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Low Power Application on SAMC2x Using MPLAB® Harmony v3 Peripheral Libraries: Step 1

Last modified by Microchip on 2023/11/09 09:10

Verify whether MPLAB® Code Configurator (MCC) Plugin is installed in MPLAB® X IDE

Verify that MCC is installed

• Launch MPLAB® X IDE from the Microsoft Windows® Start menu. Close any projects and files that are currently open.
• Go to Tools > Embedded.
• You will see MPLAB® Code Configurator v5: Open/Close in the menu.

Tools > Embedded > MPLAB Harmony 3 Configurator​​

If you don't see it in the menu, install MCC.

Create MPLAB Harmony v3 Project using MPLAB® X IDE

Select File > New Project from the main IDE menu.

 

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

Creating a new project​​

If “32-bit MCC Harmony 3 Project” is not displayed, install MCC. 

 In the Framework Path edit box, browse to the folder where the framework has been downloaded, then click Next.

Using the Launch Framework Downloader button to navigate to folder

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\samc21_low_power.
  • Folder: Indicates the name of the MPLABX .X folder. Enter "sam_c21_xpro" to create a sam_c21_xpro.X folder.

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

  • Name: Enter the project’s logical name as "low_power_sam_c21_xpro". This is the name that will be shown from within MPLAB X IDE.

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

  • Click Next to proceed to Configuration Settings.

Configuration settings​​​​

Note: 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.

New Project Wizard Help​​​​

Follow the steps below to set the project’s Configuration Settings.

  • Name: Enter the configuration name as “sam_c21_xpro”.
  • Target Device: Select ATSAMC21J18A as the target device.

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

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

Note: 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.

Selecting the target device​​​

The MCC content manager window is displayed. In this click Select MPLAB Harmony (by default this option is selected).

Launching the configuration tool with selected packages​​

Click Finish to launch the MCC Configurator tool with the packages.

MHC plugin main window​​

The MCC plugin’s main window for the project will be displayed.

MCC plugin’s main window

Before proceeding, set up the compiler toolchain. Click on the Projects tab on the top left pane. Right click on the project name low_power_sam_c21_xpro.

Go to Set Configuration and click on Customize.

Setting up the complier toolchain​​

Make sure that XC32 (v4.30) is selected as the Compiler Toolchain for XC32 and select the Simulator.
Click on Apply and then click on OK.

Selecting XC32 in the toolchain​​

Tool Tip: If you closed MCC accidently, and would like to open it again, go to Tools > Embedded > MPLAB Code Configurator v5:Open/Close.

Verify Clock Settings

Launch Clock Easy View by going to the Project Graph tab in MPLABX IDE and then select Plugins > Clock Configuration.

A new window, Clock Easy View, is opened in the project’s main window.

Launching the Clock Easy View​​

Click on the Clock Easy View tab, scroll to the right, and verify that the Main Clock is set to 48 MHz.

Verifying clock is set to 48 MHz​​

Tool Tip: Double-click on Clock Easy View tab to maximize the window.