Setting Up a Programmer in MPLAB® IPE
Supported Tools
To program your device, make sure the programming tools are supported by MPLAB® Integrated Programming Environment (IPE). See the "MPLAB IPE Supported Programming Tools"page.
Selecting Device Family and Devices
After launching the MPLAB IPE icon from your computer desktop, click on the Family drop-down menu. You now can select the family of the device you wish to program.
MPLAB IPE then automatically filters the devices associated with the 8-bit and MCP device families. In the accompanying figure, MCP19110 is highlighted in blue as the selected device.
By clicking on the Device drop-down menu, you can now select other PIC24 devices.
After you selected the device you wish to program, click Apply to configure the IPE to the current device.
Selecting the Tool
Use the Tool drop-down menu to select the tool you want to use. If more than one development tool is connected to your computer, select the one you wish to use, as shown in the accompanying figure.
Connecting the Tool
Click on the Connect button (next to the Tool name) to establish a connection between the IPE and the tool.
MPLAB IPE scans tools in real time. If the IPE detects a tool that is connected to your computer, the Tool drop-down menu indicates the tool's serial number. The accompanying figure shows that PICkit™ 4 S.No: BUR213372723 is connected to the computer.
Output Window
After the IPE is successfully connected to the tool, you'll see the output showing the target device is detected.
When the tool is connected, any messages or errors related to this tool will be displayed in the Output window as shown in the accompanying figure. After the tool is successfully connected, you are now able to program the device with the IPE. See the video tutorial on basic device programming using MPLAB IPE.
Import an Existing HEX File
MPLAB IPE allows you to import an existing HEX file to the IPE. By default, the importing HEX file feature is enabled.
Launch MPLAB IPE. Click File which is located at the upper left of the IPE window.
Select Import > Hex, as shown in the accompanying figure.
File dialog box appears, navigate to the HEX file location
Select the HEX file and click Open.
The IPE then loads the HEX file to the IPE. In the output window, it shows:
"Loading hex file. Please wait…"
If the HEX file was imported successfully, the output window of the IPE will show a time stamp and "Hex file loaded successfully."
