When it comes to EDA tools, change can be frightening. Concerning the changes in the KiCad 5.0.0 release, the hope is that users can breathe easy, the vast majority of changes were upgrades to the existing package to make it yet an even more powerful EDA tool. This post is intended to list the resources a user needs in order to transition smoothly from 4.0.7 into 5.0.0 without having to dig too deep to see what has changed. We have also created a series of short videos to highlight as many changes as we could (links below)
The Major Upgrades:
- Direct import of Eagle projects
- STEP export of board assemblies
- Integrated Spice simulator
- Realistic ray tracing in the 3D viewer
The Major Changes
- Improvements to the Symbol Library Manager
- Defaults to Accelerated Graphics
- Local installation of Footprint Libraries
A more comprehensive list of updates and changes can be found here: KiCad Blog: KiCad 5 – A New Generation
For those searching for the detailed incrimental changes: Commit Log for 5.0 series
Questions regarding a specific feature or change (most likely already answered): Kicad.info forum
Grab the Digi-Key KiCad library here: DK KiCad Library Page
Installer and Main Window Part 1 of 7:
EEschema 2 of 7:
Spice Simulator 3 of 7:
Symbol Library Editor 4 of 7:
Pcbnew 5 of 7:
3D Capabilities 6 of 7
Footprint Editor 7 of 7:
