enabled, view is panned using scroll wheels (or touchpad gestures) and to zoom one needs to hold Ctrl. Otherwise scroll wheels zoom in/out and Ctrl/Shift are the panning modifiers.
Pan while moving object	If checked, automatically pans the window if the cursor leaves the window during drawing or moving.