From 32739d383cddb7f98bb691eee79cade3f1f4eb96 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Seth Hillbrand <seth@kipro-pcb.com>
Date: Thu, 8 Jan 2026 13:32:13 -0800
Subject: [PATCH] Allow spaces in net names by default

The NETNAME_VALIDATOR was inconsistent: eeschema dialogs explicitly
allowed spaces but PCBNew net inspector used the default (no spaces).
This caused confusion where net names could be created with spaces in
eeschema but the net inspector rejected them.

Changed the default m_allowSpaces from false to true to make behavior
consistent across all validators. Added unit tests to verify the
behavior.

Fixes https://gitlab.com/kicad/code/kicad/-/issues/9258
---
 common/validators.cpp                      |  2 +-
 qa/tests/common/CMakeLists.txt             |  2 +
 qa/tests/common/test_netname_validator.cpp | 88 ++++++++++++++++++++++
 3 files changed, 91 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)
 create mode 100644 qa/tests/common/test_netname_validator.cpp

diff --git a/common/validators.cpp b/common/validators.cpp
index c8296c951e..eb0adad19d 100644
--- a/common/validators.cpp
+++ b/common/validators.cpp
@@ -167,7 +167,7 @@ void ENV_VAR_NAME_VALIDATOR::OnTextChanged( wxCommandEvent& event )
 
 NETNAME_VALIDATOR::NETNAME_VALIDATOR( wxString *aVal ) :
          wxTextValidator(),
-         m_allowSpaces( false )
+         m_allowSpaces( true )
 {
 }
 
diff --git a/qa/tests/common/CMakeLists.txt b/qa/tests/common/CMakeLists.txt
index 967f03fb6a..9f6dcb325a 100644
--- a/qa/tests/common/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/qa/tests/common/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -92,6 +92,8 @@ set( QA_COMMON_SRCS
 
     view/test_zoom_controller.cpp
 
+    test_netname_validator.cpp
+
     # GAL tests
     test_gal_xor_mode.cpp
 
diff --git a/qa/tests/common/test_netname_validator.cpp b/qa/tests/common/test_netname_validator.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..9c9bf8f192
--- /dev/null
+++ b/qa/tests/common/test_netname_validator.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,88 @@
+/*
+ * This program source code file is part of KiCad, a free EDA CAD application.
+ *
+ * Copyright The KiCad Developers, see AUTHORS.txt for contributors.
+ *
+ * This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it
+ * under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the
+ * Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your
+ * option) any later version.
+ *
+ * This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but
+ * WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+ * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
+ * General Public License for more details.
+ *
+ * You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along
+ * with this program.  If not, see <http://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+ */
+
+#include <qa_utils/wx_utils/unit_test_utils.h>
+
+#include <validators.h>
+
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_SUITE( NetnameValidator )
+
+
+struct ValidatorFixture
+{
+    ValidatorFixture() : m_validatorAllowSpaces( true ), m_validatorNoSpaces( false )
+    {
+    }
+
+    NETNAME_VALIDATOR m_validatorDefault;
+    NETNAME_VALIDATOR m_validatorAllowSpaces;
+    NETNAME_VALIDATOR m_validatorNoSpaces;
+};
+
+
+BOOST_FIXTURE_TEST_CASE( DefaultValidatorAllowsSpaces, ValidatorFixture )
+{
+    // Default validator should allow spaces (issue #9258)
+    BOOST_CHECK( m_validatorDefault.IsValid( wxS( "Net with spaces" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+    BOOST_CHECK( m_validatorDefault.IsValid( wxS( "Single_word" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+    BOOST_CHECK( m_validatorDefault.IsValid( wxS( "Net name with multiple spaces" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+}
+
+
+BOOST_FIXTURE_TEST_CASE( ValidatorAllowsSpacesWhenConfigured, ValidatorFixture )
+{
+    // Validator with allowSpaces=true should allow spaces
+    BOOST_CHECK( m_validatorAllowSpaces.IsValid( wxS( "Net with spaces" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+    BOOST_CHECK( m_validatorAllowSpaces.IsValid( wxS( "Single_word" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+}
+
+
+BOOST_FIXTURE_TEST_CASE( ValidatorRejectsSpacesWhenConfigured, ValidatorFixture )
+{
+    // Validator with allowSpaces=false should reject spaces
+    BOOST_CHECK( !m_validatorNoSpaces.IsValid( wxS( "Net with spaces" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+    BOOST_CHECK( m_validatorNoSpaces.IsValid( wxS( "Single_word" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+}
+
+
+BOOST_FIXTURE_TEST_CASE( ValidatorRejectsControlCharacters, ValidatorFixture )
+{
+    // All validators should reject CR and LF
+    BOOST_CHECK( !m_validatorDefault.IsValid( wxS( "Net\nname" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+    BOOST_CHECK( !m_validatorDefault.IsValid( wxS( "Net\rname" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+    BOOST_CHECK( !m_validatorAllowSpaces.IsValid( wxS( "Net\nname" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+    BOOST_CHECK( !m_validatorAllowSpaces.IsValid( wxS( "Net\rname" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+    BOOST_CHECK( !m_validatorNoSpaces.IsValid( wxS( "Net\nname" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+    BOOST_CHECK( !m_validatorNoSpaces.IsValid( wxS( "Net\rname" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+}
+
+
+BOOST_FIXTURE_TEST_CASE( ValidatorRejectsTabsWhenSpacesDisallowed, ValidatorFixture )
+{
+    // Validator with allowSpaces=false should reject tabs
+    BOOST_CHECK( !m_validatorNoSpaces.IsValid( wxS( "Net\twith\ttabs" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+
+    // Default and allowSpaces=true should accept tabs (they're treated like spaces)
+    BOOST_CHECK( m_validatorDefault.IsValid( wxS( "Net\twith\ttabs" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+    BOOST_CHECK( m_validatorAllowSpaces.IsValid( wxS( "Net\twith\ttabs" ) ).IsEmpty() );
+}
+
+
+BOOST_AUTO_TEST_SUITE_END()