Introduction to Pcbnew

Initial configuration

When Pcbnew is run for the first time, if the global footprint table file fp-lib-table is not found in the KiCad configuration folder then Pcbnew will ask how to create this file:

The default footprint library table includes all of the standard footprint libraries that are installed as part of KiCad.

The Pcbnew user interface

The main Pcbnew user interface is shown above, with some key elements indicated:

1. Top toolbars (file management, zoom tools, editing tools)

2. Left toolbar (display options)

3. Message panel and status bar

4. Right toolbar (drawing and design tools)

5. Appearance panel

6. Selection filter panel

Navigating the editing canvas

The editing canvas is a view onto the board being designed. You can pan and zoom to different areas of the board, and also flip the view to show the board from the bottom.

By default, dragging with the middle or right mouse button will pan the canvas view and scrolling the mouse wheel will zoom the view in or out. You can change this behavior in the Mouse and Touchpad section of the preferences (see Configuration and Customization for details).

Hotkeys

The hotkeys described in this manual use the key labels that appear on a standard PC keyboard. On an Apple keyboard layout, use the Cmd key in place of Ctrl, and the Option key in place of Alt.