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Footprints and Placement

Footprints are the physical packages placed on the PCB — pads, drill holes, silkscreen graphics, and optional 3D models. This page covers loading libraries, placing, moving, rotating, and flipping footprints.

Loading Footprint Libraries

Open View → Local Library Manager and add the folder or KiCad footprint source. With a PCB active, approved footprints appear in its library panel.

  1. Click Load Footprints…
  2. Select one or more KiCad footprint files (.kicad_mod)
  3. WireFrame parses the footprint data in the background
  4. After parsing, footprint names appear in the list and can be filtered

Each loaded footprint contains:

Data Description
Pads Number, position, shape (circle/rect/oval), drill size, layers
Graphics Lines, arcs, circles, polygons, reference and value text
3D model Optional STEP/OBJ file path with offset, scale, and rotation

Free KiCad footprint libraries

Download from https://www.kicad.org/libraries/ — WireFrame is fully compatible.

Placing Footprints

After running Tools → Update Schematic to PCB, an Available Footprints list shows all unplaced schematic components:

  1. Open the "Available Footprints" dialog (appears automatically after conversion)
  2. Select a component from the list
  3. Click on the board to place it
  4. The footprint appears with its ID matching the schematic component (e.g. U1, R3)

Method 2: Directly from the library

  1. In the Library panel, double-click a footprint name
  2. The PCB enters placement mode — the footprint preview follows the cursor
  3. Press R to rotate before placing (if needed)
  4. Left-click to place at the desired position
Action Input
Place footprint Left-click
Rotate before placing R
Cancel placement Right-click or Esc

Moving and Rotating Footprints

Moving

  1. Select one or more footprints
  2. Click and drag to move them on the board
  3. Connected traces and vias automatically update their endpoints to maintain pad connections

All move operations support full Undo (Ctrl+Z).

Rotating

Action Input
Rotate 90° R or context menu → Rotate

After rotating: - The footprint angle is updated - All pad positions are recomputed - Connected trace endpoints adjust to the new pad locations

Flipping Footprints (Front ↔ Back)

To move a component to the opposite side of the board:

  1. Select one or more footprints
  2. Press F or context menu → Flip
  3. Layers are swapped:
    • F.Cu → B.Cu, F.SilkS → B.SilkS, and so on
Before flip After flip
Copper and silkscreen use the front-layer set Copper and silkscreen remap to the back-layer set
Designator reads normally from the top view Designator is mirrored for physical bottom-side placement

Visual feedback

Flipped footprints change color (e.g. red F.Cu → blue B.Cu) and the designator text may mirror — this is the expected behavior and matches the physical reality of a bottom-side component.

Adjusting Designator Text Position

Each footprint has a designator label (e.g. "R1", "U3") that can be repositioned independently:

Feature Description
Position Drag the designator text separately from the footprint body
Rotation Rotate the label independently
Selection Click directly on the text to select only the text

Use this when the designator overlaps a trace or pad — drag it to a clear area nearby.

Unplace vs. Delete

Operation Result
Unplace Removes from the board, returns it to the "Available" list — can be placed again later
Delete Permanently removes the footprint (and connected traces) — fully undoable

When to use Unplace

Use Unplace if the component still exists in the schematic and you want to place it again later. Use Delete to remove it from the PCB entirely.

See Also