11.9. Component Fields

11.9. Component Fields

All library components are defined with four default fields. The reference designator, value, footprint assignment, and documentation file link fields are created whenever a component is created or copied. Only the reference designator and value fields are required. For existing fields, you can use the context menu commands by right-clicking on the pin. Components defined in libraries are typically defined with these four default fields. Additional fields such as vendor, part number, unit cost, etc. can be added to library components but generally this is done in the schematic editor so the additional fields can be applied to all of the components in the schematic.

11.9.1. Editing Component Fields

To edit an existing component field, right-click on the field text to show the field context menu shown below.

To edit undefined fields, add new fields, or delete optional fields on the main tool bar to open the field properties dialog shown below.

Fields are text sections associated with the component. Do not confuse them with the text belonging to the graphic representation of this component.

Important notes:

• Modifying value fields effectively creates a new component using the current component as the starting point for the new component. This new component has the name contained in the value field when you save it to the currently selected library.
• The field edit dialog above must be used to edit a field that is empty or has the invisible attribute enable.
• The footprint is defined as an absolute footprint using the LIBNAME:FPNAME format where LIBNAME is the name of the footprint library defined in the footprint library table (see the “Footprint Library Table” section in the Pcbnew “Reference Manual”) and FPNAME is the name of the footprint in the library LIBNAME.