Template Folder Changes
As of version 5.0.0-rc2 (commit be0978f3 to be precise), there was a change made to the way the template path is determined. The ambiguous environment variable KICAD_PTEMPLATES has been deprecated and replaced by KICAD_TEMPLATE_DIR which by default should point to the template folder installed with KiCad. This path may not always be correct depending upon how KiCad was installed. At least it can be configured by the user if the default path is incorrect. Prior to this, the system install path was a hard coded internal path that was unknown (unless you dug through the user’s manual).
A new environment variable KICAD_USER_TEMPLATE_DIR was added so users can change the location of their personal templates. This also existed as a hard coded value.
These paths will also influence which default project file (kicad.pro) is used when creating new projects. The order of presedence is as follows:
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KICAD_USER_TEMPLATE_DIR
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KICAD_TEMPLATE_DIR
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The previous search list.
Thank you for your patience during this transition.
The KiCad Development Team
See Also
Mask Clearance Generation Changes
2018-05-01
As of version 5.0.0-rc2 (commit 93c7f65d to be precise), there is a change in way the solder mask and solder paste clearances are determined. For pads defined with copper layers, the solder mask and solder paste clearance calculations remain the same. For pads defined with no copper layers (referred to as aperture pads), the inherited clearance and ratio settings are no longer applied and the pad is plotted as defined.