Can't connect wires to component pins - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: rhenry74
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 14, 2022, 11:29:32 pm
content: Having many hours into this schematic I don't understand what I did to break it to the point that I can no longer connect a wire to a component. The little magic wand that used to come up when you hover over an unconned pin is no more. And it is near impossible to get wires to connect with the wire tool.Is there a way to get the schematic back... or is it corrupt?

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2022, 12:25:13 am
content: I have noticed that would happen every once in a while on pins that are off-grid. And even if you have the grid enabled, sometimes while moving/placing a part, it becomes slightly off-grid for no apparent reason. Moving it back and forth usually fixes it. I noticed it relatively recently, so that might have been a bug introduced in a recent version.So make sure the grid is enabled and try moving the part, and see what happens.

author: rhenry74
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 15, 2022, 12:46:30 am
content: I've tried that.The more i try to fix it the more break it.

author: rhenry74
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 15, 2022, 01:04:41 am
content: I reinstalled KiCad.I start a new schematic, drop a cap and and a resistor and i cannot connect them together.

author: golden_labels
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2022, 08:12:16 am
content: With KiCad’s default key bindings it is very easy to accidenly switch grids while doing other things. With the faint grid points being the only visual cue, it’s easy to miss that. By default components are drawn for the 50 mils (1.27mm) grid and IIRC the editor by default uses 25 mils. If you switch to e.g. 10 mils, things will be misaligned. You should still be able to snap while holding the control key, but it’s not too nice.Go to View → Grid Properties and make sure the grid is 50 or 25 mils. See if that helps.For my own needs I also removed the grid change bindings and set grids 1 and 2 (see properties) to the same value. This way accidents are avoided.

author: Doctorandus_P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2022, 03:13:48 pm
content: KiCad is indeed quite dependent on the grid and all of KiCad's schematic symbols are created for a "100 freedomunits" grid.There is no snapping to attachent points for wires on schematic symbols, and KiCad depends on the grid to align things.If symbols have managed to come off the grid, then:1. First set the grid back to an simple division of 100.2. Draw a box around everything to select it.3. Right click and selectAlign Elements to Gridfrom the popup menu.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 15, 2022, 07:42:17 pm
content: Quote from: Doctorandus_P on December 15, 2022, 03:13:48 pmYep, I find this pretty problematic if you ask me.Haven't looked at the very long list of future changes though to see if it has been/or will be addressed in v7.

author: golden_labels
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2022, 03:58:13 am
content: Press control.

author: Whales
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 16, 2022, 06:26:41 am
content: This has been biting me often the past few months. It feels like the Kicad schematic editor grid settings have a sentience of their own.

author: rhenry74
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 16, 2022, 03:51:12 pm
content: Quote from: Doctorandus_P on December 15, 2022, 03:13:48 pmThis sounds promising!I'll try it soon.

author: rhenry74
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 16, 2022, 05:06:41 pm
content: you are a life saver @Doctorandus_P

author: rhenry74
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: December 16, 2022, 05:09:08 pm
content: Quote from: Whales on December 16, 2022, 06:26:41 amTruth... I got in this trouble without even knowing there were "grid settings"

author: IanJ
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 18, 2022, 03:39:52 am
content: The Kicad Devs should look at AutoCAD and learn some lessons on how grid and snap work together when both enabled.Not making it easy, or having it break too easily i.e. the ability to join one element to another is a fundamental failure of the app and isn't CAD.I use both Kicad and AutoCAD and would love to see some commands ported to Kicad such as stretch & trim/extend.Ian.

author: golden_labels
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2022, 01:53:22 pm
content: I suggested pressing control. Two times before this post. Did you try it?The default key bindings for changing grid settings are an awful choice. But snapping to pins ignores the grid if control is being pressed.If it does not, that is a bug. The feature itself is already implemented and should work.

author: PlainName
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2022, 05:04:17 pm
content: Wouldn't it be better to default to snap, and have control disable the feature? Reasoning: 95 times out of 100 you want it to snap, so that should be the default and having to press an additional key should be for rare occurrences, thus the rare time you want to not snap is the time you use the rare key.

author: golden_labels
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2022, 05:25:23 pm
content: It’s a matter of subjective preference.One might argue that they want to be aligned to the grid with all elements, and a pin that is not on a grid is a mistake to be corrected.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: December 18, 2022, 07:28:56 pm
content: Uh sure, but OTOH in what kind of occasion would you place a wire so close to a pin, but not exactly on grid, and that you wouldn't want it to snap to the pin?While enforcing the grid seems like a good intention, the case doesn't seem to make any sense.

author: IanJ
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: December 19, 2022, 01:43:41 pm
content: In AutoCAD with grid and snap both turned on then if you are moving/copying/stretching something around and you are away from any other object then you'll snap to grid.Come within a certain distance of another object then you'll snap to that object thus overriding the grid. You get a visual confirmation of this.SHIFT and some of the function keys offer overrides and modifications to the behaviour such as force perpendicular etc.