[amelius]

Thanks for the tip. I was avoiding hierarchical schematics because my version of KiCAD doesn't seem to implement the concept very well. I often ended up with strange inconsistencies, so I gave up. I suppose this is better in newer KiCAD versions (?)

How I do placement now: deleting part of my schematics, then copying the remaining components to the PCB layout, then undoing to get my schematics back, delete another part of the schematics, etc.

Regarding a graphics tablet: I've thought about it, but then I miss the scroll-wheel which is absolutely necessary for zooming in/out. Are there tablets with scroll wheels?

[contingencies]

5.1.x works fine, 5.99 is surely improved. Delete workflow unnecessary once you adopt the sheet-orientation. Also improves re-use, though you have to carefully manage .sch version/variant evolution outside of KiCad. Had an awesome scroll-wheel Wacom ~2010 and have sorely missed it since. You can emulate it with touch but it's not as precise. Rocker-switches for zoom in/out or mapping on-tablet buttons are another option.