Downloading an MPLAB® Code Configurator (MCC) Melody Example Project

The MPLAB^® Discover online search tool is a great way to find examples and other resources to help get you started developing your specific application. It can be accessed within MPLAB X IDE directly by clicking on the Discover badge  located at the top of the interface, which will launch MPLAB Discover in the IDE's browser. Alternatively, from the Microchip Technology homepage navigate to Tools and Resources > Search and Discover > MPLAB Discover.

On the MPLAB Discover landing page, you will find a few ways to locate the resources most relevant to your application.

An expandable menu on the left side of the page allows you to explore a range of topics, including IDE examples sorted by application or technology, as well as various documentation types such as application notes, reference designs, and instructional videos.

Specific application requirements can be added directly into a search field at the top of the landing page that can be used to parse through available resources. For example, if you're looking for a pre-existing example for the PIC18F56Q71 that features simple UART communication, enter the part number to reveal a list of IDE examples. These can be further refined using the side menu by selecting Module and Peripherals > Communication > UART Modules.

This has narrowed our choices leading to this "PIC18F56Q71 Basic UART Comms" project example, which has been tailored to this microcontroller. You can also enter the part number "PIC18F56Q71" along with "UART" into the search bar which will produce similar results.

Selecting the "PIC18F56Q71 Basic UART Comms" project opens its description, which includes an overview, a block diagram illustrating the application's communication via the integrated UART to USB converter on the Curiosity Nano Board, and details on how the application implements bidirectional communication using the UART peripheral. The project demonstrates communication from the PIC18F56Q71 Curiosity Nano Board using an onboard pushbutton and confirms input from the host computer through the MPLAB Data Visualizer plug-in within the MPLAB X IDE.

Scrolling through the project description will reveal additional information, including related documentation, the software and hardware versions utilized, comprehensive instructions for building the project from the ground up, and even a GIF showcasing the application in action on the target hardware.

For more in-depth information, you can click on the Details or Links tabs at the top of the page, where you will find specifics such as tool versions, tags, and even the author's name.

Now you could follow the steps in the example description and create the project yourself from scratch. However, all example projects in MPLAB Discover, including their source files, are available for download and can be opened directly in MPLAB X IDE. You can download a pre-packaged version of the project by clicking the Download button  next to the Open with dropdown, which will save the project to your downloads folder.

The downloaded project file will be a compressed folder in your downloads directory, which you should extract to the default MPLABXProjects folder created during the MPLAB X IDE installation.

You now have all project source files and associated materials on your local machine for a working MCC Melody Project.