KiCad

PcbNew new file format

Asked by Massimo

Hi,

Working with PcbNew testing, I saved a board design in the old format file ( .brd) but when I tried to open it with the last stable release an error message appare.
Is this normal?

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Dick Hollenbeck
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Wayne Stambaugh (stambaughw) said : 		#1

On 2/21/2013 1:06 PM, Massimo wrote:
> New question #222511 on KiCad:
> https://answers.launchpad.net/kicad/+question/222511
>
> Hi,
>
> Working with PcbNew testing, I saved a board design in the old format file ( .brd) but when I tried to open it with the last stable release an error message appare.
> Is this normal?
>
>
 This is normal because the stable version of Pcbnew does not support
nano-meter units internally which is now the default in the testing
version of Pcbnew. When you loaded your board in the testing version of
Pcbnew, all of the dimensions were converted from deci-mils to
nanometers. When you saved your board in the testing version of Pcbnew,
the units were written in millimeters which is not compatible with the
stable version of Pcbnew. The KiCad project policy is to only support
older file formats in new versions not new file formats in older versions.

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Massimo (ciocemax-alice) said : 		#2

Thaks a lot.
Why there is the possbility to choose between new and old format when you save the file?

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Best Dick Hollenbeck (dickelbeck) said : 		#3

decribing as new and old format, is a recipe for confusion.

there are now 3 formats in use, named as follows:

1 legacy deci-mils
2 legacy nanometer
3 kicad_pcb

personally I have chosen to shorten my path into the future by using 3 as the next step after 1.

for my personal designs.

1 and 2 support cannot coexist in the same pcbnew build because they are compile time options.

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Massimo (ciocemax-alice) said : 		#4

Thanks Dick Hollenbeck, that solved my question.