I am using KiCad 5 and I have seen the the ads for KiCad 7. I did not seen any substantive change. I do see normalized file naming, glitzier rendering, and new menu colors. It does still offers the basics: schematic capture (with symbol libraries), a PCB layout tool (with footprints), and 3D rendering (with .pretty files).
I really like KiCad and it would take me a lot to get off it. It has certainly gained a lot of traction in recent years and I am grateful to the developers who keep it going; I should make a donation.
But I am an olde fart, and I am wary of changes to a working system. Is there anything I am missing? Is there some new feature I didn't see?
=Steve.
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Hi Snap,
I also started with a different tool, although I can't remember which one now. I migrated to KiCad 4(?). When I went from 4 to 5, I documented the whole upgrade procedure. You welcome to it if you want it. Basically, I save all of the old system off somewhere and then begin with the old source files in a separate sandbox. It worked out fine, but it was TIME CONSUMING and a bit nerve wracking. I had a few "custom" parts which got carried over to 5 nicely. I would not want to have to make then again in 6 or any other version. So . . . I should take one board with a custom part and just try that one.
My Mac is running Mojave which will is supported by KiCad 6, not 7. I hate upgrading OS's, too, but sooner or later I get pushed forward. That seems to be the case for aps, too. I know I will need to upgrade sometime. If one gets too far behind, upgrading can become a crisis when it is necessary.
Most of my projects are not one-offs. They may change significantly, but I would hate to start from scratch. I keep anything that gets sent to a lab in its own directory never to be touched again. It can be copied and the copy edited, but always in a new directory. Better safe than sorry. I am not a fan of the bleeding edge.
=Steve.