Hi,

I want to place footprints in pcbnew 5.1.6 automatically and I am trying to find out how.

I am following this guide:
https://docs.kicad-pcb.org/5.1/en/pcbnew/pcbnew.html#preparation

But I can't seem to find the "Footprint mode" icon. Does anyone know why?

 

Are you talking about Auto-router?
https://techexplorations.com/blog/kicad/blog-kicad-5-how-to-use-the-freerouting-autorouter/
Max.

 

Are you talking about Auto-router?
https://techexplorations.com/blog/kicad/blog-kicad-5-how-to-use-the-freerouting-autorouter/
Max.

No, autoroute comes after as far as I know. Auto placement is possible in pcbnew according to the guide I linked to.

 

I also can't find the "spread automatically" function because I can't go into "Footprint mode".

 

That document was last updated 6 years ago, and KiCAD has undergone many changes since then. To place components automatically, you need to go to "Place->Place Footprints Automatically" in the toolbar. Furthermore, when you import a netlist, KiCAD spreads the components automatically, so there is also no "spread automatically" button any more. They haven't had a specific "footprint mode" in a number of years.

Also, just as a head's up if you haven't noticed already, KiCAD also no longer has an autorouter included with the software (the one previously included wasn't made by KiCAD anyway) - if you want autorouting, you have to export the PCB to another format that a separate autorouter can use.


Edit: upon looking at the forums, it appears you eventually figured it out. So ignore this if that's the case....

 

thanks anyway