Verify: Checks your code for errors compiling it.
Upload: Compiles your code and uploads it to the configured board.
New: Creates a new sketch.
Open: Presents a menu of all sketches in your sketchbook. Clicking one will open it within the current window overwriting its content.
Save: Saves your sketch.
Serial Monitor: Open the serial monitor. We will cover what serial monitor is later.

 

Additional commands are found within the five menus: File, Edit, Sketch, Tools, Help. The menus are context sensitive, which means only those items relevant to the work currently being carried out are available.

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FILE

 

New: Creates a new instance of the editor, with the bare minimum structure of a sketch already in place.
Open: Allows to load a sketch file browsing through the computer drives and folders.
Open Recent: Provides a short list of the most recent sketches, ready to be opened.
Sketchbook: Shows the current sketches within the sketchbook folder structure; clicking on any name opens the corresponding sketch in a new editor instance.
Examples: Any example provided by the Arduino Software (IDE) or library shows up in this menu item. All the examples are structured in a tree that allows easy access by topic or library.
Close: Closes the instance of the Arduino Software (IDE) from which it is clicked.
Save: Saves the sketch with the current name. If the file has not been named before, a name will be provided in a "Save as..." window.
Save as...: Allows to save the current sketch with a different name.
Page Setup: It shows the Page Setup window for printing.
Print: Sends the current sketch to the printer according to the settings defined in Page Setup.

Preferences: Opens the Preferences window where some settings of the IDE may be customised, as the language of the IDE interface.
Quit: Closes all IDE windows. The same sketches open when Quit was chosen will be automatically reopened the next time you start the IDE.

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EDIT

 

Undo/Redo: Goes back of one or more steps you did while editing; when you go back, you may go forward with Redo.
Cut: Removes the selected text from the editor and places it into the clipboard.
Copy: Duplicates the selected text in the editor and places it into the clipboard.
Copy for Forum: Copies the code of your sketch to the clipboard in a form suitable for posting to the forum, complete with syntax coloring.
Copy as HTML: Copies the code of your sketch to the clipboard as HTML, suitable for embedding in web pages.
Paste: Puts the contents of the clipboard at the cursor position, in the editor.
Select all: Selects and highlights the whole content of the editor.
Comment/Uncomment: Puts or removes the // comment marker at the beginning of each selected line.
Increase/Decrease Indent: Adds or subtracts a space at the beginning of each selected line, moving the text one space on the right or eliminating a space at the beginning.
Find: Opens the Find and Replace window where you can specify text to search inside the current sketch according to several options.
Find Next: Highlights the next occurence - if any - of the string specified as the search item in the Find window, relative to the cursor position.
Find Previous: Highlights the previous occurrence - if any - of the string specified as the search item in the Find window relative to the cursor position.

 

SKETCH

 

Verify/Compile: Checks your sketch for errors compiling it; it will report memory usage for code and variables in the console area.
Upload: Compiles and loads the binary file onto the configured board through the configured Port.
Upload Using Programmer: This will overwrite the bootloader on the board; You will need to use Tools > Burn Bootloader to restore it and be able to Upload to USB serial port again. However, it allows you to use the full capacity of the Flash memory for your sketch. Please note this command will not burn the fuses. To do so a Tools > Burn Bootloader command must be executed.

Export Compiled Binary: Saves a .hex file that may be kept as archive or sent to the board using other tools.
Show Sketch Folder: Opens the current sketch folder.
Include Library: Adds a library to your sketch by inserting #include statements at the start of your code. More details will be explained about libraries. Additionally, from this menu item you can access the Library Manager and import new libraries from .zip files.
Add File...: Adds a source file to the sketch (it will be copied from its current location). The new file appears in a new tab in the sketch window. Files can be removed from the sketch using the tab menu accessible clicking on the small triangle icon below the serial monitor one on the right side of the toolbar.

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TOOLS

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Auto Format: This formats your code nicely: i.e indents it so that opening and closing curly braces line up, and that the statements inside curly braces are indented more.
Archive Sketch: Archives a copy of the current sketch in .zip format. The archive is placed in the same directory as the sketch.
Fix Encoding & Reload: Fixes possible discrepancies between the editor char map encoding and other operating systems char maps.
Serial Monitor: Opens the serial monitor window and initiates the exchange of data with any connected board on the currently selected Port. This usually resets the board, if the board supports Reset over serial port opening.
Board: Select the board that you're using. While working with Nova, we will be choosing Arduino/Genuino Mega or Mega 2560 as the technical specifications of Creoqode Mini Mega is exactly the same as Arduino Mega development board. Your PC and Arduino Software (IDE) will recognise Nova as an Arduino Mega board.
Port: This menu contains all the serial devices (real or virtual) on your machine. It should automatically refresh every time you open the top-level tools menu.
Programmer: For selecting a hardware programmer when programming a board or chip and not using the onboard USB-serial connection. Normally you won't need this, but if you are burning a bootloader to a new microcontroller, you will use this.
Burn Bootloader: The items in this menu allow you to burn a bootloader onto the microcontroller on an Arduino board. This is not required for normal use of an Arduino or Arduino based board but is useful if you purchase a new ATmega microcontroller (which normally come without a bootloader). Ensure that you have selected the correct board from the Boards menu before burning the bootloader on the target board. This command also set the right fuses.

