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Getting Started with MPLAB® Harmony v3 Peripheral Libraries on PIC32MK GP MCUs: Step 1

Last modified by Microchip on 2023/11/09 09:07

Install the MPLAB® Harmony Configurator (MHC) Plugin in the MPLAB X IDE

Verify that MHC is installed.

  • Launch MPLAB X IDE from the Windows® Start Menu. Close any projects and files that are currently open.

  • Go to Tools > Embedded.
  • You will see MPLAB Harmony 3 Configurator in the menu. If you don't see it in the menu, please install MHC.

Open MPLAB Harmony 3 Configurator from the Tools menu

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Setup MHC Plugin Window Open in Standalone Mode

Go to Tools > Options. You will see the Options window open.

Open the Options window from the Tools menu

The options window is opened

Go to Plugins > Window Manager and select Standalone mode. Click Apply and then click OK.

Set the Window Manager to Standalone

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When you launch MHC for the first time, it displays a prompt asking for the mode in which you would like to use MHC.

  • Standalone mode (as a separate window)
  • Native mode (as an embedded window in MPLAB X IDE)
    Standalone mode is the default mode.

MHC will launch in the operating mode selected the first time, every time you launch MHC. Step 1.2 above shows a way to change the MHC operating mode.

For this lab, MHC is configured to operate in Standalone mode.

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Create MPLAB Harmony v3 Project Using MPLAB X IDE

Select File > New Project from the main IDE menu.

​Close all existing opened projects before you start creating a new project.

In the Categories pane of the New Project dialog window, select Microchip Embedded. In the Projects pane, select 32-bit MPLAB Harmony 3 Project, then click Next.

The New Project window is opened

​If 32-bit MPLAB Harmony 3 Project is not displayed, you will need to install MHC.

In the Framework Path edit box, browse to the folder you downloaded the framework. If you haven't done this, or want to download it to a different folder, click the Launch Content Manager button, then click Next.

​For more information on the content manager, see the "MPLAB® Harmony v3 Configurator Overview" page.

Browse to the folder you downloaded the framework to

In the Project Settings window, apply the following settings:

  • Location: indicates the path to the root folder of the new project. All project files will be placed inside this folder. The project location can be any valid path, for example, C:\microchip\harmony\v3\training\dev.

  • Folder: indicates the name of the MPLABX .X folder. Enter "pic32mk_gp_db.X" to create a pic32mk_gp_db.X folder.

​This must be a valid directory name for your operating system.

  • Name: enter the project’s logical name as "getting_started_pic32mk_gp_db". This is the name that will be shown from within the MPLAB X IDE.

​The Path box is read-only. It will update as you make changes to other entries.

  • Click Next to proceed to the configuration settings.

Set the Location, Folder, and Name settings in the Project Settings window

​Clicking on the Show Visual Help button will open a help window, providing a detailed description of the various fields in the Project Settings window.

The MPLAB Harmony New Project Wizard Help is displayed

Follow the steps below to set the project’s configuration settings:

  • Name: Enter the configuration name as "pic32mk_gp_db".

  • Target Device: select PIC32MK1024GPE100 as the target device.

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You can select the Device Family or enter a partial device name to filter the list in Target Device in order to make it easier to locate the desired device.

  • After selecting the target device, click Finish to launch MHC.

Set the name and target device in the project's configuration settings

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The New Project wizard opens a Configuration Database Setup window to allow you to review the packages that will be used by the current project.

While the MHC tool launches, it will ask for the packages to be loaded. In the Load checkboxes list, select the csp package (by default this option is selected) and uncheck all the other packages (if any).

Click Launch to launch the MHC tool with the selected packages.

Select the csp package

The MHC plugin’s main window for the project will be displayed in Standalone mode, as shown in the accompanying image.

The MHC plugin’s main window for the project is displayed in Standalone mode

Before proceeding, set up the compiler toolchain. Click on the Projects tab on the top left pane in MPLAB X IDE. Right-click on the project name getting_started_pic32mk_gp_db and go to Properties.

Set up the compiler toolchain

Make sure that XC32 (v2.30) is selected as the Compiler Toolchain for XC32. Click on Apply and then click on OK.

Make sure that XC32 (v2.30) is selected as the Compiler Toolchain for XC32

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Tool Tip: If you closed MHC accidentally and would like to reopen it, go to Tools > Embedded > MPLAB Harmony 3 Configurator in MPLAB X IDE.

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Verify Clock Settings

Launch Clock Diagram by going to the Tools menu in the MHC window and then selecting Clock Configuration.

Open Clock Diagram

A new window, Clock Diagram is opened inside MHC.

Click on the Clock Diagram tab, scroll to the right, and verify that the SYSCLK is set to 120 MHz.

Verify that the SYSCLK is set to 120 MHz

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Tool Tip:

  • The Clock Diagram window can be minimized by clicking the minimize button:

Minimizing the clock diagram window

  • After minimizing the Clock Diagram window, you can see a small Clock Diagram tab at the bottom-left in MHC:

The clock diagram window is now shown as a tab at the bottom of the screen

  • The Clock Diagram window can be maximized by clicking the maximize button or by double-clicking on the Clock Diagram window:

Maximizing the clock diagram window

  • These tips apply to all other plug-in managers like Pin Configuration, DMA Configuration, Event System Configuration, and NVIC Configuration.

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