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HELP

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Here you find easy access to a number of documents that come with the Arduino Software (IDE). You have access to Getting Started, Reference, this guide to the IDE and other documents locally, without an internet connection. The documents are a local copy of the online ones and may link back to our online website.

Find in reference: This is the only interactive function of the Help menu: it directly selects the relevant page in the local copy of the Reference for the function or command under the cursor.

As we have investigated all the functions of Arduino Software (IDE), let's explore some of the concepts you need to be familiar with and a few practical hints that helps whislt working with Nova.

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SKETCHBOOK

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Arduino Software (IDE) uses the concept of a sketchbook: a standard place to store your programs (or sketches). The sketches in your sketchbook can be opened from the File > Sketchbook menu or from the Open button on the toolbar. The first time you run the Arduino software, it will automatically create a directory for your sketchbook. You can view or change the location of the sketchbook location from the Preferences dialog.

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TABS, MULTIPLE FILES, AND COMPILATION

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Allows you to manage sketches with more than one file (each of which appears in its own tab). These can be normal Arduino code files (no visible extension), C files (.c extension), C++ files (.cpp extension), or header files (.h extension).

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UPLOADING

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Before uploading your sketch, you need to select the correct items from the Tools > Board menu. As explained above, you need to choose Arduino / Genuino Mega or Mega 2560 board as Creoqode Mini Mega is technically identical to an Arduino Mega board. When you connect Nova to your PC, Arduino Software (IDE) will recognise it as an Arduino Mega board.

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Following this, you need to select the correct port from Tools > Port menu. On the Mac, the serial port is probably something like /dev/tty.usbmodem241 (for Creoqode Mini Mega or Arduino Mega 2560). On Windows, it is probably COM1 or COM2 (for serial board) or COM4, COM5, COM7, or higher (for a USB board) - to find out, you look for USB serial device in the ports section of the Windows Device Manager. On Linux, it should be /dev/ttyACMx, /dev/ttyUSBx or similar. Once you have selected the correct serial port and board, press the upload button in the toolbar or select the Upload item from the Sketch menu. Current Arduino and Arduino based boards, including Creoqode Mini Mega, will reset automatically and begin the upload. On Creoqode Mini Mega, you'll see the RX and TX LEDs blink as the sketch is uploaded. Arduino Software (IDE) will display a message when the upload is complete or show an error.

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When you upload a sketch, you are using the Arduino bootloader, a small program that has been loaded on to the microcontroller on your board. It allows you to upload code without using any additional hardware. The bootloader is active for a few seconds when the board resets; then it starts whichever sketch was most recently uploaded to the microcontroller. The bootloader will blink the on-board (pin 13) LED when it starts (i.e when the board resets).

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LIBRARIES

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Libraries provide extra functionality for use in sketches, e.g. working with hardware or manipulating data. To use a library in a sketch, select it from the Sketch > Import Library menu. This will insert one or more #include statements at the top of the sketch and compile the library with your sketch. Because libraries are uploaded to the board with your sketch, they increase the amount of space it takes up. If a sketch no longer needs a library, simply delete its #include statements from the top of your code.

 

There is a list of libraries in the reference. Some libraries are included with the Arduino software. Others can be downloaded from variety of sources or through the Library Manager. You can import a library from a zip file and use it in an open sketch.

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SERIAL MONITOR

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This displays serial sent from the Arduino or Arduino based board, from Creoqode Mini Mega in our case, over USB or serial connector. To send data to the board, enter text and click in the "send" button or press enter. You should choose the baud rate from the drop-down menu that matches the rate passed to Serial.begin in your sketch. This might seem confusing right now, but will explain it in detail when we start working with Processing (IDE) to send and receive data from our PC. Note that on Windows, Mac or Linux, Creoqode Mini Mega will reset (it will rerun your sketch) when you connect with the serial monitor. Please note that the Serial Monitor does not process control characters; if your sketch needs a complete management of the serial communication with control characters, you can use an external terminal program and connect it to the COM port assigned to your Creoqode Mini Mega or other Arduino board.

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There might seem a lot to learn about Arduino Software (IDE) but you will quickly get used to it once you start working with Nova. Use this chapter as a reference guide and always check again if you need any assistance regarding the Arduino software.

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